Mississippi
Water, Racism, Corruption and State Governance
Mississippi is a very poor state with low incomes, shorter life expectancy, low levels of education, high rates of poverty and a horrific history of white terrorism to enforce racial discrimination. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi Inequities in health care and health outcomes are particularly pronounced by race; yet the Governor and state Legislature have steadfastly opposed the federal Medicaid expansion that could cover 2/3rds of the state’s uninsured. https://mississippitoday.org/2021/11/26/mississippi-among-the-worst-in-racial-health-disparities/ The state’s poorly funded and badly administered education system disadvantages Mississippi youth of all races and incomes and hurts the state’s economic competitiveness and its citizens’ ability to compete and succeed in the 21st Century. https://www.usccr.gov/files/pubs/msdelta/ch2.htm It should be noted that Mississippi public education is now more equitably funded than in many other states, albeit at a low level, and its performance has improved somewhat. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/education and https://wallethub.com/edu/e/states-with-the-best-schools/5335
Recently, the Mississippi state auditor found that the state’s TANF funds for poor families were being used to support Brett Favre and other distinguished and politically well connected Mississippi athletes. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/26948/fbi-interviewed-brett-favre-in-tanf-welfare-fraud-investigation-report TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families) is a federal block grant to states to assist low-income families out of poverty; it was created in the mid 90’s by President Bill Clinton and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and House Speaker Newt Gingrich to “end welfare as we know it”, specifically the AFDC program of financial assistance (welfare checks) to poor children and their parents. Under Governor Phil Bryant, Mississippi’s TANF funds were allocated to a non-profit, headed by Nancy New, a close friend of Bryant’s wife, who has since plead guilty for misspending the federal funds. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/nations-poorest-state-used-welfare-money-pay-brett-favre-speeches-neve-rcna45871 TANF funds were used to pay for motivational speeches to be given by Favre, for construction of a volleyball court at Southern Mississippi University where his daughter played volleyball, and for a grant to a drug company in which Favre was a major shareholder. Other TANF funds went to a professional wrestler and his family, to a famous running back’s horse ranch, to a fitness trainer for the state legislature and Governor. https://www.djournal.com/news/state-news/mississippi-files-suit-to-get-tanf-funds-back-from-34-defendants/article_7da2bd58-8740-540e-8f88-fd33eb964aaf.html
After the highly reputable local attorney hired by the state to recover these misspent TANF funds filed suit, the administration of the state’s current Governor Tate Reeves fired him. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/nations-poorest-state-used-welfare-money-pay-brett-favre-speeches-neve-rcna45871 According to local media, TANF has been a slush fund for many of Mississippi’s Governors since its inception in 1996. https://jacksonadvocateonline.com/four-mississippi-governors-had-involvement-with-tanf-funds-since-its-inception/ Meanwhile Mississippi rejects 90% of needy families applying for assistance through the state’s TANF program. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/nations-poorest-state-used-welfare-money-pay-brett-favre-speeches-neve-rcna45871 Many of those now implicated in the distribution and receipt of these funds say they didn’t know the federal TANF funds were supposed to be used for the state’s poor families. The federal government, including the FBI, is now investigating the scandal at the behest of US Representative Bennie Thompson. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/26948/fbi-interviewed-brett-favre-in-tanf-welfare-fraud-investigation-report
Jackson is the state Capitol and the state’s largest city. For the second time in the last two years, its water treatment system has failed, and residents have had to use bottled water for drinking, washing dishes, and brushing their teeth. https://www.npr.org/2022/08/31/1120166328/jackson-mississippi-water-crisis Jackson’s problem is not a drought and too little water like those of us in the West, but too much water from recent rains that overwhelmed an aging infrastructure for water treatment. The living conditions are unbearable, but the plight of Jacksonians is not new. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/09/03/jackson-mississippi-water-crisis/
The deteriorating infrastructure of the city’s water system has been languishing for decades due to white flight from Jackson to the suburbs, and the consequent erosion of the financial system in place to support basic local public infrastructure, like water and sewer. https://www.vox.com/2022/8/31/23329604/jackson-mississippi-water-crisis The Mississippi state government, controlled by the GOP, has been unwilling to assist a majority black city like Jackson with the cost of infrastructure repairs and upgrades for a vital human need, like reliable safe drinking water.
President Biden’s historic infrastructure bill that passed earlier this year has the potential to help Jackson over time, but decisions on funding allocations to Jackson’s water treatment plant will depend on a Mississippi state government that has been historically unresponsive to the needs of its black citizens. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jackson-mississippi-water-crisis-infrastructure-funding-rcna45444 As the state’s TANF debacle shows, Mississippi state’s leaders have been far more interested in lining the already flush pockets of their friends than providing for their poor citizens’ basic human needs.