close

Who was America’s greatest President ever?  Was it George Washington, who beat the British and helped establish the Republic?  How about Abe Lincoln, who saved the Republic and extended Constitutional freedoms to every American? 

My personal favorite President is Ronald Reagan.  He extended American liberties across the globe when he won the Cold War.

The truth is that America has been blessed by good leadership for much of her existence, and there are plenty of other good Presidents to choose from.  But things have not always been that way.

Who would you rank as the worst ever American President?

For me, Lyndon B Johnson has to be a strong contender for that title.  Reading Robert Caro’s magisterial biographic series about LBJ reveals some unflattering truths about the 36th President.  LBJ comes across as both ruthless and venal.

Yet it is not so much LBJ’s character that condemns him as the consequences of his time in office.  LBJ attempted to lay the foundations for what he called ‘the Great Society’.  What he sowed instead were the seeds of social decay, which Mississippi and other states have been struggling with ever since.

Under Lyndon Johnson, the size and role of the state increased dramatically, with social spending programs introduced across much of America for the first time.  As government grew, welfare dependency emerged and created a system of supplicant Americans, beholden on politicians for handouts.

Far from elevating the conditions of Americans, the expansion of welfare under LBJ has reduced many to a position of dependency.

What ought to alarm us today is that the system of dependency has just been expanded dramatically over the past year, especially here in Mississippi. 

When Covid first struck, many of the limitations that there had been on the receipt of welfare were suspended.  The amount paid out has been increased significantly, too.  These changes were presented at the time as temporary measures designed to help those that had lost their job.

What is becoming increasingly clear is that unlimited access to welfare support has all kinds of harmful consequences – both on society and those receiving welfare checks. 

Talking to a local business owner in Jackson the other day, I was surprised to learn that they are struggling to cope with customer demand.  With the Covid situation improved, business, they said, was getting back to normal.

The trouble, they said, was that they found it hard to get folks to come back to work. Employees who had left when the Covid crisis first hit were unwilling to return since they would be worse off working than retaining public benefits.

LBJ’s legacy pervades our system of education, too.  Changes that were supposed to ensure every American had the same opportunities in life have ended up embedding low expectations.  There are too many districts in our state that have had F-ratings one year after another.  This is because, to be blunt about it, too many schools are run in the interests of those on the payroll, rather than in the interests of young people needing a head start in life.

What can we do about it?  We need to undo the legacy of LBJ.  That means reforming the welfare system and the education system to ensure that there is accountability for outcomes.

We need to ensure that the rules on who receives welfare, and under what circumstances, are returned to the state level.  Mississippi needs a set of rules to ensure that those that get welfare do so because they have fallen on genuinely hard circumstances, not as a lifestyle choice. 

In education, we need to stop funding institutions, and ensure that we fund individual students instead.  Teachers should be rewarded for their successes and improved performance. 

There is nothing inevitable about some of the long term social and economic problems that have festered since the 1960s.  Looking around the world, the free market has managed to elevate the condition of people of every culture, color, country, and continent.  We need more free market reform here in Mississippi too.

Drones are one of the greatest tools of modern technology. In the hands of well-intentioned actors, drones have the potential to increase economic prosperity, protect communities, and save lives.

Drone technologies have applications in surveying, farming, insurance, transportation, law enforcement, search and rescue, construction, and much more. Quite literally, “the sky is the limit" for this tech.

Despite the enormous potential for good that drone technology carries, there are risks from bad actors. Recent national security reports have indicated that some drones in the United States are being exploited at varying levels by the Chinese government. These drones can operate as a type of “Trojan horse” for the Chinese intelligence apparatus.

Recent federal inquiries into Chinese drone manufacturing companies found questionable data-sharing practices. These practices subjected drone user data in the United States to potential use by the Chinese government for intelligence and cyber operations.

