There are student enrolled in the Mississippi Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Program and heading off to college that are the same age as the plan’s net deficit: 17 years old. 

According to the most recent report by State Treasurer Lynn Fitch’s office that was released in June 2018, the unfunded liability of part of the plan is $127 million and growing at the rate of 6.3 percent per year. The plan, if the deficit continues, will be insolvent before the end of fiscal 2028.

The problem for taxpayers is that they will be on the hook for the deficit, as the plan is guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the state.

One of the reasons for the plan’s financial woes is the rapid increase in the cost of attending college.

According to the latest report from the College Board, the national average tuition and fees at a public four-year school have increased 69.93 percent from $6,020 in 1998-99 to $10,230 this year. The plan assumes a 5.5 percent annual increase in the cost of attendance in its financial projections, which about 2.2 percent more than the national average cost increase.

MPACT is what is known as a 529 plan, which have tax advantages are designed to encourage saving for future educational costs. There are two types of these plans: prepaid tuition plans and educational savings plan. MPACT is the former and parents pay into the plan, which then covers tuition and other expenses.

In 2012, the board that manages MPACT voted to stop accepting new enrollees because of the plan’s financial woes. After an audit in 2013, the plan was split into two plans: Legacy and Horizon and began accepting new enrollees.  

As of June 2018, the Legacy plan has $278 million in assets, but has $405 million due in the form of tuition and expenses to be paid to plan participants. 

MPACT does have investment income, but like with pension funds, the decade-long bull market hasn’t generated enough returns to smooth over the annual shortfall. A 2016 study found that the plan would be insolvent by 2025 and that date has been pushed back three years thanks to better-than-expected investment returns.

Legacy plans were those purchased from the plan’s creation in 1996 by the legislature until 2012. Despite an expected rate of return on investment of 6.8 percent, the plan is only 69.67 percent fully funded. 

Those numbers will likely get a lot worse, since Legacy plans are closed to new enrollees.

According to 2016 projections, the Legacy plan will have a $401 million deficit by 2032 and a $628 million hole by 2038. 

The Horizon plans were those purchased since 2015. These plans are fully funded, up to a rate of 113.08 percent. Those plans have $35 million in assets and $29.4 million due for tuition and fees. The Horizon plan assets will not be used to pay Legacy benefits and vice versa.

MPACT was nearly fully funded as recently as fiscal 2007, when it was 95.2 percent. That fell to 84.3 percent as MPACT’s market value dropped from $207 million to $192 million.

There are differences in the plans that are designed to help the plan’s long-term financial health. For one, the Horizon plans are anywhere from 60 to 90 percent more expensive than their corresponding Legacy equivalent.

Legacy plans pay 100 percent of public in-state undergraduate tuition rates and mandatory fees. For out-of-state or private institutions, MPACT pays a rate equivalent to a weighted average of tuition and fees at Mississippi public colleges and universities. 

Horizon contracts are the same as Legacy ones for in-state public community colleges and universities and the weighted average for out-of-state or private institutions. Where Horizon contracts differ are specialty courses of study. If the specialty course of study exceeds the standard undergraduate tuition rate at the institution, MPACT won’t cover all of it.

Also, Legacy plan holders have 10 years to use their benefits from their projected college enrollment date. Horizon contracts are allowed up to eight years.

If the plan was eliminated by the legislature, any qualified beneficiary that was accepted by either a state university or community college or a private, accredited institution either in state or out of state and within five years of enrollment would be entitled to the complete benefits of the program.

Any other contract holders who didn’t meet the above criteria would receive a refund of the principal paid into the program, plus interest.

Today is a day to celebrate, if that’s the right word, as it is represents how long Americans have had to work in 2019 to pay the nation’s tax burden. It is now known as Tax Freedom Day. Congratulations, you are now able to keep the rest of the money you earn.

In 2019, Americans will pay $3.4 trillion in federal taxes, according to the Tax Foundation, and $1.8 trillion in state and local taxes. Income taxes, federal, state, and local, take the longest to pay, followed by payroll taxes, sales and excise taxes, and property taxes. 

While Tax Freedom Day came before February 1 one hundred years ago before steadily moving later in the year throughout the 20th century, it has been moving in the right direction over the past few years. It was April 24 in 2015. 

And on another bright side for Mississippians, we have actually been free since last week. New Yorkers, on the other hand, won’t be free until May 3. 

That greedy, no-good 1 percent

Who pays most of the taxes in America? Though it makes a good talking point, the “1 percent,” or the rich in our country, don’t get by with paying little to no taxes while the working man or woman has to foot the bill for everything. Higher income earners don’t pay lower rates as some like to claim.

