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Thirty-thousand Mississippians filed unemployment claims this past week. Two weeks prior, 1,000 did. 

“This is not only a public health disaster, this is also an economic disaster, in Mississippi and in this nation,” Gov. Tate Reeves said yesterday during a press conference discussing the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing efforts in the state. 

Stories of difficultly in reaching unemployment offices have been rampant. The state is hiring temp staffers, expanding call center hours, and allowing WIN job centers, which are otherwise closed, to accept unemployment claims. Regardless of the date an unemployment claim is processed, applicants will be paid based on day they were laid off. 

After signing the emergency declaration three weeks ago, Reeves issued an order rolling back the one-week waiting period for benefits and the job search requirement.

The recently signed $2.2 trillion stimulus package include a $600 per week federal bump in addition to state benefits for those receiving unemployment. 

This week, U.S. jobless claims set another record, with 6.6 million claims filed. That doubled the record of 3.3 million from the week before. For perspective, the peak in 2009 was 665,000. 

“The COVID-19 virus continues to impact the number of initial claims. Nearly every state providing comments cited the COVID-19 virus,” the Labor Department said.

“States continued to identify increases related to the services industries broadly, again led by accommodation and food services. However, state comments indicated a wider impact across industries,” the government added. “Many states continued to cite the health care and social assistance, and manufacturing industries, while an increasing number of states identified the retail and wholesale trade and construction industries.”

Every state is begin negatively impacted, some worse than others. According to CNBC analysis, the state’s with the most claims per capita last week were Hawaii, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Rhode Island. South Dakota, Wyoming, Connecticut, West Virginia, and Utah saw the fewest claims.   

Mississippi has 24 claims per 1,000 workers, which is on the lower end. 

According to analysis of data by the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, the state’s tax revenues could be down as much as $1.1 billion from last year’s numbers because of the coronavirus pandemic

The fiscal year 2020 budget estimated more than $5.746 billion in general fund tax revenue available for appropriators, a revenue goal that almost certainly won’t be met.

Fiscal year 2020 ends on June 30, but the large-scale cessation of most economic activity that generates tax revenue such as restaurants, hotels and retail stores could lead to required cuts for all state agencies. 

Gov. Tate Reeves has issued a statewide stay at home order, which includes the closure of non-essential businesses to help with social distancing and prevent the spread of coronavirus. For nearly a month, citizens have been told to largely stay at home.

For perspective, the last time the governor had to order across-the-board budget cuts was between July 2016 and May 2017, when then-Gov. Phil Bryant had to slice more than $171 million because revenues didn’t meet estimates. Mississippi law requires a balanced budget and gives the governor the power mid-year to order budget cuts for all state agencies.

With the Mississippi legislature on hiatus, but still available to be called back to session, it’ll likely be up to appropriators in both chambers to help balance the state’s finances. When revenues aren’t meeting forecasts and the legislature is not session, the governor has until October to make across-the-board cuts to all state agencies to keep expenses level with revenues.

The way we calculated these potential losses was first to find out where the state’s revenue collections are at present. According to the Mississippi Department of Revenue’s February transfer report, $3.426 billion has been sent from various tax collections, such as the income tax, sales tax (the biggest chunk of revenue for the state), and use tax, to the general fund which is where most state agencies draw their money.

Then we estimated collections for March, April, May and June by averaging the collections for each month from the same time period during the two previous years. We used a 10 percent reduction (best case scenario), 25 percent (middle case reduction) and 50 percent (worst case scenario) on these monthly averages and added them up to the running total. 

A 10 percent reduction for the fiscal 2020 budget would amount to a $414 million haircut or a final revenue number of $5.2 billion. A 25 percent reduction would add up to $693 million or a final revenue number of $4.54 billion.

After the 2008 recession, Mississippi’s then-Gov. Haley Barbour had to make large-scale budget cuts, slicing $41.9 million in the fall of 2008 and $500 million from the budget in July 2009 after tax revenues fell 11.3 percent below estimates.

The state isn’t without reserves, having about $1.2 billion in unallocated money. The biggest chunk is the state’s Working Cash Stabilization Fund, better known as the Rainy Day Fund, which has $678.9 million. Those will be tapped into before budget cuts are required.

