Judge Notes "Pay to Play" in a Hood Case

NMissCommentor.com and Y'allPolitics both bring us this sad recognition that the Court recognizes "pay to play" scernarios between plaintiff firms and attorneys general, in a case which Jim Hood is participating along with his special counsels, who happened to contribute more than $30,000 to his campaign.

From a footnote in the US District Court Judge Jed Rakoff's opinion:

The Court in not unaware of disturbing allegations that state entities not unlike MissPERS [the Mississippi state retirement system], and law firms not unlike Bernstein Litowitz, have engaged in “pay-for-play” arrangements, by which such an entity will not even consider hiring such a law firm unless the law firm has contributed to the campaign fund of the relevant state elected official, such as the attorney general. See, e.g. John C. Coffee, Jr., ‘Pay-to-Play’ Reform: What, How, and Why, New York Law Journal, May 21, 2009, p. 5. But no such allegations are presently before the Court in this case.

Check NMC and Y'all for the full story.

Mississippi Democrat Advocates Obesity Tax

Brian Perry writes in the Madison County Journal that the feds and other states are moving beyond cigarette taxes and looking to increase taxes on beer, soft drinks, and even candy. Coca Cola and Pepsi are the new Marlboro and Camel. And "Big Sweet" is the cause of obesity and sugar should be taxed to off-set healthcare costs.

Right on cue, here is the leading Democratic candidate in the special House election in Meridian.

Wilbert Jones said he is in favor of taxing things like cigarettes that cause health problems. "Obesity, smoking, alcohol, the sins of our society. It is time that we tax those sins of our society."

Dedeaux Chooses Mickey Over Medicaid

After Paul Gallo raised the issue yesterday, House Speaker Billy McCoy stripped Medicaid Chairman Dirk Dedeaux of his conferee position. Not that it was a big deal, Dedeaux wasn't getting much done on solving our state's Medicaid crisis as he is on vacation at Disney World.

[Marshall Ramsey we ain't]

McCoy was not happy. He has been out there blaming the Senate and accusing them of not being available to negotiate. Now one of his top lieutenants is outed at being on vacation. He expressed his frustration at Gallo.

House Speaker Billy McCoy, D-Rienzi, sounded angry about the radio report. Questioned about it, he said, "I don't give a damn what Paul Gallo says about anything. Zero."

MRP Chairman Brad White called on Dedeaux to resign his chairmanship of the Medicaid Committee.

“I’ve always believed many of Mississippi’s House Democrats were on Space Mountain in a metaphorical sense but it turns out the State House’s Medicaid Chairman could be there in reality. Dirk Dedeaux has neglected his responsibilities as House Medicaid Chairman at a critical time. If these allegations are true, not only should Dedeaux refuse to accept those taxpayer dollars since he failed to show up to work, he should also resign his chairmanship for neglecting his responsibilities. This is inexcusable behavior by the Medicaid committee chairman. I don’t begrudge a man for a family vacation. But public service is a sacrifice and if it is one Dedeaux is unwilling to make, he should consider another line of work. When the voters hear that Mickey Mouse is more important to Dedeaux than Medicaid, they may make that choice for him.”

Dedeaux replied:

"For me to abandon my pregnant wife and two small children in Florida, that's not a good thing to do when there are perfectly capable people of handling the conference in my stead."

The horror of abandoning someone at a world class resort. But I think Dedeaux missed the point. He is a public servant and that is a sacrifice for himself and his family. Elected officials know this. He chose to run for office and chose that responsibility. His statement shows that he is not willing to make the sacrifice. No big deal. Someone else will do the job. We thank him for his service. I hope he decides not to run again.

Dedeaux's constituents can make up their mind. This morning's Sun Herald brought them the news, "Disney trip puts Dedeaux in hot seat."

Doh! & Dedeaux!

Say it ain't so, Dedeaux!

From Paul Gallo's SuperTalk-Gallo Rewind

BREAKING! House Speaker Billy McCoy has removed Representative Dirk Dedeaux as a Conferee on the Medicaid issue.

We learned on the Gallo Show this morning that McCoy's own Chairman of Medicaid, Chairman Dedeaux was SIGNED IN AS PRESENT, (i.e. on the payroll,) but was AT DISNEYWORLD!!!!!

