Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | M | Mississippi Business Journal

State budget reform tops agenda for Tate Reeves.

Article Excerpt
Tate Reeves, in his first term as state treasurer, has a plan--five budget reforms, to be specific--that he believes will revolutionize the state budget process.

The Mississippi Business Journal chatted with Reeves, a former Trustmark investment officer and Millsaps College alum who was elected to the state office in 2003, about those budget reform proposals, the benefits of college savings plans, concerns about the state's credit rating, how he determined agency budget cuts and the status of Mississippi's Disaster Assistance Trust Fund.

Mississippi Business Journal: Tell us about your budget reform proposals.

Tate Reeves: Our budget process was built for a different era. It encourages good people to make bad choices. It is based on the premise that state government should curry favor first and be responsible last.

I have offered five budget reforms that can move our state government into the 21st century and out of the back rooms dominated by old-time politics.

First, we need scientific revenue estimating that is based on sound economics. Today, we base our state budget on revenue estimates that are fabricated by the same politicians who are handing out the goodies. They have an incentive to exaggerate the size of the pie because they're handing out the slices.

We should recompose our revenue estimating board to have a majority of private...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!