According to a Department of Homeland Security report, Chinese-manufactured drones are being used by the Chinese government to collect intelligence on key U.S. infrastructure and assets. For security reasons, the U.S. Army banned the use of drones that a large Chinese drone company manufactured. In January 2021, the U.S. General Services Administration announced that federal contracts could no longer be used to purchase Chinese-made drones. Likewise, the Department of the Interior grounded hundreds of drones in its fleet over similar security concerns.

In light of the Chinese government's communist policies, its indiscriminate collection of drone data from Chinese companies comes as little surprise. Companies based in China are required to directly funnel their data to the Chinese government in order to cooperate with state intelligence and espionage operations.

Under the Chinese National Intelligence Law implemented by the Chinese government in 2017: “All organizations and citizens shall support, assist, and cooperate with [Chinese] national intelligence efforts.” This mandate includes Chinese technology companies such as drone manufacturers.

While the federal government in Washington has already taken steps to protect national security related to this issue, state governments have yet to seize the initiative. This is no less true in Mississippi. Even though the federal government has imposed multiple bans on the use of Chinese drones by its agencies, Mississippi state and local entities have unwittingly continued to purchase Chinese drones with taxpayer dollars. An analysis of Federal Aviation Administration records by the Mississippi Technology Institute found that Chinese companies manufactured 70 percent of all registered government drones in Mississippi.

There are several possible implications if Mississippi government drone data were to fall into the hands of the Chinese government:

Many government drones have been used to survey critical infrastructure such as road systems and utility infrastructure. Services critical to health, safety, and industry are also at risk. Data gathered by Mississippi government drones could prove invaluable to Chinese state actors in many scenarios, ranging from intelligence gathering to cyberattack planning.

Chinese drones have been found to have embedded data collection functions inside the drone operation software. A cybersecurity analysis conducted on a leading Chinese drone software package found that the software allowed data transmission to third parties behind “the Great Firewall of China, where it is accessible to the Chinese government.” This carries unique concerns for Mississippi government drones since they often connect to government networks containing sensitive information. Additionally, this compromised drone software could serve as a potential “backdoor” for hackers to access sensitive government information.   

Perhaps most significantly, potential Chinese access to drone data poses a threat to the protection of American citizens’ privacy and security. Using its military hackers, the Chinese government has already initiated several cyberattacks that stole the personal information of millions of Americans. Drone data could be used as yet another tool to compromise Americans’ information.

Mississippi policymakers should consider reforming state and local drone policy to remove the risk of Chinese data infiltration. The solution is relatively simple and inexpensive:

The first policy step that could be taken to eliminate the Chinese drone threat would be to require all state and local government entities to stop using Chinese drones. This would eliminate the security risk.

State and local entities should be reimbursed for the cost of a new non-Chinese drone to replace any Chinese drones currently in use. The cost would likely be as low as $50,000 total. As Mississippi responded to this emerging threat, reimbursements for new drones would provide a seamless transition for government entities that would continue to need drone capabilities. This would allow them to continue utilizing drone technology without being required to draw additional funding from their own budgets.  

Protecting American national security is a shared responsibility between the federal government and the states. Mississippi has the opportunity to lead the way among states and take steps to remove the security threats associated with using Chinese drones. Policymakers would do well to consider the implications of a lack of action.

The state government has a responsibility to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used to protect Mississippi citizens. Removing Chinese drones from government operations would be one more way for Mississippi lawmakers to do exactly that.

The secret to good legislation is much like the secret to making good, healthy food. Follow the recipe, use the right ingredients, and leave out the bad stuff. Unfortunately, there's a lot of junk that gets cooked up in the Legislature these days.

The Mississippi Center for Public Policy uses its Legislative Tracker to grade and analyze all legislation that makes its way out of committee. Recognizing this, we thought it would be appropriate to offer a clear and concise statement regarding the principles that go into evaluating legislation.

Bill analysis conducted by the Mississippi Center for Public Policy utilizes specific criteria to determine the nature, where possible, and the essential features of proposed legislation in relation to its potential impact on freedom and liberty in the state of Mississippi.