These comments might win you the Democratic nomination for president, but we can look at the actual data provided by the federal government and see the true story. 

In 2016, the top one percent of income earners paid 37 percent of federal income taxes despite earning less than 20 percent of the total adjusted gross income in the country, and, obviously, being just one percent of earners. The top one percent also paid a federal tax income rate of 26.9 percent. 

Ninety-seven percent of income taxes were paid by just half of all taxpayers. Meaning the bottom 50 percent of earners paid just three percent of total income taxes. They also had the lowest tax rate of 3.7 percent. 

That is because America has a very progressive tax structure. The more you make, you don’t just pay more in taxes proportional to your earnings, you also pay a higher percentage as a reward for your hard work.

So celebrate your Tax Freedom Day, maybe you can go and get a drink, and don’t worry about that 7 percent sales tax and the 1-3 percent local sales on top of that. 

A coalition of conservative state and national organizations, led by Mississippi Center for Public Policy, recently sent a letter to Gov. Phil Bryant in support of the Fresh Start Act.

The Fresh Start Act, Senate Bill 2871, will make it easier for ex-offenders to receive occupational licenses and earn a living.

"Employment is a vital part of reintegrating ex-offenders into their families and communities. Work is the key to staying out of prison and off of welfare. Work is an essential part of the 'success sequence' that is the pathway to prosperity in America. Studies show work reduces recidivism," the letter writes.

Under the proposed legislation, licensing authorities would no longer be able to use vague terms like “moral turpitude” or “good character” to deny a license.

Rather, they must use a “clear and convincing standard of proof” in determining whether a criminal conviction is cause to be denied a license. This includes nature and seriousness of the crime, passage of time since the conviction, relationship of the crime to the responsibilities of the occupation, and evidence of rehabilitation on the part of the individual.

An individual may request a determination from the licensing authority on whether their criminal record will be disqualifying. If an individual is denied, the board must state the grounds and reasons for the denial. The individual would then have the right to a hearing to challenge the decision, with the burden of proof on the licensing authority.

"This bill provides a unique opportunity to bring a message of hope to the thousands of Mississippians released from prison each year. Their hope is that it’s not too latefor them. Their hope is that they, too, can share in the American dream. Thanks to the leadership of Lt. Governor Tate Reeves, Speaker Philip Gunn, Senator John Polk and Rep. Mark Baker, this legislation would create a 'Fresh Start' for these ex- offenders."

The letter was signed by Mississippi Center for Public Policy, Americans for Tax Reform, American Conservative Union, Americans for Prosperity- Mississippi, Right on Crime, Empower Mississippi, and Foundation for Government Accountability.

Read the full letter here.

If you’ve gambled at a Mississippi casino at a dealer-served game or gotten a drink served by a bartender, your tax dollars probably contributed heavily to their education.

According to a report by non-partisan fiscal transparency group Open the Books, the Crescent City School of Gaming and Bartending — with campuses in Biloxi, Las Vegas, Memphis and New Orleans —received $9.5 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Education from 2014 to 2017. 

The school offers a three-week bartending course, a 12-week beverage management course, and its gaming department trains potential dealers in blackjack, roulette, poker, baccarat and craps. 

Mississippi as a state, according to the report, received $1.6 billion from the Department of Education in fiscal 2017, which included $241 million in direct payments, $480 million in grants and $912 million in loans. 

California received the most, with $18.5 billion, followed by Texas ($12.5 billion), New York ($11.9 billion) and Florida ($9.49 billion).

The U.S. Department of Education spent $115 billion last year, with $5.9 billion going to the 25 colleges and universities with the largest endowments (a combined quarter trillion in existing endowments).

This included $2.3 billion in student loans in fiscal 2015 to 2016 and $1.2 billion in fiscal 2017 to 2018. 

The Department of Education admitted that overpayments accounted for $11 billion of the money spent on funding higher education, with $7.1 billion in overpayments on direct loans and $4.1 billion as Pell Grants.

The Crescent City School of Gaming and Bartending wasn’t the only non-traditional school to receive money from the Department of Education. A school for video game development education, the DigiPen Institute of Technology, received $51.4 million from fiscal years 2014 to 2017.

The Professional Golfers Career College received $4.5 million between fiscal years 2014 to 2017 and the school teaches golf shop operations, methods of golf instruction, golf rules, and course management.