In this morning's Session, McCoy has named Robert Johnson of Natchez as the new Conferee in Dedeaux's absence. Apparently the infraction is not enough to remove him from the Chairmanship of the important Medicaid Committee.

Doh! and Dedeaux

Florida Free Speech Victory

This news from Florida is welcomed by those of us who cherish free speech, especially political speech.

In a major victory for free speech, U.S. District Judge Stephan Mickle today issued an opinion striking down Florida’s “electioneering communications” law—the broadest regulation of political speech in the nation. The ruling frees community groups and educational non-profits across Florida and the nation to speak about candidates and issues on the Florida ballot without registering with the government and navigating bureaucratic red tape.

“This is a tremendous victory for the First Amendment right to speak about politics without the government getting in the way,” said Institute for Justice Senior Attorney Bert Gall. “Florida’s law put everyday political speech under the thumb of campaign finance bureaucrats. But with today’s ruling, all Floridians—not just political insiders—can now discuss important political issues without fear of being punished or forced to submit to onerous regulations.”

Just before last November’s election, Judge Mickle issued a preliminary injunction preventing Florida from enforcing the law, noting that “no court has ever upheld such a sweeping regulation of political speech.” Today’s decision permanently halts the law’s enforcement.

In today’s ruling Judge Mickle wrote, “While it is true that the legislature has the power to regulate elections, it does not have the power to regulate purely political discussions about elections.”

Under Florida’s “electioneering communications” law, any group of people that simply mentioned a candidate or a ballot issue in a public newsletter or on a website had to register with the government and report all of its spending and donors, even those who never intended their gift to go towards political speech. Groups that failed to comply faced fines and possible jail time for their speech. Individuals were also subject to burdensome reporting requirements if they spent just $100 of their own money to speak.

Florida’s law was passed after the U.S. Supreme Court in the 2003 McConnell ruling upheld the federal “electioneering communications” ban in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, or McCain-Feingold. But Florida regulated far more speech in more forums by more speakers than the federal law, which is again before the High Court this term in the Citizens United case.

“Florida’s political speech ban was a classic example of a bad idea at the federal level morphing into an even worse idea in the states—and of how speech regulation leads to more speech regulation,” said Gall. “Hopefully, this ruling will reverse that trend as more courts take seriously the threat to First Amendment rights posed by campaign finance regulation.”

Breaking the No-Tax Promise

The Americans for Tax Reform pledge is very simple.

Mississippi Taxpayer Protection Pledge

I, ___________, pledge to the taxpayers of the ________ District of the
State of Mississippi and to all the people of this state, that I will oppose and
vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes.

No one has to sign it, but it is an effective tool in demonstrating conservative bonafides in an election year and showing you are different from tax and spenders.

These Mississippi elected officials kept their pledge when they voted against the Mississippi cigarette tax increase:

Representative Larry Baker, Representative William Denny Jr., Representative Mark Formby, Representative Stephen Horne, Representative William W. Janus, Representative John Moore, Representative Billy Pigott, and Senator Lee Yancy

These Mississippi elected official broke their promise and voted for higher taxes:

Representative Richard Bennett, Representative Gary A. Chism, Representative Bobby B.. Howell, Representative Bennett Malone, Representative Rita Martinson, Representative Bobby Moak, Representative Alex Monsour, Representative Ray Rogers, Representative Johnny Stringer, Representative Jessica Upshaw, Representative Joseph L. Warren, Senator Sidney Albritton, Senator Billy Hudson, Senator Tom King, Senator Dean Kirby, and Senator Alan Nunnelee.

Governor Haley Barbour and Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant also signed the pledge.

Y'all Politics and Majority in Mississippi also have this story.

Thompson Spends Contributions in Las Vegas, Miami

In regards to our post from yesterday, if the Clarion Ledger or others in the Mississippi media reviewed Bennie Thompson's quarterly filing to look at his campaign travel expenses, they would see that the man who represents a district with one of the highest poverty rates in the country spent thousands of dollars in campaign contribution dollars on travel to locations like the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada; the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia; the Myrtle Beach Marriott in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami, Florida. That is just in the first four months of this year alone.

Thompson #2 Traveler

According to a Detroit newspaper, U.S. Rep. John Conyers' campaign committee spent the most on travel and transportation in the first three months of 2009. U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, Chairman of Vacation Security, came in second.