If the answer is YES to any of the guiding questions stated beneath the enumerated criteria provided below, then the proposed legislation is identified as BAD POLICY for Mississippians within our Legislative Tracker.

CRITERIA:

  1. Individual liberty
    • Would the proposed legislation, if enacted, encroach upon individual liberty?
      • Would the proposed legislation, if enacted, ALSO apply state statutes in a manner that is inconsistent with our nation’s founding principles?
  2. Scope of government
    • Would the proposed legislation, if enacted, expand the scope of government beyond its original purpose as outlined by our founding documents at either the federal or state level?
  3. Transparency and Accountability
    • Would the proposed legislation, if enacted, decrease transparency and/or accountability in government at any level or in any bureaucratic/administrative agency or its functions?
  4. Taxes
    • Would the proposed legislation, if enacted, increase taxes?
      • Would the proposed legislation, if enacted, ALSO result in a net deficit to individual liberty and/or increase the scope of government beyond its original purpose?
  5. Regulations
    • Would the proposed legislation, if enacted, create new unnecessary restrictions that limit our economic growth and unfairly restrict our personal liberties?
    • Would the proposed legislation, if enacted, amend existing unnecessary restrictions that limit our economic growth and unfairly restrict our personal liberties in a manner that sustains and/or increases the existing restrictions?
  6. Personal Responsibility
    • Would the proposed legislation, if enacted, reduce personal responsibility or create a government solution to a personal issue?
  7. Strong Families
    • Would the proposed legislation, if enacted, weaken families in any way whatsoever?
  8. God-Given Dignity of All Human Beings
    • Would the proposed legislation, if enacted, harm the unborn in any way whatsoever or encourage prospective mothers to choose death for their unborn child?

“What happened in our nation’s capital yesterday was wrong”, said Judge James Herring, Board Chairman, speaking on behalf of the Board of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. “Those ugly scenes in our legislature should sadden every American patriot.” 

“The Mississippi Center for Public Policy stands to advance the constitutional ideals of liberty.  It can never be consistent with those principles to resort to mob violence”, he added. 

“As a leading Conservative think tank in Mississippi, we believe America is at her greatest when she remains true to her Founding Ideals and to the Constitution.”  

In an age increasingly expanding its reliance on technology in business, science, education, and defense, the significance of a technologically skilled workforce has never been more important.

While many states have made great strides in the tech sector, the Mississippi economy is in need of more tech expertise. Whether this expertise is utilized in the state’s more traditional industries, such as manufacturing and agriculture, or used to launch innovative new startups, tech skills are essential. 

I recently visited with Mike Forster, chairman of the nonprofit Mississippi Coding Academies, based in Jackson and Starkville. It was an excellent opportunity to learn more about the work being done there to develop a skilled workforce in Mississippi.

Matthew: What is the main purpose of the Mississippi Coding Academies?

“Mississippi has done a great job in the past attracting manufacturing industries to our state. But the future of this state and of this nation … in fact, the hub of the world economy, is the digital economy. Everything that we touch every day, from literally our refrigerators and televisions to our smartphones, requires software development. Coding is what puts life in all of these electronic devices. 

“So we, the founders of the Mississippi Coding Academies, perceived that there was a need in Mississippi to directly address the underserved population of our state who don't have some of the advantages others might: others who can go to four-year colleges and make an investment in computer science as a choice of degree and therefore prepare themselves for futures in this industry. The interesting thing is that the four-year colleges in Mississippi produce about 250 to 300 computer science graduates a year, and half of them leave the state. We've got about a thousand openings right now in the state for people with the kinds of skills that Mississippi Coding Academies produce. Some of those jobs are for more experienced people, of course, but the message is still the same.

