Policy Snapshots for Rebuilding Mississippi

Sponsored by the Mississippi Center for Public Policy
Forest Thigpen, President

Policy Snapshots for Rebuilding Mississippi

Merry Christmas!

Policy Snapshots for Rebuilding Mississippi highlights the best ideas for restoring the economy of south Mississippi in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina by utilizing the wonders of the free-enterprise system.

These ideas aim to encourage private investment in the region, to affirm and encourage the generosity and self-reliance that Mississippians showed so bravely immediately following the storm, and to help determine the proper role of government in the recovery and rebuilding effort.

Policy Snapshots will be sent on an occasional basis. All the ideas shown below, and many others, can be read at www.RebuildingMississippi.org, a unique site hosted by the Mississippi Center for Public Policy (MCPP). That website and these Policy Snapshots were designed by MCPP and are NOT associated with the governor's office or the Governor's Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding, and Renewal.

RebuildingMississippi.org is formatted as a weblog, or “blog” to enable you to comment on any of the ideas shown. We welcome your comments!

Forest ThigpenMississippi Center for Public Policy


Gulf Opportunity Zone Will Encourage Private Investment
Congress has passed legislation to create a Gulf Opportunity Zone, or GO Zone, to provide a variety of tax incentives for investing and re-investing in business ventures and housing in south Mississippi. It also creates a special class of tax-exempt bonds that can be issued by the state ... click here to read more

Coast Students Could Choose Among Special-Emphasis Public Schools
With the Stennis Space Center on one end of the Coast and Chevron and Northrop Grumman on the other - and with medical, defense, and other industries in between - there are excellent opportunities for high schools to be developed with special emphases in science, engineering, medicine, arts, or other fields. For example, ... click here to read more

Eliminate Capital Gains Tax & Allow Expensing of Capital Expenditures
Mississippi should eliminate capital gains taxes for all investments in job-producing businesses in the region. Also, firms that purchase new equipment and rebuild facilities should be allowed to fully expense those investments, rather than depreciating them over many years. [This item was posted before Congress established the federal Gulf Opportunity Zone. However, the Mississippi legislature should act to provide state tax breaks as well.]

State Should Sell Assets to Help Pay for Rebuilding
Our state leaders should evaluate the inventory of assets owned by the state and sell those assets that are not producing the results they were intended to produce. State asset sales would provide a number of benefits. First, and most obvious, ... click here to read more

Hear Ideas for Rebuilding on MCPP's Vital Signs Radio Commentaries
You can hear these and other ideas on the Vital Signs radio commentaries by Forest Thigpen, president of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. You can also read the text of these commentaries or hear them online... click here to read more

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