Legislators have yet to tackle the fiscal year 2021 budget, which begins on July 1. Doing so, along with passing some bills related to the fight against COVID-19, will be top priority when the legislature comes back to Jackson to reconvene its session, which was suspended last month due to the pandemic.

While Mississippi’s Board of Medical Licensure largely walked back a previous decision to allow patients to use services provided by out-of-state physicians via telemedicine, other states such as Michigan and West Virginia are removing regulatory restrictions in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Michigan’s Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, has issued two executive orders. The first suspended the state’s certificate of need program and removed some restrictions on medical licenses and nursing assistants. The second order issued on March 29 was more thorough, with several components:

On a similar note, West Virginia’s Republican Gov. Jim Justice issued an executive order on March 19 that suspended the state’s regulations in several areas:

Mississippi has been a mixed bag. The state’s Board of Nursing issued a proclamation that allowed out-of-state nurse practitioners to use telemedicine to treat Mississippi patients without having a state license. The practitioner only needs a license in another state. The proclamation also allows practitioners licensed outside the state to complete a waiver form to practice in Mississippi.

The Mississippi Board of Medical Licensure issued an amended proclamation last week that limited telemedicine for out-of-state physicians not licensed to practice in Mississippi to only those who have an existing doctor-patient relationship rather than any licensed physician. 

On March 15, the board issued a proclamation that said it would not enforce regulations governing out-of-state physicians using telemedicine to treat patients in the state in response to an emergency declaration by Gov. Tate Reeves that urged a reduction of regulations due to the spread of the coronavirus.  

The proclamation would also have the board not enforcing its rules requiring physicians to examine patients prior to prescribing medication, including controlled substances, to encourage the use of telemedicine. That part of the proclamation is still in effect.

Under existing regulations, a physician using telemedicine to treat patients must be licensed to practice in Mississippi.

All three states are part of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, which has 26 states that have joined together to streamline their normal licensing process for licensed physicians. This provides physicians moving from one compact-participating state to another the ability to get a license in their new state within days rather than weeks or even months.

The PGA Tour, now under the leadership of Commissioner Jay Monahan, announced major media deals with both digital and traditional platforms at the beginning of March.

The new agreements reportedly increased the PGA’s annual media haul to more than $700 million, a 75% increase from its previous $400 million take annually. The media partners who bought into the nine-year deal included Viacom/CBS, Comcast, parent of NBC and The Golf Channel, and Walt Disney, parent of ABC/ESPN. What does this mean for the sport and the association owned and governed by its players? What does it say about the value of golf in the digital age? Perhaps most importantly, will golf and its new media partners be forced to get creative in order to mitigate the financial impact of COVID-19? 

Like its brethren in the sports entertainment industries of football, basketball, baseball, soccer, and hockey, the PGA’s deal proves the critically valuable nature of live sports content. But unlike those team sports, golf relies on a combination of a few individual stars and an audience of loyalists who hold the game in high esteem. Team sports have stars but they also leverage team and regional affinities, which can create media audiences that can last for generations. But what golf offers – and none of the team sports can match – is an extremely appealing audience for certain advertisers looking to reach high-income viewers. Think about Rolex, Charles Schwab, Mercedes, and similar brands attempting to reach and build loyalty with a large block of well-healed consumers. The PGA Tour, and other major golf events, are perhaps the best vehicles for such companies.

With the new media partnerships, ESPN+ becomes the exclusive home for PGA Tour Live, the tour’s subscription service, offering 4,000 hours of coverage at 36 annual events. Discovery Communications inked a multi-year deal in 2018 for the international rights valued at $2 billion in total. Digital and streaming rights have helped drive the PGA to new heights in media. And part of that credit goes to the core group of current stars who’ve embraced social media and are comfortable living part of their lives out though non-traditional platforms. Maximizing the value of non-traditional media deals will include creating a lot of off-the-course content, too. Expect to see more of Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, and - if he ever finds his driver control again - Jordan Spieth in non-traditional settings.

The new deals were negotiated during an unprecedented period of economic growth, when many golf fans were experiencing unprecedented income and personal wealth growth. More golf fans were participating in the stock market and buying new cars, watches, and drivers. What kind of long-term impact the COVID-19 pandemic and its related economic calamity will have on all of this is unknown. Even if the economy recovers quickly by the summer, there are additional questions that remain. Will the PGA be able to use the new partnerships with media companies to effectively grow its brand, the sport, and its stars? Will any of the additional $300 million annually make its way into individual tournament purses, either to attract the world’s best to more PGA events or to reward the PGA members outside of the top 50 in earnings?