“There is a big gap between what we have in terms of local production of people who have the ability to develop software for electronic devices and for new services. There's a huge gap in the state between what is needed and what we're producing. The community colleges play an important role here. I don't want to overlook them, but we are unique in that we are really a high tech vo-tech operation. We focus on folks who are high school graduates, who typically have no ability for whatever reason, socioeconomic or whatever, to go to college, even to a community college, or, perhaps, they just are people in transition. Perhaps they're veterans who've served this country, and now they're looking for a way to build some new skills.

“And so what we do is take our students – and we don’t prepare them for jobs – we prepare them for careers. This is a 20-year or 30-year career opportunity. Now they're going to have to continue to develop, change and grow, but they've got all the fundamentals when they leave us to be able to have a long-term career in this economy.”

Matthew: Can you tell us a little bit about the significance of encouraging people with different career contexts to learn code?

“I spent 54 years in the technology world, and I ran worldwide operations for billion-dollar companies and was CEO of two “bleeding edge” software companies. One of the things I learned over the course of all that time is you cannot predict who has the skills to be a good software developer. There is a creative component, as well as an analytical component, to this job. And the most capable and creative developers that ever worked for me had other skills, but they also had a certain level of analytical ability and they could tie those two things together. You just don't know who has those skills. They are innate in many, many people who don't even realize they have it. Our coders are layering these new skills onto existing skills and going forward. … Part of what we do is conduct a little bootcamp, and we let them learn more about what it is we are expecting from them. They invest a year of their lives in developing these skills. When they get through, they are ready to go to work. They have been in a workplace environment. It is as if they had just spent a year in a training program with a local employer, except that they've been in this simulated workplace in the coding academy.”

Matthew: How do you work with potential future employers?

“One of the unique things that is a very important part of our program is that we build partnerships with employers. They make sure our curriculum is up to date, they evaluate our students. They help us select our students. They come in multiple times a year. Some of them are guest lecturers, but they all bring the practical, ‘Here's what it takes to be successful in business,’ type thinking into the Coding Academy. These employers and these supporters add tremendously to what it is we're doing because they put us in a real-world type environment.

“Neither Jackson nor our GTR Academy [in Starkville/Columbus] are lecture halls, they are a workspace. Now we'll use whiteboards and screens to teach a new concept, or to get a new concept going, but what we do is basically introduce a concept and put people to work. They learn by doing. They work together. They learn to work together in small teams. And one of the things that this employer relationship provides is to keep us on our toes. It keeps us current. This industry reinvents itself about every two years: there's some new development in technology that didn't exist two years before. Because we can be light on our feet, we can operate a little bit more independently than educational institutions. We can adapt quickly to what's going on, and that's critical in preparing our students for the workforce with future employers.”

Matthew: How are the Coding Academies facilitating the further development of Mississippi’s largest current industries, as well as new industries?

“There is no industry today that does not need technology. You can take an industry as traditional as steel, or the energy sector, or Mississippi’s tire plants. These manufacturers have enormous amounts of data. Our graduates can help industries that are more traditional. Manufacturers need significant amounts of tech expertise too, to be able to harvest and to use all the data they're collecting. They all need technology. Of course, tech startups need coding too, as does everything associated with the digital economy.

“The net of it is that there's no industry that doesn't need traditional IT support, help desk support, data, mining, cyber security and reporting capabilities, as well as application development for new capabilities and functionality on the shop floor. All those kinds of things are needed and are essential. Our graduates are able to fill those types of jobs.”

Matthew: Why is Mississippi a good place for tech innovation?

“Some of Mississippi’s advantages are that we've got a low cost of living and our students have a strong work ethic. And many of them have the skills to become 21st century economy contributors. Our public schools need to do more to inject coding into their junior and senior high programs. As they do, we will have more and more students ‘self-select’ themselves to be candidates for the coding academies, or to pursue a traditional computer science degree.  We need to expand our coverage within the state, and I’m excited about the possibilities of a Gulf Coast location in the near future. We’ve also got an exciting new initiative called ‘TechSmart’ that will allow us to reach smaller communities via tele-learning. Governor Tate Reeves and the key folks at the Mississippi Development Authority and the State Workforce Investment Board are all very supportive of our efforts, so my confidence is at an all-time high that we’ll continue to expand and provide these 21st century skills to Mississippi’s greatest natural resource: our wonderful people.” 