U.S. Rep. John Conyers' campaign committee spent more on travel and transportation in the first three months of 2009 than other senior members of Congress, a newspaper reported Thursday.

The Detroit News said the Detroit Democrat's campaign spent nearly $46,000 on travel, transportation and lodging. That's nearly double the amount spent by any of the other 60-plus members of Congress reviewed by the newspaper including House leadership, committee chairs, ranking Republicans and members of Michigan's delegation.

The Conyers committee also bought $14,000 worth of tickets for this year's Super Bowl held in Tampa, Fla.

Conyers is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. His campaign said every item was a legitimate campaign expense.

Federal Election Commission rules give wide latitude on how candidates' campaigns can spend money donated by political contributors, and the newspaper said there is no proof of wrongdoing in Conyers' financial report.

Campaigns can pay for campaign-related trips by the candidate, staff, spouses and dependent children. Campaign money also can pay for travel related to a candidate's role as a federal officeholder.

The rules bar spending on personal travel such as vacations or for expenses that a candidate would incur even if not an officeholder.

But the newspaper said the spending raises questions about whether the Conyers' campaign is mixing campaign and personal affairs, particularly with the Super Bowl trip.

"That's something people might be inclined to see as personal use in the guise of official duties," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks money and influence in government.

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi and the House Homeland Security Committee chairman, spent about $23,000 on travel and transportation during the first three months of 2009 to finish second on the list of those surveyed.

The newspaper analyzed Federal Election Commission data to come up with the list.

Will the Clarion Ledger do a similar analysis?

Citizens Against Government Waste opposes cigarette taxes

OK, ok, it seems every established conservative group in the country is jumping on this anti-tax wagon. Here is the missive from Citizens Against Government Waste, another taxpayer advocacy group.

Mississippi Residents: Help Stop a Tax Increase in Your State!

The Mississippi State Legislature is considering a proposal to raise the state cigarette excise tax by 177 percent to 68 cents per pack.

While cigarette tax increases have proven politically popular across the country, time and again history has shown that raising excise taxes does not produce projected revenue. Of the 57 excise tax hikes that states implemented between 2003 and 2007, only 16 met or exceeded revenue targets. As just one example, when New Jersey raised its cigarette tax in 2006, instead of gaining a projected $30 million in revenue, the state lost more than $22 million.

Mississippi’s proposed tax increase would make your cigarette tax rate higher than those of all four bordering states, driving smokers to purchase their cigarettes across state lines, or through untaxed or lower-tax venues, such as Native American territories and the Internet.

When the expected tobacco tax revenue fails to materialize, the politicians in Jackson will end up increasing yet more of your taxes to make up the shortfall!

In addition, excise taxes are regressive, disproportionately impacting the poor and those living on fixed incomes, and the Congressional Budget Office has said that cigarette excise taxes are the most regressive of all. With millions of Mississippians struggling to make ends meet during the economic recession, no taxpayer -- particularly not those most disadvantaged -- should be forced to hand over more of his or her hard-earned money to the government.

Please tell Governor Barbour, who pledged not to increase taxes, and your state senator and representative to forego raising taxes and instead do what households across the country are doing: Cut wasteful and non-essential spending to fund vital priorities!

More conservatives oppose Mississippi cigarette tax hike

The National Taxpayers Union and its Mississippi affiliate Mississippi Forward have joined other conservative groups like American for Tax Reform in opposing the Mississippi cigarette tax hike.

In a letter to Governor Haley Barbour they write:

On behalf of the taxpayers and small business owners of Mississippi, we urge you to veto the proposed 50-cent-per-pack increase in the state cigarette tax. This proposal is the exact opposite of what Mississippi needs in the midst of a painful recession. The cigarette tax is among the most regressive of all levies, and increasing it in this economic climate would hammer the state’s poor. It would also leave Mississippi with a higher per-pack rate than all but one of its neighbors. Your veto of this extortionate proposal would send a clear pro-taxpayer message to the Legislature.

A tax hike on cigarettes is bad economic policy in general, but this 50-cent increase will have especially negative consequences for Mississippi. Currently, the state enjoys a significant tax advantage over its neighbors, whose cigarette tax burdens are at least twice as heavy as that of the Magnolia State. This legislation will give Mississippi a higher rate than every border state other than Arkansas, crippling retailers as consumers cross state lines for lower prices. That spells trouble for an already sluggish economy.