Finally, could the deals include rights to stage unique events outside of the traditional PGA Tour schedule? For instance, could we really see Tiger and Peyton Manning take on Phil and Tom Brady? Given the current lack of any live sports programming, can you imagine the ratings for a series of live golf events held in May, June, and July? There are ways to get creative with skills contests and other events that don’t require the normal tournament logistics. If a sport could be played while maintaining safe social-distancing and not sharing a common ball, it’s golf. You’ve got to imagine Monahan and his new media partners have already been in discussions about such “made-for-television” events. If not, let’s hope they start now.

This appeared in Forbes on April 2, 2020.

Gov. Tate Reeves issued an order mandating Mississippians stay at home on Wednesday as part of the state’s continued effort to slow the spread of coronavirus. 

Under the order, Individuals will only be allowed to leave their house for health-related reasons, to obtain food and common household supplies, to engage in individual outdoor activity, and to work in an essential business.

What are essential businesses?

Government: Public safety, first responders, law enforcement, fire prevention and response, courts and court personnel, military, emergency management personnel, correction, probation and parole, child protection, child welfare, EMTs, 911 call center employees, all workers and vendors that support law enforcement and emergency management operations and services.

Healthcare: Hospitals, clinics, research and laboratory operations, nursing homes, residential healthcare facilities, congregate care facilities, assisted living facilities, elder care, medical wholesale and distribution, home health workers and aides, medical supply and equipment manufacturers and providers, medical waste disposal, hazardous waste disposal, other ancillary healthcare services. 

Infrastructure: Utilities including power generation, nuclear facilities, utility poles and components, fuel and transmission, petroleum producers, suppliers and distributors, supply chain companies, telecommunications, electronic security and life safety services, wireless communication, communications sales and customer support, telecommunications and data centers, cybersecurity operations, flood control, operations of dams, aviation, airports, ports, roads and highways, mass transit, automotive sales and repair, vehicle rental services, taxi and network providers such as Uber and Lyft, freight and passenger rail, pipelines, transportation infrastructure, public water and waste water, hazardous waste disposal, hotels and commercial lodging services. 

Manufacturing: Food processing and production, pharmaceuticals, food additives, medical equipment, medical devices and supplies, technology, biotechnology, chemical products, telecommunications products, automotive production and supplies, healthcare, energy, steel and steel products, fuel and petroleum exploration and production, lubricants, greases and engine oils, mining, national defense, sanitary and cleaning products, household products, personal care products, products used by other essential businesses or operations.

Agriculture: Food cultivation, livestock, cattle, poultry and seafood operations, livestock auctions, feedlots, dealers and brokers of livestock, livestock transporters, farmer’s markets, feed stores, repair of agricultural equipment, gas, diesel and petroleum suppliers, aquaculture, horticulture, chemicals including pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, producers and distributors, forest products businesses, including those involved in forestry operations, logging, manufacture of lumber and paper products, meat processing facilities, rendering facilities and transporters, feed processing facilities, veterinary services.

Retail: Supermarkets, food and beverage stores, food providers, convenience stores, pharmacies, hardware and building materials, gas station, restaurants or bars (must comply with limit of 10 people).

Services: Trash collection, mail and shipping services, home repair, automotive sales and repair, warehouse, distribution and fulfilment centers, laundromats/ laundry services.

Media: Newspaper, digital news sites, television, radio, other media services.

Finance: Banks and related institutions, insurance, payroll, accounting, processing financial transactions, services related to financial markets. 

Professional: Legal, accounting, insurance, real estate (including appraisal and title) services.

Construction: Building and construction, lumber, building materials and hardware, electricians, plumbers, exterminators, cleaning and janitorial, HVAC and water heating industry, painting, moving and relocating services, other skilled trades and other related construction firms and professionals to maintain essential infrastructure. 

Safety, sanitation, and operations of residences and businesses: Law enforcement, fire prevention and response, firearm and ammunition manufacturers and retailers, building code enforcement, security, emergency management and response, building cleaning including disinfection, automotive sales and repair, mortuaries and cemeteries. 