Mississippi voters who haven’t already cast absentee ballots head to the polls tomorrow to vote for numerous offices and initiatives. 

At the top of the ticket, Mississippians will be choosing from President Donald Trump, former Vice President Joe Biden, and seven other candidates, including Kanye West, for president. In 2016, Mississippi gave Trump 58 percent of the vote. Mississippi last voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in 1976.

Mississippians will also be voting in a rematch for United States Senator. Two years ago, Cindy Hyde-Smith, who had been appointed earlier in the year by then-Gov. Phil Bryant, defeated former Congressman Mike Espy 54-46. That was to fill the remainder of former Sen. Thad Cochran’s term. Hyde-Smith is vying for a full six-year term Tuesday. Hyde-Smith and Espy will match up again, along with Libertarian Jimmy Edwards. 

Only Rep. Steven Palazzo is unopposed for re-election in South Mississippi among Mississippi’s four Congressional seats. Rep. Trent Kelly faces Democrat Antonia Eliason. Rep. Bennie Thompson faces Republican Brian Flowers. And Rep. Michael Guest meets Democrat Dorothy Beneford. 

Two of the four Supreme Court justices on the ballot have opposition this year. Justice Kenny Griffis was appointed to the Court in 2018 and faces Latrice Westbrooks in the nonpartisan election. This district, officially District 1, covers central Mississippi, ranging from Republican suburbs of Rankin and Madison counties to Democratic strongholds of Hinds county, along with much of the Delta. While the positions are officially non-partisan, much of the Republican establishment and aligned-business groups have backed Griffis, while most Democrats, including Thompson, are supporting Westbrook in the slightly Democratic district. 

In the Northern District, Justice Josiah Coleman faces Percy Lynchard for the District 3 seat. Leslie King is unopposed for another seat in District 1, while Mike Randolph is unopposed in District 2, the southern district. 

Mississippians will also see three questions. 

The first question, which has garnered the most attention, is a ballot initiative to make Mississippi the 35th state to adopt medical marijuana. Last spring, the legislature put an alternative on the ballot, which makes this a two-part question. The first question will ask if you want either. It's an either or neither proposition. If a majority say neither, the second question doesn't matter. If a majority says either, then whichever option (the original ballot initiative or the alternative) receives a majority is enacted, provided it receives at least 40 percent of the ballots cast. 

The second measure removes the electoral vote requirement for statewide elections. Right now, the state House votes on the governor if a candidate does not receive a majority of the vote and majority of legislative districts. If enacted, this removes that requirement and would move to a runoff system between the top two vote getters if no one receives a majority. 

The final measure is adoption of the new state flag. This summer the legislature took up the issue, removed the current flag, and a commission created a new flag for voters to vote on. If a majority vote against it, a new flag option would be designed and vote upon in 2021. 

According to the Secretary of State, you will not need to wear a mask to enter a polling place. 

Mississippians will cast their votes for president, a United States Senate race, each Congressional seat, medical marijuana, a new state flag, and more on November 3.

Here’s a breakdown to make it easier to vote. 

Who can vote in Mississippi?

Every U.S. citizen who possesses the following qualifications is eligible to register to vote in Mississippi: 

How do I register to vote?

You can register to vote in person or by mail in Mississippi. Regardless of the option you select, you must register by Monday, October 5. If you are registering by mail, it must be postmarked by that date. 

To register by mail, you must complete a mail-in voter registration application. Provide the information requested, including your driver’s license number and/or the last four digits of your Social Security number. Then, send your Mail-In Voter Registration Application to the Circuit Clerk’s Office located in the county of your residence. 

Want a mail-in voter registration form? Click here. 

