[Editor’s Note] The Great Compromise

by Maggie Neff
January 7, 2009

After a failed attempt at filling the Medicaid budget shortfall last year, Mississippi lawmakers left the capitol city and returned home with a $10,000 salary and no solution. The prior three months had been hellish as countless pieces of legislation—some of which had the support of one legislative body but not the other—failed. It’s difficult to say that suggested legislation like increasing the cigarette tax or hospital tax to fill a budget hole is brilliant. No matter what, you’re singling out one particular group and increasing their burden. It would have been noble had lawmakers really objected to legislation for this reason. Sadly, however, the Mississippi Legislature failed to fix a pertinent problem because it and its leaders refused to put aside partisan and territorial motives to help Mississippi become better.

But that wasn’t the end. Because lawmakers had not been able to reach a consensus on how to fill the Medicaid shortfall, the Legislature reconvened for a special session in June. This special session, of course, was not free. Taxpayers, who expected the law-making body to compromise on a bill in the winter months, paid for the special costs of calling 174 members of the Legislature back to Jackson. Despite being jaded and frustrated over the back-and-forth between Democrats and Republicans, House members and senators, Billy McCoy and Haley Barbour, I found a glimmer of hope in David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, just before the session opened.

“I’m here today to ask the governor to put all the options on the table and negotiate,” Baria told reporters in June. “Let’s fix this problem, fix our Medicaid shortfall, and let’s go back home.”

After months of fighting and debating—even after the special session—Gov. Haley Barbour filled the budget shortfall in September by a fluke. While I applaud the many legislators, in both houses and political parties, who tried to reach a compromise combining an increase of the hospital and cigarette taxes, I lament that the Legislature never got the chance to make voters proud by coming together to do the right thing.

Historically, governmental entities have not been able to get along, because of either some sort of turf war or necessity to stay true to political ideologies. On the national scale, two of the most important federal agencies that protect the nature and quality of life for Americans, the FBI and CIA, have been fighting over information and bragging rights since the CIA came on the scene in 1947 during the Second World War. Since Sept. 11, some say this feud has lessened, with each agency sharing more information, but even as the country was in repair, FBI officials were placing blame on the CIA for not turning over travel records on two men that turned out to be hijackers. With the formation of the Department of Homeland Security—which seems to only add more overlap to the blurry jurisdiction lines—it’s become even more challenging.

Last Wednesday, law enforcement officials announced that FBI agents would lead the criminal investigation on the destruction of CIA interrogation tapes. This choice could prove to either rekindle the long-standing rivalry, or hopefully show the nation that stupid politics and trivial feuds don’t cloud our government officials’ ability to judge what is best for its people.

I expect this to be true not only for our federal government, but also for our state government. This week, the state Legislature reconvened for the 2009 session. The national economy has begun to plummet and—like a row of dominos—is gradually affecting state and local governments. Gov. Barbour has announced a $41.9 million in budget cuts. And that little eyesore called a $90 million Medicaid hole is back.

Barbour won’t conveniently discover any more one-time plugs for the budget, and the state is in even greater need of clear, strong leadership in the Legislature to help us through the tough times that are quickly approaching. It’s time for party men and women, on either side of the fence, to drop their party affiliation when they step into the legislative chambers. It’s time for the House of Representatives and Senate to work together to get things done in Mississippi. Imagine how much brilliant legislation could come out of that law-making body if it eliminated all the time it wastes bickering and fighting. It could pass legislation to incorporate community-based programs for troubled youth in Mississippi, and get rid of failing disciplinary institutions like Oakley Training School.

It’s time, also, for Gov. Barbour to stop interfering with the Legislature and for Phil Bryant to stop being his lap dog. We don’t need the executive branch to play puppet master and ringleader. Instead, Barbour should respect the clear boundaries of state government and step in only in his lawful capacity to veto.

I recently attended the 2009 Jackson State of the Arts at One to One Studios, where Jackson Free Press writer and artist Nick Judin said it best: “It’s all about collaboration.” He, and others, echoed the sentiment that we can only go forward if we come together for the same cause. There comes a time when you’ve done all you can as a single force and need to rely on each other to help you along the way. We all want to see the arts thrive in Jackson. So do we also want to see Mississippi thrive as a state.

I challenge my representatives and senators to remember this as they begin the legislative session and the process of balancing the state budget. It’s a grueling task, and the voters that elected them believe in their ability to make it happen—together. Despite the growing norm, government is no place for politics. It is, however, the place for change, collaboration and, sometimes, compromise.