This also includes organizations that provide basic necessities to economically disadvantaged populations, defense industrial bases employers and personnel, vendors that provide essential services or products, and religious entities (that adhere to gathering size limitations). 

Amidst the outbreak of a deadly virus, we have witnessed a remarkable show of unity amongst our nation’s political leaders. 

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo praised Trump’s efforts on the crisis and called him “creative and very energetic.” Liberal Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar referred to Trump’s current leadership as, “incredible and the right response in this critical time.” This fact is made all the more fascinating due to its timely juxtaposition with January’s height of political division, accented by the conclusion of the impeachment proceedings of President Trump. 

Today, we have been driven to renewed societal solidarity, the likes of which we have only seen when facing a common enemy, in this case we have an almost invisible one. However, the confrontation over the coronavirus will only truly begin once we defeat this disease. The origins of the virus and China’s culpability in covering it up during its initial stages of transmission and the state’s actions during the crisis present the case for China being the adversary that unites Americans against a common enemy moving forward.

Pew Research recently published a survey which highlighted that 91% of Americans believe there is a very strong or strong conflict between Republicans and Democrats, the highest rate that has been recorded. When the Center first asked the question in 2012, only 47% of Americans saw very strong conflict, while today the number stands at 71%.

This level of political polarization has risen to new heights since the fall of the Soviet Union. Much has been written about how this former common ideological enemy set the bounds for our political infighting and as a dark cloud casts a far-reaching shadow, it served as a permanent reminder that there were larger issues than the petty domestic political squabbling of the moment.

It was in this ideological adversary that we found most clearly who we were as a nation, more specifically by recognizing what we were not. The Stalinist legacy of a country built on totalitarian communist rule stood in stark contrast with the American consensus. Today, Beijing and Washington have already begun to wage ideological proxy wars in unorthodox ways, namely through economic investments in emerging nations and confrontations over spheres of influence. The need now is to bring these proxy battles into the light, and recognize this conflict for what it is: a new Cold War.

Some reports now point to a coronavirus outbreak that would have been known by the Chinese government as early as October. The state’s clearly documented censorship of doctors and media from discussing this virus, and prevention of world health officials from gaining access early on may ultimately have cost thousands of lives. The government’s ongoing duplicity during the spread of the virus and the willingness of leading Chinese Communist party officials to spread disinformation regarding the virus’ origins showcase how the country’s leaders have a reckless disregard for both the truth and human life.

Never before has Chinese communism been presented in such a stark contrast with the American idea. Where we promote transparency, they crush it. Where we defend human rights, they violate them. Where we defend the sovereignty of other nations, they attempt to stifle it. We must finally publicly recognize that the inherent foundations of the current Chinese communist leadership run too afoul of the values that we claim to hold dear for both states to continue to exist simultaneously in the same form.

No longer can the Chinese government be allowed to place millions of Uighur Muslims in camps, to suppress religious practice across the nation, to censor and arrest political dissidents, and to use heavy-handed tactics to place pressure on surrounding countries, without accountability. China is the adversary we need, to unite our nation under a common cause and give us the chance to push back against a foreign power that draws its strength through illegitimate processes.

No matter how this pandemic comes to an end, one thing is for certain: the world has been fundamentally changed. Out of the death of this virus must come a reinvigorated sense of American community, highlighted and shaped by a recognition of what we are not. 

And, what we are not has best been openly displayed by the corrupt totalitarian regime which allowed this virus to first spread, while offering deceit and lies to the rest of the world that stood so ready to help and support it in a time of crisis. 

In the 6th Century BC, Lao Tsu wrote that, “[a] great nation is like a great man…He thinks of his enemy as the shadow that he himself casts.” The Chinese communist party is as a shadow to the American ideal, a dark corruption of our commitment to human rights and personal freedom. In this corruption we ought to recognize our adversary for the coming decades.

This appeared in Human Events on April 2, 2020.

There are two policies that could increase the supply of hospital beds and the supply of healthcare providers in Mississippi. The first policy is certificate of need (CON). The second is telemedicine.

In part 1 of this series, we focused on what the goals of healthcare policy should be during the coronavirus outbreak and reviewed recent federal and state actions aimed at increasing supply and access. In this second part, we recommend five reforms Mississippi policymakers should make to CON laws to immediately increase bed capacity and five reforms they should make to telemed laws to increase access to qualified healthcare professionals.