Small business owners won’t be the only ones adversely impacted by this recessionary tax increase. It will be felt disproportionately by Mississippi’s poor families, as those earning less than the state’s median income are more likely to smoke. Taxes also consume a higher percentage of their income. With a federal cigarette tax increase having recently taken effect, the legislation headed to your desk constitutes a double-whammy for Mississippi’s low-income families. Furthermore, as the combined federal-state cigarette levy climbs and consumption decreases, Mississippi will be fighting with Washington over a dwindling pot of revenues. That’s why policymakers should focus on government spending restraint to keep the state’s fiscal condition healthy over the long term.

This tax hike will have negative implications that ripple through the entire economy. Now is not the time to raise any taxes, especially the excise on cigarettes. Mississippi needs to put itself in a position to attract business, not repel it. For these and the other reasons we have outlined, taxpayers are counting on you to protect them from the Legislature’s latest tax scheme.

Butch Brown Confirmation Questions

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal suggests the following questions for Butch Brown in a biting editorial.

Why did MDOT not follow legislative intent in administering the Vision 21 Program, instead parceling out projects on a commission district apportionment?

Does MDOT have a plan to propose for raising adequate highway funding for full implementation of Vision 21 in a timely way, and for funding special needs related to economic development?

What plan, if any, does MDOT use to regularly communicate its decisions and policies to the Legislature, particularly the transportation committees, and to the governor's office?

How much does MDOT spend annually on executive-level travel expenses for out-of-state meetings and conferences, and what method of accountability is used to quantify the results of the travel expenditure?

Apparently the answers to these questions don't really matter, and the committee will just go through the motions:

Brown has said he sees no reason why he shouldn’t be reconfirmed. [Republican Senate Highways and Transportation Committee Chairman Tom] King has said he believes Brown has the votes to be reconfirmed.

I think I would question his judgement in writing a letter on MDOT stationary on behalf of Douglas Hodgkin who was convicted in 1987 of capital murder in the death of Jean Elizabeth Gillies, a University of Mississippi student who was raped, sodomized and strangled.

MDOT Executive Director Butch Brown sent at least two letters on agency letterhead supporting Hodgkin's parole, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request.

The letters in Hodgkin's Parole Board file date back as far as 1996 and coincide with the years he was eligible for parole.

In letters dated Nov. 16, 2004, and May 1, 2006, Brown describes himself as a former elected official, current head of a state agency and "close friend of Douglas Hodgkin's father, Will, a gentleman of utmost integrity with the highest moral character."

Will Hodgkin was a successful banker in central Kentucky.

Brown, the MDOT chief and former Natchez mayor, wrote that he was "acutely aware of the horrible crime Douglas committed" but he "has been adequately punished" and "serving additional jail time will serve no useful purpose."

In a telephone interview, Brown said he still believes in second chances.

"I don't know the Hodgkins, I only know a friend of theirs who was our consultant on the bridge replacement on the Mississippi Gulf Coast ... and as I recall, they weren't trying to get him paroled, they were trying to get him relocated to Kentucky."

Brown's letter, however, said "Douglas Hodgkin deserves an opportunity to be paroled."

It also says Brown was a "close friend" of Hodgkin's father. Brown now says "that's a stretch. I'm not a close, personal friend, I think I met him once."

"I don't think I even wrote the letter, to be honest with you," Brown said. "I think I just put it on my letterhead."
He said he doesn't know who may have composed the letter.

You can attend the hearing and even speak at it.

Mississippi Department of Transportation Executive Director Larry L. “Butch” Brown’s confirmation hearing will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m. in room 216 at the state Capitol. Anyone who wishes to speak for up to five minutes will be allowed to sign up to do so at the meeting. The reconfirmation hearing will be held the day before the Legislature reconvenes. The committee will likely vote on Brown’s nomination on Wednesday, as they can only call a meeting while the Legislature is in session and if they approve his nomination, it will likely go before the full Senate on Thursday.

Non-Smokers Get Burned by Tobacco Taxes

Looking back to 2008 we find this report on how cigarette taxes affect non-smokers.

