WSJ: Why is Mississippi Falling Behind Rest of South? (Columbia: home, income)

[Phil P]

I think a good comparison might be New Mexico - state that shares a number of similarities, low incomes, high minorities, lack of a big city or big industries... NM just got ranked as one of the most inbound states by Unites Moving.

The two things that NM has that MS doesn't are 1. More public land and 2. More interesting people.

Mississippi is fastest reforesting state in the nation, it has the potential to be a pretty spot with a lot to do outdoors, if it's accessible and available. In it's current state, it could be better than it is.

Concerning the people part, I think politics misses the boat a little bit, it's not really the legislation that's the issue, it's the general vibe. There's a lot of music creativity, but in a lot of other areas, the people seem kinda stuck in a rut.

People can overlook issues if there's a draw of excitement - New Mexico has a lot of problems, but there's excitement around activity, art, events, uniqueness, new ideas, food etc that's a huge draw here. Don't know that that's so present in Mississippi.

[Suesbal]

Originally Posted by Phil P

I think a good comparison might be New Mexico - state that shares a number of similarities, low incomes, high minorities, lack of a big city or big industries... NM just got ranked as one of the most inbound states by Unites Moving.

The two things that NM has that MS doesn't are 1. More public land and 2. More interesting people.

Mississippi is fastest reforesting state in the nation, it has the potential to be a pretty spot with a lot to do outdoors, if it's accessible and available. In it's current state, it could be better than it is.

Concerning the people part, I think politics misses the boat a little bit, it's not really the legislation that's the issue, it's the general vibe. There's a lot of music creativity, but in a lot of other areas, the people seem kinda stuck in a rut.

People can overlook issues if there's a draw of excitement - New Mexico has a lot of problems, but there's excitement around activity, art, events, uniqueness, new ideas, food etc that's a huge draw here. Don't know that that's so present in Mississippi.

New Mexico has the Sandra research labs, the artist colony at Taos, Indians, Rocky Mountains, and desert among other things.

[rodentraiser]

Originally Posted by Suesbal

Do you really believe Mississippi hasn’t changed since 1964? Did you know Mississippi has more black elected officials than any other state? And most people in Mississippi, black or white, do not live below the poverty level.

Not according to this:

"Mississippi takes the top spot with an 18.70% poverty rate, making it the state with the highest poverty rate in the country."

I'm sure Mississippi has changed in a lot of respects. But in other respects...let's be honest here. There is room for a LOT of improvement.

Maternal mortality rate is much higher for Black women than white women in Mississippi, study says

https://apnews.com/article/mississip...0be2cd6f05c180

"Black people make up about 38% of Mississippi’s population, but a new study shows that Black women were four times more likely to die of causes directly related to pregnancy than white women in the state in 2020.""Women need comprehensive primary care before, during and after pregnancy, but many people live in areas where health care services are scarce, Owens and Mitchell wrote."

This is what I was talking about.

[rodentraiser]

Originally Posted by viverlibre

Trust me, folks in the 'Sip have plenty of food, we are the most obese state and the poorest are the fattest, you won't find anyone starving to death. The "food desert" mantra is something dreamed up by "do gooders" who have little real knowledge of the poor. Open an "all you can eat" salad bar next to a Popeyes in the Delta or inner city Jxn and see which has lines out the door. Merchants give folks what they want. It'd be much cheaper and easier for convenience stores to have lunch lines with salads and raw fruits and vegetables rather than fried food. The reason they have the fried food? It sells. Another thing "do gooders" fail to realize is that in the inner city and Delta communities, there is absolutely no shame in being fat, in fact many find it desirable.

Also, the state doesn't have much of a homeless population.

If you say so. I'm not going to go into why poor people are obese and how expensive healthy food is. That's been done in many threads already. But if you want to believe obesity equates wealth in food, I'm not going to argue with you.

Originally Posted by Jardine8

I mean, I don't even know how to respond to someone who actually believes that "protections for gay people" and "allowing abortions" are what bring jobs and drives economic growth. Those are really just fringe social topics where Mississippi happens to be different than your own home state. That isn't even remotely the cause of Mississippi's economic issues.

Well, maybe a business that has several gay people in key positions in the company may feel that it's not in the best interests of either those employees or the business to relocate to a state where there may be open hostility to gay people. Likewise, if a business has a health plan that pays for abortions and that isn't allowed in Mississippi, why would that business want to place any of its profitable branches in Mississippi? The end result is, those businesses don't open up in Mississippi and Mississippi loses the jobs and the economic growth those jobs could provide for people in the state.

Your lack of understanding this could be a key reason why Mississippi is so far behind the rest of the South. And I didn't mean that in a snide way. I mean, if you don't understand it, a lot of other people may not, either.

[rodentraiser]

double post

[jerseygal4u]

Maybe Governor Abbot should bus the migrants to Biloxi or Jackson Mississippi instead of NYC.

I am being serious here. They would boost up the economy.

[Jardine8]

Originally Posted by rodentraiser

If you say so. I'm not going to go into why poor people are obese and how expensive healthy food is. That's been done in many threads already. But if you want to believe obesity equates wealth in food, I'm not going to argue with you.




