Mississippi
The quiet part out loud: Mississippi political leaders tolerate tax burden on poor – Mississippi Today
Former Gov. Haley Barbour finally said the quiet part out loud.
During a recent speech to the Mississippi State University Stennis Institute of Government and Capitol Press Corps, the former two-term governor and master communicator said taxing groceries was a good thing because everybody has to eat.
Barbour reasoned that it is important for all people to have skin in the game — to pay taxes — because “otherwise, they will vote to pave the streets with gold if they don’t have to pay anything.”
Various conservative politicians and other policymakers espouse the Barbour philosophy that a tax on food is fair and necessary. To ensure that poor people pay taxes, too, they advocate for a grocery tax that absorbs a much greater percentage of the income of low income families.
The quiet part out loud is a reference to the fact that as governor from 2004 until 2012, Barbour blocked legislative efforts to eliminate the grocery tax and offset that lost revenue, at least in part by increasing the tax on cigarettes. Barbour vetoed two bills in 2006: one to eliminate the highest in the nation 7% tax on food and the other to cut in half the levy on groceries.
Veto messages are where governors articulate their reasoning for opposing legislation. In neither veto of the grocery tax cut bills did the governor talk about “fairness.”
Instead, he talked about the fact that the combination of cutting or eliminating the grocery tax and increasing the cigarette tax was not revenue neutral. The legislation, Barbour argued at the time, would produce less revenue for the state.
He maintained that it sent the wrong message to cut taxes at a time when he was going to Congress to try to secure federal funds to help with the recovery from the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. And in fairness to the governor, Hurricane Katrina was the seminal event of Barbour’s tenure as governor and one of the seminal events in the state’s history, and his ability to obtain those funds was paramount for the success of the Gulf Coast and south Mississippi.
So it is fair to say Katrina was heavy on Barbour’s mind in 2006 when the Legislature sent him the bills to cut the grocery tax.
It is clear, though, that Mississippi’s political leadership still has similar views as Barbour on the grocery tax. Since Barbour has left office, there have been two major reductions in the income tax: one in 2016 when Phil Bryant was governor and another in 2022 when Tate Reeves was governor.
There has been no cut in the grocery tax during that time.
This year the Senate proposes another major cut in the income tax and a reduction in the grocery tax from 7 cents to 5 cents on every dollar purchase of groceries.
There are efforts by the House leadership and Reeves to completely eliminate the income tax. In addition, the House tax cut plan essentially would trim the grocery tax to 5.5%. The House plan in most instances also would raise the sales tax on most other retail items from 7% to 8.5%.
And there are retail items other than groceries that most all people need. After all, most everyone, including poor people who might not pay an income tax, must buy clothes, household utensils and numerous other retail items that under the House plan would cost more because of the increase in the sales tax.
In short, there are many opportunities other than the grocery tax to collect taxes from poor people.
But just to recap:
• Only 12 states tax food like Mississippi does.
• Mississippi not only has the highest state-imposed tax on food, but also has one of the country’s highest sales taxes on other retail items.
• Mississippi has one of the lowest income taxes in the country and it is getting even lower thanks to the 2022 tax cut that is still being phased in.
The aforementioned tax structure results in Mississippi’s low-wage earners paying a greater percentage of their income in state and local taxes than do the state’s more affluent residents, a 2024 study found.
The report by the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy found that Mississippi has the nation’s 19th-most regressive tax system where low-income residents are forced to pay a larger percentage of their income in taxes than the state’s wealthier citizens.
The study shows the income tax is the only component of the Mississippi tax system that requires the wealthy to pay more than the poor.
And even though Mississippi has the nation’s highest percentage of poor people, the quiet part that needs to be told louder is that our leaders are working to make the tax structure even more regressive.
Odds of winning the Powerball and Mega Millions are NOT in your favor
Odds of hitting the jackpot in Mega Millions or Powerball are around 1-in-292 million. Here are things that you’re more likely to land than big bucks.
The Mississippi Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 6, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mississippi Match 5 numbers from May 6 drawing
02-05-30-33-35
Check Mississippi Match 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 3 numbers from May 6 drawing
Midday: 6-6-3, FB: 6
Evening: 4-6-0, FB: 3
Check Cash 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 4 numbers from May 6 drawing
Midday: 6-7-2-3, FB: 6
Evening: 7-5-1-3, FB: 3
Check Cash 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash Pop numbers from May 6 drawing
Midday: 15
Evening: 14
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Story continues below gallery.