You can register in person at the Circuit Clerk’s Office, Municipal Clerk’s Office, Department of Public Safety, or any state or federal agency offering government services, such as the Department of Human Services. 

What forms of photo ID are required to vote?

All voters must show photo identification when voting in person. Any of the following photo IDs may be used: 

Expired identification cards are acceptable as long as they have not been expired for more than 10 years. 

How do I find my precinct?

Every address is located within a specific precinct and polling place. Not sure how to find your precinct? Click here to enter your address and find your polling place.

How do I vote absentee?

Some registered voters are eligible to vote by an absentee ballot because of age, health, work demands, temporary relocation for educational purposes, or their affiliation with the U.S. Armed Forces. Please check with your Circuit or Municipal Clerk to determine if you are entitled to vote by an absentee ballot and to learn the procedures for doing so. 

And this year the legislature added COVID-19 patients under physician-imposed quarantine, or anyone caring for a dependent who is such a patient, as eligible to vote absentee.

If you know you will vote by an absentee ballot, you may contact your Circuit or Municipal Clerk’s Office at any time within 45 days of the election. 

This year’s Independence Day feels different. A population of societal disintegrationists, who are increasing in either volume or size or both, are attacking America’s foundational concepts. 

In their retro-judgment of historical actors and damning of every American foundational concept and document that was ever touched by even a single figure who did not comply one hundred percent with modern social justice norms, they miss the key point: the ideas that gave rise to our nation’s founding were radical and revolutionary at the time, and they remain radical and revolutionary today. 

On July 4, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was issued, no government had declared that God created all men equal with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The very people they damn were the first to do so – very woke for 1776. 

The Founders provided a Constitutional framework that has permitted our nation’s growth into the most free, prosperous, and powerful nation in history. It has not been without scars, but this is not surprising. People are imperfect beings, and the fight for freedom has never been easy – not in any place across time and not in any place in the world. 

That is true here. 

Freedom has always required struggle, and it will require struggle to maintain it (see Hong Kong today). The good news is that through starts and stops, steps forward and backward, the arc of our nation has pointed towards more liberty, not less. This is an affirmation that our basic Constitutional architecture is sound, and it is critical to recognize this. We are here today, having the discussions we are having about fulfilling the promise of liberty, because of our Constitutional framework and not in spite of it. 

Very importantly, the disintegrationists also miss that the Founder’s Declaration remains radical and revolutionary today, and one wonders if they would issue the same foundational framework to government – respecting the God-given right of the individual to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – if their seeming goal of some type of new order was achieved. They topple statues of Washington, Jefferson, Grant, a Priest and Saint, a former slave, Cervantes, and this week in Portland an Elk (as in the animal). 

It is difficult to identify a consistent theme or purpose to the vandalism other than destruction for the sake of it, and all of it is done with the perfect lens and judgment of 2020 Wokeness. It is as if the disintegrationists believe they are the only good people who have ever existed, in this time and place, and if you had dropped them in 1825 America, England, or even Prussia or Russia, they would still be thinking exactly as they do now, marching the streets and stumping for today’s constantly evolving ideas about social justice.

They have separated the persons they critique from their historical contexts – as if history and place doesn’t matter – and they themselves would think the same as they do in 2020 regardless of whether and where they lived in 1312, 1515, 1776, or 2020. It doesn’t work that way. We are all a product of our historical era. The journey of our nation is about progress, not perfection.

This year has brought a discernible shift in in our societal conversation from a focus on the individual to a focus on groups. In other words, identity politics. This groups gets this, that group gets that. This shift has been occurring for quite some time, but seems to have accelerated of recent. There are consequences to this type of shift and reframing of focal point from individual to group. 

The Founders focused on the individual because it is ultimately the best way to protect everyone, regardless of group membership. They tethered rights to the individual, and importantly, recognized these rights are granted by God (because if rights are granted by God, your fellow man can never do anything to take them away). 