Well, maybe a business that has several gay people in key positions in the company may feel that it's not in the best interests of either those employees or the business to relocate to a state where there may be open hostility to gay people. Likewise, if a business has a health plan that pays for abortions and that isn't allowed in Mississippi, why would that business want to place any of its profitable branches in Mississippi? The end result is, those businesses don't open up in Mississippi and Mississippi loses the jobs and the economic growth those jobs could provide for people in the state.

Your lack of understanding this could be a key reason why Mississippi is so far behind the rest of the South. And I didn't mean that in a snide way. I mean, if you don't understand it, a lot of other people may not, either.

There's no "lack of understanding" here. I will say it again - you are a bit of a fool if you truly think "protections for gay people" and "allowing abortions" truly drives economic growth. Mississippi has tons of problems but, if you made a list of them, those aren't even remotely close to being in the top 10 things that are holding back the state economically. Your comments are more of a reflection of your political and social beliefs and your viewing Mississippi as an undesirable place to live because of said beliefs. Fringe social & political topics aren't what's holding Mississippi back economically.

[Southern man]

Originally Posted by g500

Possible reasons for Mississippi's pervasive poverty:

Heavily destroyed infrastructure as a result of the US Civil War, a century-long legacy of post-war malaise and racial problems, hot/humid weather, tornados/floods/hurricanes, no major oil industry presence (unlike in nearby Texas and Louisiana), no major ports, no major cities-save for Jackson and nearby Memphis which are two of the most corrupt and struggling cities in the nation, high rates of obesity and unhealthy diet, highly influenced by religion/the church which leads the state legislature to be extremely heavy-handed on many social issues and areas, lack of quality education and healthcare, largely agriculture-based economy-cotton and chicken raising and slaughtering (along with timber extraction/logging), strong nostalgia for the past/"the good ol' days", lack of high paying jobs, very minimal corporate/banking/insurance presence, very minimal outside tourism (maybe Biloxi casinos / the coast?), aging/failing infrastructure, minimal or non-existent walkability / public transit in its communities, a major problem with its police/corrections, and finally, most folks there in MS are happy with things just staying the same-even if it is poor/cheap/slow/antiquated-they don't see it that way, nor are they bothered by it. Not that it is a bad thing. The whole country isn't the Bos-Wash corridor, Chicago, and/or Cali after all. There is bound to be a rural/backwater area of this vast country, and Mississippi enjoys being the textbook example of that definition.

I met a guy from Mississippi, one of nine kids, he grew up there and left after high school. He said that long conversations at the grocery store check-out line were common, people move very slowly, and said that Mississippi is "just one of those states you just kind of drive through - there just isn't a whole lot to stop for."

A lot of people try to pin this on politics and I am not sure I see that. There are extremely poor as well as extremely wealthy Republican areas in the USA, and just the same goes for Democratic areas - extremely poor and extremely wealthy examples can also be found around the country. Besides, it seems Mississippi is trending toward becoming a swing state anyway. Call me crazy but I could see that happening. The poverty there is more about history, climate, and most importantly-the mentality and daily behavior/habits of the people who live there. It is just a very old-school type of thinking. I doubt Mississippi will ever change much in my lifetime.

edit: just realized this was on the Mississippi forum and not the General US forum. So if I upset anyone, I apologize in advance. Mine is just an outsider's perspective I suppose, and you can let me know if any of what I said is actually accurate or is highly flawed. I have never set foot in Mississippi, I was 10 miles from the state line and spent some time in Alabama. My opinion is formed by my observations of deep southern Alabama (likely very similar to MS), exploring various towns the rural stretches of Mississippi on Google street view, and things I have seen in movies/shows/media references, as well as a few conversations I have had online with Mississippians.

Boy, that’s a long sentence.

[Suesbal]

Originally Posted by Southern man

Boy, that’s a long sentence.

Southern man, better keep your head.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by Tall Traveler

Mississippi:
- Has the highest black population as a % of population of any state and blacks have remained the bottom dwellers as a group when it comes to employment, wages, wealth, educational achievement.
- The largest city in the state (Jackson) looks like Africa with the highest crime rate in the nation at times, undrinkable water, unmaintained streets, poor education
- Mississippi has never moved beyond the basic agricultural business model

Because of the high crime and poor education standards, no one with a family is going to want to move to Mississippi.

Not sure anything can be done to fix this mess.

Georgia has a large Black population, about 32%. Alot of people are moving to Georgia, especially to the Atlanta area. Georgia has a strong economy and a large Black middle class. Georgia has progressed from the 1960s to now. Mississippi has been falling behind for decades. In fact, many Black people from Mississippi have been leaving for opportunities elsewhere.

Maryland is around 30% Black. With the exception of Baltimore, Maryland has a decent-size Black middle class. Maryland isn't falling behind.

Black Americans in Georgia and Maryland are doing far better than Blacks in Mississippi. If it was about a large Black population, Georgia and Maryland would be far behind too.