Certificate of Need

A certificate of need (CON) compels would-be medical providers to demonstrate a community need for a new facility or service. In Mississippi, the Department of Health is the arbiter of this process. The problem with CON laws is that they circumvent the natural interaction between supply and demand, by which providers and consumers determine where new medical services should be offered. In place of the free market, we end up with Soviet-style, bureaucratic planning. This planning tends to be biased toward current providers and is sometimes used to block out-of-state providers from offering their services in Mississippi. The results are well documented: reduced access, lower-quality, and higher mortality rates.

In the context of the coronavirus, certificate of need laws make it more difficult for hospitals to quickly respond to patient needs. States are thus creating pathways for providers to submit emergency CON applications. Mississippi already has an emergency CON application process in place, but the current application could be customized and streamlined so that providers aren’t hindered by red tape during the current pandemic.

As things stand, Mississippi is projected to run out of ICU hospital beds as of May 3. In this respect, we are better off than most states, and for both better and worse, are at the high end of existing hospital beds per capita: 4.0 beds per 1,000 vs. a nationwide average of 2.4. This surplus could serve us well during the current outbreak. But in a nonemergency situation it suggests we are not using healthcare resources efficiently. It is also safe to assume that not every area of the state has equal access to hospital beds. Some hospitals, in an emergency, may need to ramp up supply.

A review of Mississippi’s numerous CON laws raises multiple red flags. These laws need to be suspended, not only to deal with the current coronavirus outbreak, but to create capacity for other emergency services, such as open heart surgery, ambulatory surgical services and diagnostic imaging.  

In particular, Mississippi should suspend the following five CON requirements:

This latter requirement is particularly onerous, insofar as the state is currently enforcing a moratorium on the approval of new CONs for the construction or expansion of skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities.

There are likely other policies that hinder hospitals from increasing bed capacity in an emergency. Instead of forcing hospital administrators to operate in a gray area during this and future pandemics, state policymakers should act now to clarify the process by which providers can increase bed supply, especially in critical care situations. 

Telemedicine

Telemedicine has emerged as an important tool for sustaining and supporting healthcare services in the current “shelter-at-home” environment. Telemed allows patients to consult with a doctor over the phone and/or via video. 

In response to the coronavirus, Mississippi’s key licensing boards have taken divergent stands. The Board of Medical Licensure initially (see proclamation dated March 15) encouraged “all physicians to utilize telemedicine so as to avoid unnecessary patient travel, both in-state and out of state.” In order to facilitate this stated goal, the Board waived the requirement for an initial in-person examination and, also, clarified that physicians licensed in another state could treat patients in Mississippi. A few days later, however, the Board walked back from this proclamation, claiming that only out-of-state doctors with a previous patient relationship could practice telemed in Mississippi.  

By contrast, the Board of Nursing is allowing nurses who hold an out-of-state license to practice in Mississippi. The Nursing Board is also allowing recent graduates and retired nurses to practice in appropriate settings.

Mississippi took an early lead in using telemedicine to treat various conditions like diabetes, and the University of Mississippi Medical Center is using telemed in a number of innovative ways. The state is also part of various interstate compacts that make it easier for out-of-state healthcare professionals to see Mississippi patients in a telemed setting. These include the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, the Nurse Licensure Compact, and the Physical Therapy Compact.

That said, the overall legal and regulatory environment for telemed in Mississippi is mixed. As other states are opening the door wide to telemedicine and many patients are using it for the first time, we are going to see an expansion of telemedicine services across the country both during and after the current health emergency.

Here are five things Mississippi should do to avoid falling behind:

The coronavirus has demonstrated the U.S. healthcare system is far more fragile than any of us imagined. In spite of spending more per capita than any other country, our healthcare system is suffering from personnel and supply shortages. To meet the current need, some states are cutting red tape to increase supply. Monopolistic practices – embodied by archaic policies like certificate of need requirements and telemedicine restrictions – are not only increasing prices and limiting access during normal times, they are literally crippling our ability to respond to both individual and systemic healthcare emergencies. Mississippi would do well to follow other states in lifting these restrictions during the current outbreak and in repealing them after the crisis passes.

Gov. Tate Reeves issued a statewide 'shelter-in-place' order today to help slow the spread of coronavirus in Mississippi. The order begins on Friday at 5 p.m.