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
Winnings of $599 or less can be claimed at any authorized Mississippi Lottery retailer.
Prizes between $600 and $99,999, may be claimed at the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters or by mail. Mississippi Lottery Winner Claim form, proper identification (ID) and the original ticket must be provided for all claims of $600 or more. If mailing, send required documentation to:
Mississippi Lottery Corporation
P.O. Box 321462
Flowood, MS
39232
If your prize is $100,000 or more, the claim must be made in person at the Mississippi Lottery headquarters. Please bring identification, such as a government-issued photo ID and a Social Security card to verify your identity. Winners of large prizes may also have the option of setting up electronic funds transfer (EFT) for direct deposits into a bank account.
Mississippi Lottery Headquarters
1080 River Oaks Drive, Bldg. B-100
Flowood, MS
39232
Mississippi Lottery prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing date. For detailed instructions and necessary forms, please visit the Mississippi Lottery claim page.
When are the Mississippi Lottery drawings held?
- Cash 3: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
- Cash 4: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
- Match 5: Daily at 9:30 p.m. CT.
- Cash Pop: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Mississippi editor. You can send feedback using this form.
‘My goal was to be a biologist and be the best one I could be. I try to do the best I can do at whatever I’m doing.’
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Staff
A number of familiar names have shifted into new roles at the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and among them is Amy Blaylock who is the first woman to lead the wildlife division.
“I feel honored and blessed,” Blaylock said. “I’m excited.
“I wouldn’t say it was necessarily a goal of mine. My goal was to be a biologist and be the best one I could be. I try to do the best I can do at whatever I’m doing.”
Blaylock joined the department in 2007 after receiving her undergraduate degree in forestry and master’s degree in wildlife science at Mississippi State University. It was an education and career path that came naturally for her.
Her father, Larry Castle, had a career with the agency as did an uncle, Bennie Herring.
“Of course, I love the outdoors and hunting,” Blaylock said. “I hunt as much as I can.
“My kids take up a lot of my time now, but deer hunting is what I do most of. I’ve grown up with the agency with my daddy and my uncle. I guess that encouraged my passion for the agency.”
New role as wildlife chief is not Blaylock’s first groundbreaking move
Blaylock began her career with MDWFP as a biologist with the deer program. She then moved into the role of East Central Region wildlife management area biologist where she oversaw management of 11 WMAs. During that time, she also served as wildlife restoration coordinator and was responsible for writing and managing grants that assisted in funding the Wildlife Bureau.
In 2017, Blaylock accepted an offer to become the assistant chief of the wildlife division. With that, she became the first woman to serve in a top role in the agency.
“I enjoyed being in the assistant chief position, and, so far, I love being in this position,” Blaylock said.
More position changes in MDWFP
Blaylock is not the only person to recently take on a new role at MDWFP. Russ Walsh left the position of chief of the wildlife division, which Blaylock assumed and is now the director of public policy.
Adam Butler also moved into a new position. Butler was previously the director of conservation programs and before that, he was the Wild Turkey Program coordinator. Butler was recently named the assistant chief of wildlife.
A lifelong outdoorsman and wildlife enthusiast, Brian Broom has been writing about hunting, fishing and Mississippi’s outdoors for the Clarion Ledger for more than 14 years. He can be reached at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.
PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) – Mississippi lawmakers will return to the State Capitol later in May after Gov. Tate Reeves called a special session.
According to Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, the session will be limited to redistricting the state’s Supreme Court districts. He emphasized that lawmakers can only address the issues outlined by the governor in the official call.
He says after a recent Supreme Court decision, federal requirements driving previous plans are no longer in play.
Hosemann argued that redistricting decisions should remain in the hands of state leaders, taking into account factors like geography, economics and the interests of communities across Mississippi.
“We believe one man, one vote,” Hosemann said. “I mean, everybody ought to be able to vote. I’ve never liked it where the federal government told me that I had to have so many people for this or that or the other. Running our elections and redistricting ourselves is given to the legislature that’s elected by the people. And we ought not be ordered by the federal court to do something like that. That’s one of the few states’ rights we have left in this country, is that we can redistrict and run our own elections.”
The special session is scheduled for later this month.
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