The problem with a shift to a focus on groups is that it inevitably leads to the tug-of-war of interests between groups, and in the process the canceling of the very individual rights it nominally seeks to protect. It is important to note that it is not that data on how policies affect particular demographics are not helpful. That data can be. It’s that problems start to occur when everything is framed as group struggle. 

We need to replace the focus on the individual, and in so doing we can best address grievances of individuals within groups. There is no better way. 

The irony of the claim by disintegrationists that America is inherently evil is that it is our very capacity for self-assessment and introspection that has permitted our progress towards more liberty, not less, over time. As they shout from the mountaintops about how inherently evil our institutions are, we undertake in earnest a conversation about our shortcomings and how we can best fulfill the promises of the Declaration of Independence going forward. 

In the words of Peggy Noonan, “We’ve overcome a great deal. We see this best when we don’t deny our history but tell the whole messy, complicated, embarrassing, ennobling tale.” The Great Conversation has always occurred here. Other nations are not taking their personal inventories like we constantly are. Let’s keep it that way. 

Have a great Independence Day, and be thankful for our freedom.

Rather quietly, the state legislature unanimously passed a bill this year that will break down barriers to work for military families in Mississippi. 

The Military Family Freedom Act, or Senate Bill 2117, will allow military members and their families to receive occupational licenses in Mississippi based on their education and training they received in another state, rather than having to jump through new government hoops again. SB 2117 was sponsored by Sen. Chuck Younger and included a number of other champions including Sen. Mike Seymour and Reps. Bubba Carpenter and Steve Hopkins. 

Today, about one in five need a license to work, a strong contrast from the 1950s when just five percent of the population needed permission from the government to earn a living. The impact on military families is even more pronounced than the public as a whole. Data from over the past year – before governments shut down the economy because of the coronavirus pandemic – showed military spouses had unemployment rates that ranged from 20 to 25 percent. 

Why do we see this? One of the reasons is the obvious. The average military family moves every two to three years, meaning new town, new schools, new lives, and, if the spouse is working, a new job for him or her. 

But obtaining an occupational license from another state, which includes new classes and testing, doesn’t make finding a new job easy, and it certainly doesn’t make it quick. By the time the paperwork and testing are completed, and you receive a license and then find a new job, you will likely be moving before too long. This process then repeats itself with every move. Eventually it gets to the point that it isn’t worth it. And we see absurdly high unemployment rates for military spouses. 

With the new law, applicants are eligible to receive a license if they have held a license in good standing for at least one year and they completed testing or training requirements in the initiating state. Boards no longer have to attempt to compare education or training across the 50 states, and an applicant is able to continue with the work they were already trained for and successfully doing prior to the move to Mississippi.

If an individual comes from a state that does not require a license, they would have a clear pathway to licensure in Mississippi if they have worked for at least three years in that field. 

Moreover, boards are required to issue a temporary license if an application may take longer than two weeks to process. Considering that some boards may meet just monthly, or even quarterly, this will help an individual start working sooner.  

Military families do not forget how to practice their trade upon relocating to another state. This bill recognizes that, but it is true of everyone who moves to Mississippi with an occupational license from another state. 

Last year, Arizona became the first state in the nation to pass universal recognition, meaning Arizona will recognize your occupational license even if that state doesn’t recognize a license from Arizona. Since that time, over 1,000 individuals who would probably still be working on obtaining a license if this law didn’t pass have applied for and been granted a license to work in a variety of fields in Arizona. Six states – Montana, Pennsylvania, Utah, Idaho, Iowa, and Missouri – have since followed. 

At a time when so many are out of work, and we don’t yet have a firm grasp of what the economy will look like in the near future, freeing everyone to work should be a priority. That is especially true of a state like Mississippi that has been on the wrong side of domestic migration for several years.

Because if we wait until we’re the last state to make this change, we will see little of the positive benefit we would see from being a leading state. 

This column appeared in the Starkville Daily News on July 1, 2020.

magnifiercross linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram