This fiscal year, the state of Mississippi will spend about 14.3 billion dollars. That's about $19,000 per family of four. The number you'll hear about most is $4 billion, but that's only what's known as the General Fund. There's another $4 billion that comes from gasoline taxes, fees, and other funds collected in the state. Then there's about $6 billion that will come from the federal government for state programs, not counting the billions spent on hurricane recovery and rebuilding.
To show just how fast the state is spending your money, we at the Center for Public Policy last year created a Mississippi Spend-O-Meter. We've recently updated it to reflect the money appropriated in this year's legislative session for the fiscal year that began July 1. If you think the meter at the gas pump goes faster than your eye can see, wait till you see this! It is a rapidly moving meter that reveals a current spending rate of $452 per second. That's $1.6 million per hour, $39 million per day, $274 million per week.
You can see the Spend-O-Meter on our website, mspolicy.org.