The statewide order came a day after a local order in Lauderdale county.

Individuals will only be allowed to leave their house for health-related reasons, to obtain food and common household supplies, to engage in individual outdoor activity, and to work in an essential business. Those essential businesses include, but are not limited to, hospitals, healthcare facilities, grocery stores, pharmacies, child-care centers, as well as a variety of functions from sectors such as utilities, transportation, agriculture, manufacturing, and finance and banking.

The guidelines for the order include:

Mississippi’s first positive case of coronavirus was confirmed on March 11. As of April 1, that number had escalated to 1,073 as the number of people being tested continues to climb. These numbers now count tests from the state, as well as private providers. Twenty-two deaths have been reported. Using the available data, the current mortality rate is 2 percent.

All local, county, and state law enforcement officers will be able to enforce the order. The order is in effect until April 20.

As the coronavirus pandemic began to sweep across the nation, it became clear that we were critically short on certain medical necessities including hand sanitizer, masks, and ventilators. Many feared for what would be a soon to come shortfall on these items that are medically critical to prevent further spread of the virus and effectively treat those who have it. 

Thankfully, private enterprise has stepped up to the plate in a historic way. Businesses are transitioning to fill the existing gaps and provide the supplies that the country needs. In Mississippi, we have seen local business leaders bravely take risks in order to fill critical medical needs. 

A few days ago I had the chance to speak with Josh West, owner and founder of Blue Delta Jeans, a high-end clothing company based out of Oxford that creates custom order jeans, tailored to each individual.

In 2012, Josh launched Blue Delta Jeans after working in economic development. Through his previous role, he had the opportunity to work with a range of factories, and it was clear to him that while some manufacturing was moving abroad, there was a strong supply of skilled workers in North Mississippi and a demand for American-made products.

And that business has only grown in the past eight years.

Today, Blue Delta Jeans is doing things a little differently. They have fully transitioned its factory to make much-needed masks. After only two weeks of production their team is now able to construct 10,000 masks a week and are aiming even higher. While not medical-grade, these high-quality masks are designed to be used in non-acute situations, especially those in waiting rooms, grocery stores, and elsewhere, thus allowing for the medical-grade masks to be entirely used by those who need them. Once the masks are constructed, they are then shipped to government entities for statewide distribution.

If he had been told in February that Blue Delta would be making masks, Josh said to me that he never would have believed it. Yet, as the virus got worse, he heard more about the need for supplies, especially masks. So, he started looking further into it and then began contacting his local suppliers. His focus was on making the product safe, so he worked with Mississippi State University to conduct initial tests before construction of the product. Then, in just a 48-hour period, they changed the entire factory over from jeans to masks.

Blue Delta is now not only providing masks, but also continued employment, a critically important need for people as we undergo a continued economic slump due to the virus. Josh told me that each employee was given the opportunity to leave, and that when times returned to normal, he assured each that they would have a job waiting for them, and yet every single employee chose to stay and transition to working on masks. They are ensuring a safe work environment by placing temporary walls up and allowing each individual to practice social distancing while sewing the masks.

Blue Delta has been able to keep people employed and has even sought to hire more workers in order to expand their capacity for mask construction. The power of a steady paycheck is critically important for those seeking to provide for their families during this time of need. And so, in this way, Blue Delta Jeans has fulfilled a dual need both through their support of their workers and supports of thousands of people through the construction of their masks.

This local clothing company, that started in 2012 with just one seamstress, is now making 10,000 masks a week to support the community. Josh West and his company highlight what’s great about Mississippi and this country.

As we closed the conversation, Josh noted that, “[h]opefully we’ll be making jeans again one day.” Neither Josh nor I are certain when this crisis will end, but even once the Blue Delta Jeans factory is back to its normal line of work, I don’t think anyone will soon forget what they did for the state.

These businesses that are stepping up deserve to be highlighted, and so the Mississippi Center for Public Policy is launching a series dedicated to doing just that. Over the coming weeks, we aim to showcase the stories of these local businesses who have willingly given up their normal operating procedures to help as many people as they possibly can.

If you know of a local Mississippi business that is helping those in need during this critical time, we’d love to highlight the work that they’re doing. Please email Hunter Estes via [email protected] to discuss further.

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