"Significant segments of the non-smoking population go along with efforts to raise tobacco excise taxes because these taxpayers believe they can avoid the resulting pinch by simply not buying cigarettes -- a classic case of the 'tax thee, but not me' mentality," said NTU Director of Government Affairs Kristina Rasmussen, who authored the study. "As the data shows, however, the end result is often 'tax we' -- tobacco tax hikes have very real fiscal implications for non-smoking taxpayers."

Rasmussen's paper outlines five reasons that non-smokers should oppose high tobacco taxes:

1 - States with low cigarette taxes tend to have lower overall tax burdens. The per capita state and local tax burden in high-tobacco tax states is 8 percent above the national average, while the general tax bill for residents of low-tobacco tax states is 15 percent below the national average.

2 - Tobacco tax hikes rarely result in other cuts and are often paired with other tax increases or cuts worth less than the tobacco tax boost. "Most states that increase cigarette taxes don't refund the revenue elsewhere -- they spend it," the study notes.

3 - Tobacco tax increases don't prevent other hikes. Taxpayers face a seven out of 10 chance of seeing another net annual tax hike within two years of a tobacco tax hike.

4 - Cigarette tax hikes may encourage other increases because the extra revenue often is tied to specific spending schemes (such as health care or education) and tobacco use rates are falling -- along with potential tax collections. State governments will need to look elsewhere to fill the gap, and non- smokers could be on the hook.

5 - Tobacco taxes don't spur economic growth. States that adopted a tobacco tax hike in fiscal year 2003 saw an average growth rate in gross domestic product from 2005 to 2006 that was 0.6 percent lower than states that did not adopt a tax increase.

"Whether or not an individual uses tobacco, tax hikes hurt everyone by encouraging the growth of government," Rasmussen concluded. "While tobacco tax increases will assuredly come up as funding 'solutions' in the future, taxpayers -- smokers and non-smokers alike -- would be better served by extinguishing such a notion and instead focusing on cutting the size of government."

Brandon Presley on Nettleton Biodiesel Then and Now

Patsy Brumfield is on the trail of some alleged biodiesel crooks.

When backers of Biodiesel of Mississippi swept into [Nettleton] in 2003, people saw hope in the jobs of the future. They heard something new about making diesel fuel in a different way, in a world where countries go to war over oil supplies. They saw a glimmer of a way to change from the struggling furniture industry or just small-town, mom-and-pop work.

By the time the alternative industry went awry and burst their bubble of optimism, creditors were left holding the bag to the tune of at least $489,000. If you look at who really got paid, it was the lawyers and the accountants in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding that ended officially April 4.

Few people contacted about their experiences with Biodiesel want to talk on the record about their experiences with the company and its indicted owner, William T. “Tommy” Tacker.

Tupelo’s Lynn Blanton isn’t so bashful.

“Tacker is completely crooked,” said Blanton of NESCO, an electrical company, which Biodiesel still owes $12,923.

“Tacker is a good talker,” Blanton recalled. “I don’t ever expect to see anything” recovered on the debt.

“A good talker” is how many describe the man who came to town with a publicly announced plan to invest $16 million in a dormant grain elevator site. The 14-acre site had been idle for more than a decade on the south side of town. Tacker proposed to make biodiesel fuel from soybean oil there, and bring about 50 jobs in this town of 2,000 on the Lee-Monroe county line. He said this plant would be different from others, more efficient, because he would use hydrogen to power it and store 2.3 million gallons on site.

Then-Mayor Brandon Presley said he was excited about the potential for his hometown. “I think from the beginning, they believed they could do it,” Presley remembered. Today? “Be very cautious,” Presley advises any community where bioenergy promoters come a’knocking. “This is an emerging technology and all sorts of people are trying this.”

As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, the Nettleton facility was sold to Universal Bioenergy North American Inc., which was bought in January 2007 by Universal Bioenergy Inc.

Robbie Wilbur, a spokesman at DEQ, said Universal Bioenergy never completed the process to operate in Nettleton.

What happened at Biodiesel?

If anybody knows with certainty, they aren’t talking about it.

Presley, now the Mississippi Public Service Commission’s northern commissioner, said his hometown may have come out better than anybody else in the deal – the town sold the property to Biodiesel for $50,000 and retained a revenue-producing telephone cell tower at one corner.