The Department of Education also paid $74.2 million from fiscal years 2014 to 2017 to the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, $43.5 million during that same time period to the a fashion college called the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising, and $10.4 million to a gunsmithing college called the Sonoran Desert Institute.

The 50 lowest-performing community colleges received $923.5 million in federal student loans and grants. Ten of these schools had an average graduation rate of 12 percent.

According to the report, for-profit colleges received $10.5 billion in fiscal 2017, with 10 of these schools receiving 30 percent of the funding, which included grants, direct payments, contracts and student loans.

Seminaries received $815 million from fiscal 2014 to 2017.

Giving Mississippi public school teachers a pay hike greater than the one passed by the legislature and spending vastly more on K-12 education would hit the state’s budget with a $385 million hammer blow.

The Republican-led legislature passed a teacher pay raise in the final days of the session that will increase teacher pay by $1,500 will cost $58 million annually. House Speaker Philip Gunn said Monday that the legislature is committed to appropriating that amount annually to cover it and that it isn’t a one-time pay hike.

Mississippi teachers have the nation’s lowest average salary ($44,926), but when cost of living numbers utilized by the North Carolina-based John Locke Foundation are used, the state’s teacher salaries now rank 35th nationally and 34thafter the pay hike takes effect.

Analyzing data shows that the $4,000 raise sought by Democrats during the final days of the session would cost $154 million annually. Adjusting the average ($49,574) for cost of living after this hypothetical $4,000 raise would move Mississippi up to 26th nationally.

Even with a $4,000 pay hike, the cost-adjusted average salary for Mississippi teachers would still trail Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Arkansas and Alabama in the southeast region.

That’s not all that public education advocates claim that the state needs. They seek a massive salary increase for teachers and “full funding” for K-12 education under the Mississippi Adequate Education formula.

Increasing the general fund K-12 education budget to the amount dictated by MAEP ($2.477 billion) would add up to about $231 million. Combined with the money required for a $4,000 teacher pay raise and the bill would add up to $385 million.

This increase would be as much as the state’s debt service ($385 million) and more than the entire budgets for:

• The Department of Corrections ($316 million)
• Community colleges ($148 million)
• The state Department of Mental Health ($213 million)

The complex MAEP formula is designed to increase every year despite declining enrollment in Mississippi public schools.

It also doesn’t include some education programs or revenue from the state’s sales tax deposited in the Education Enhancement Fund ($299 million in fiscal 2018, with $214 million going to K-12) that is split between K-12, community colleges and universities.

Thanks to a state Supreme Court decision in 2017, the MAEP is no more than a funding request for the state’s public schools by the state Department of Education. The legislature isn’t compelled to follow its funding guidelines when appropriating for K-12 education.

Private citizens should not be subjected to government harassment for supporting causes they believe in, and charities should not have to worry about their funding drying up because donors fear reprisals.

Yet many policy pundits on the left, and even a few on the right, have been doing all they can to convince lawmakers across the country that the government has a compelling interest in knowing to whom you give your after-tax money. In using popular language such as “dark money” and “transparency,” the Left really means that it wants to know who funds its opposition, so it can bring pressure to bear and suppress its opponents’ speech with coercion and threats.

It’s no surprise that in blue states, including California, New York, Delaware, and New Mexico, the government is compelling 501(c) charities to disclose information about their donors. In recent years, some red states, too, including South Dakota, Utah, Alabama, and South Carolina, have also proposed legislation or regulation that would strip away donor privacy for charitable organizations, in the name of good government.

While transparency is what citizens require of their government, privacy is the constitutional right afforded to citizens. Conflating public requirements and private rights is clever but disingenuous. We should not allow proponents, from the Left or the Right, to get away with such sophistry.

In the Federalist Papers, a collection of 85 essays promoting the adoption of the United States Constitution, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in 1787–88, the three founders used the pseudonym “Publius.” They did so because to advocate for something as radical and controversial as that revolutionary document was dangerous. Not everyone in power in 18th-century America agreed with these ideas.

The same was true of the supporters of the NAACP in the 1950s, when it was advocating for equal rights for every American. During those tumultuous times, many people of public influence and power were demanding to know the names of members or supporters of the NAACP. In NAACP v. Alabama (1958), Justice John Harlan II outlined the practical effects of compelling organizations to disclose their donor lists: It exposed them to “economic reprisals, loss of employment, threat of physical coercion, and other manifestations of physical hostilities.”

