Mississippi's Bureaucratic Fat Cats Outearn All Fifty Governors
Mississippi might be one of the poorest states in America, but we produce some of the most overpaid public officials. The Mississippi Fat Cat report, published this week, lists the highest paid public officials in our state, and it reveals some shocking truths.
Did you know, for example, that the school superintendent of Tupelo (7,005 students) is paid more than the governor of Texas (population 28 million)? Or that the D-rated McComb school superintendent makes more than the governor of Florida?
Mississippi’s 50 highest paid public officials make more than the 50 governors of the U.S. states.
If that was not bad enough, it appears that Mississippi’s Fat Cat bureaucrats have been getting fatter. Over the past year, the average salary of a Mississippi Fat Cat rose almost 10 percent. Top public sector salaries in our state are rising faster that the pay of average Mississippi government employees and private sector workers.
The price of everything from gas to groceries is rising, leaving many Mississippians worried about being able to afford the basics. I don’t imagine that is quite such a problem for the school superintendent of Jackson Public Schools, who according to our data received a whopping 31 percent pay increase. Or the executive director at the Department of Transport, who seems to have had a 45 percent increase in income.
More Fat Cats mean fewer nurses, teachers and police. Our report calculates that the combined salaries of Mississippi’s 50 Fat Cats could pay for an additional 194 nurses, or 232 state troopers or 228 teachers.
For years, the mainstream media has insisted that the solution to poor public services in our state is to spend money and tax more. Our report suggests that money is there, it just is not being spent in the best interests of the public.
Our state has a $ billion state budget surplus. Rather than leaving that money for Fat Cats to help themselves, perhaps we need to think about further tax cuts for everyone else?
Earlier this year when the state legislature was debating a reduction in income tax, we were told by some that we could not afford to allow people to keep more of their own money. It seems that Mississippi’s Fat Cat bureaucrats wanted to get hold of it instead.
Perhaps the most disturbing finding in the report is the fact that there often seems to be little correlation between what top bureaucrats are paid, and their performance. Many of the worst performing school superintendents seem to enjoy inflated salaries.
What can be done to tackle this outrageous situation?
Our report puts forward several positive policy ideas, including a cap on salary increases above what our state Governor makes. We also suggest giving the state legislature more oversight, and an amendment to the Mississippi code, which would help.
But if any of these proposals to tackle the Fat Cats is going to succeed, we first need to make the public aware of just how big a Fat Cat problem we have. That means making sure that anyone concerned about this issue signs up for our campaign. Sign up here if you believe it is time to stop the Fat Cats getting fatter: https://mspolicy.org/subscribe/.
Douglas Carswell is the President & CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.