As of Jan. 1, 2007, Biodiesel of Mississippi Inc. appears to have been administratively dissolved for the final time.

“I really hate that,” Presley said last week. “A lot of big dreams for new jobs got dashed.”

Patsy failed to mention that Universal Bioenergy was a campaign contributor to Brandon Presley as late as April of 2007.Here is what Brandon Presley had to say several years ago about biodiesel in Nettleton (Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal March 6, 2003):

Nettleton Mayor Brandon Presley joined Mississippi agriculture commissioner Lester Spell on an August trip to St. Louis that laid the groundwork for the plant. "This will actually be the largest alternative fuel plant, production-wise, in the United States once it's up and running," said Presley, who along with aldermen negotiated a donation of the site to Nettleton from Bunge North America's grain division. "(Bunge) saw it as an opportunity for the city and a proactive move environmentally for this to be the first plant of its type. And it was just a piece of property that wasn't doing them any good."

Presley said he couldn't forecast a percentage increase in soybean production generated by the plant, but the benefits would be tangible for farmers. "They're going to be getting a better price for their beans," he said. "And they'll be able to truck them here locally instead of sending them somewhere else."

"No farmer will have to put up any money to form a cooperative," Presley said of the biodiesel refinery. "There's not any risk out there for the farmer." An edge for biodiesel is it doesn't require transportation back to the petroleum industry for further refining. An additive, ethanol must be blended with gasoline before its market-ready, Presley said. "This biodiesel can be used automatically," he said.

Besides Tacker, the venture includes silent investment partners from Tennessee, Presley said.

Spinoff businesses are likely from byproducts, Presley said, with catfish and pet food factories and a vitamin-enriched water product possible. Truck traffic related to the venture is expected to bring a truck stop and 24-hour restaurant to Nettleton, he said.

Despite Presley's optimism and assurances, this did not become "the largest alternative fuel plant" in the U.S.; it didn't help soybean growers; there were no spinoff businesses: no "catfish and petfood factories," no "vitamin-enriched water" products, and no "trucks top and 24-hour restaurant."

National Conservative Group Opposes Mississippi Tobacco Tax Hike

The way for Republicans to seperate themselves from Democrats is not to jump on the greater taxes during a recession bandwagon. What happened to cutting government spending? Now some Republicans want to do the easy thing, raise taxes because people don't like smokers. None of us at Respond Mississippi smoke. But we also don't like tax increases.

So we salute our conservative brothers at Americans for Tax Reform(Hat Tip Y'all Politics).

Mississippi legislators will return to the capitol on May 6 to vote on a proposal to raise the state cigarette tax by 50 cents. This is effectively a 616% tax increase.

What's worse, this comes on the heels of a 156% federal ciggarette tax hike that went into effect on April 1st.

It is no secret that tobacco products are a dubious and declining source of revenue. Evidence from nearly every state that has unfairly targeted smokers for government revenue shows that very few tobacco tax hikes actually meet their revenue goals.

When New Jersey raised the cigarette tax 17.5 cents in 2007 they expected to bring in an additional $30 million. Not only did New Jersey not meet that target, the Garden State ended up with a net loss of $22 million in total tax revenue from tobacco. Maryland doubled the cigarette tax to $2 last year and cigarette sales dropped 25%, falling considerably short of projections.

To make matters worse, a cigarette tax hike’s effect would be felt predominantly by those least able to afford it. On average, smokers, whose median income is a little more than $36,000, make about 30 percent less than non-smokers. Furthermore, President Obama has already burdened smokers this year with the previously mentioned 156 percent hike in the federal excise tax on cigarettes. Piling more taxes on top of this is ill advised and adds insult to injury.

State spending priorities should be funded through existing resources and with as broad of a base as possible. Raising taxes on a declining revenue sources like tobacco to fund state spending programs is a recipe for higher taxes in years to come. As tax revenues decrease and spending commitments mount, legislators will be forced to raise other taxes in the coming years for additional revenue. Furthermore, when combined with the higher federal cigarette tax, the revenue from an increased state cigarette tax will decline even faster than projected.

ATR will continue to reach out to Mississippi lawmakers to urge their opposition to this odious proposal. Stay tuned for more updates on this important matter.

Lets hope conservatives do not join President Barack Obama in looking for political popularity with tax increases.