Now imagine a person today who loses his job when his climate-zealot boss finds out that he gives money to a charity that opposes the Green New Deal. Or imagine the symphony director in a major city who is publicly shamed and harassed because he dared give to a charity that supports requiring people to use the public restroom that corresponds with their biological sex. Or how about an actual case in California, where the director of the Los Angeles Film Festival was forced to resign because he supported Proposition 8, the controversial rejection of same-sex marriage. California has been a proponent of forced disclosure of donor information for years, claiming that the information would be safe in the state’s hands. Yet Kamala Harris, the former California attorney general and now a U.S. senator and presidential hopeful, “inadvertently” allowed the names of donors to roughly 1,700 non-profits to be posted on a government website.

Nadine Strossen, a New York University law professor and former president of the American Civil Liberties Union, is a strong advocate of donor privacy. “Individuals should be able to join and support organizations without having their names and other private information disclosed,” she argues. “These rights remain essential today for the ongoing advocacy of civil-society groups across the ideological spectrum.

Mississippi, where I live and work, has now become the second state, joining Arizona, to protect the privacy of non-profit donors. Governor Phil Bryant signed House Bill 1205 into law at the close of the legislative session last month. The bill codifies a long-standing practice of barring the government from demanding or releasing publicly the personal information of donors to 501(c) non-profits. At a time when partisanship seems to reign, the publication of personal information can expose citizens to intimidation and harassment from those who want to shut down speech with which they disagree. Fortunately, two states — and may others follow — have taken steps to ensure the fundamental American right of donor privacy.

“In recent years, charitable donations have been weaponized by certain groups against individuals to punish donors whose political beliefs differ from their own,” Governor Bryant said at the signing of the bill. “I was pleased to sign HB 1205, which protects free-speech rights of Mississippians who make charitable donations.” Let’s hope more governors and state legislatures follow suit.

This column appeared in National Review on April 9, 2019. 

Attendance at the taxpayer-funded MGM Park in Biloxi has decreased every year since the minor league Shuckers’ abbreviated inaugural season in 2015.

Those numbers aren’t even close to those predicted when the ballpark was proposed.

In 2018, the Shuckers had 160,364 fans through the turnstiles, an average of 2,259 per game. The team ranked seventh in the Southern League in average attendance. League averages that year were 226,183 fans and 3,388 per contest.

That’s not what a feasibility study commissioned in 2013 by the city of Biloxi predicted. The $25,000 study said the stadium would draw 280,000 fans annually, or about 4,117 per game. Those numbers would’ve put the Shuckers in the top five in the league in attendance.

The Biloxi Shuckers are the Class AA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers and they play in the 10-team Southern League, which includes teams in Pearl (Mississippi Braves); Birmingham; Chattanooga; Mobile; Pensacola; Seiverville, Tennessee; Jackson, Tennessee; Jacksonville and Montgomery, Alabama.

Those numbers are down from 2017, when the Shuckers drew 167,151 fans or 2,572 per game. That was good for eighth in attendance in the league, which averaged 3,684 fans per game.

Biloxi drew 180,384 fans in 2016, an average of 2,692 fans that put them eighth in average attendance. The league averages were 232,587 fans total and 3,445 per game that year.

In a 22-game home season in 2015, the Shuckers drew 3,252 fans to MGM Park. The team had to split time with its old ballpark in Huntsville, Alabama while its new home was still under construction.

The city of Biloxi borrowed $21 million to help build the $36 million stadium, which was also funded with BP settlement money and tourism rebate money from a state program. The team was lured from Huntsville, Alabama after playing in front of sparse crowds for years at what was the oldest stadium in the league.

Biloxi Baseball LLC could also receive up to $6 million from the state from the Tourism Rebate program. The state also provided $15 million in money from the BP settlement to help build the park.

Not all feasibility studies are created equal. The one for Birmingham’s Regions Field, which opened in 2013 and cost $64 million, predicted the ballpark would draw 255,300 fans in the first year and 240,800 in the fifth year.

The ballpark — which is located in downtown Birmingham — has outstripped those estimates, drawing a league-leading 391,061 fans in 2018 and 391,725 in 2017.

Total league attendance increased slightly in 2018 (2,261,834) from 2017 (2,171,934), but is still down from a nine-year high in 2014 of 2,367,710. Three teams — Pensacola, Birmingham and Biloxi — have built new ballparks during that time.

A fourth new stadium in Madison, Alabama near Huntsville will be the new home of the Mobile Baybears, who are relocating and changing their name to the Rocket City Trash Pandas. The new stadium will cost Madison taxpayers $46 million.

A feasibility study there predicts the team will draw 400,000 spectators in the first year and level off at an average of 350,000, which would put the team second to Birmingham in annual attendance.