OXFORD — Mississippi, as a state, can’t phone national radio host Dave Ramsey and shout, “We’re debt-free,” as individuals do daily regarding their personal finances.
Neither can the United States of America.
Not by a long shot.
That’s because both governments owe money. Lots of it.
The citizens who call in and declare victory in their personal struggles against red ink don’t include their share of the public debt, even though it’s just as real as what they owe VISA.
To be 100 percent honest, callers from Mississippi would have to shout, “We’re debt-free, except for the $4,750 each member of our family owes in local and state debt plus the $51,000 each of us owes as an American.”
Ramsey is an increasingly popular pay-as-you-go zealot. For a couple of hours every day, he pleads with listeners to shred their credit cards, pay off balances as quickly as humanly possible and never, ever purchase anything (except their houses) by any means other than cash on the barrel head.
Ramsey confesses being a recovered credit junkie — having gone into bankruptcy as a young entrepreneur due to over-ambitious real estate speculating — so he brings a special “I’ve been there” passion to his show. But he also offers listeners no mercy, insisting there are no shortcuts on the road to good budgeting. He demands a beans-and-rice diet until members of his audience are efficient managers of their earnings. His website even has an array of beans-and-rice recipes.
How strange it is that Ramsey has survived years and has prospered selling the notion of “wait” in a culture of “get it now.”
And how strange it is that legions follow his ministry — and it is faith-based — while simply choosing not to think about the public purse.
Budget hearings are under way in Jackson this week. Legislative leaders are hearing from agencies about how much cash they’d like to have to the fiscal year that starts next July 1. It is an agonizing process.
In the big picture, though, Mississippians are far more fortunate than many other states in the amount we collectively owe. Per capita public debt here, for example, is less than half what it is for Californians.
The rule in Jackson is to use current revenue to pay current expenses.
In a way, it’s how most folks administer their households, or how Dave Ramsey encourages to be good stewards.
Just as this week’s paycheck goes to pay our light bill, the phone bill and some food, Mississippi’s income from sales and use taxes and from income taxes withheld from paychecks goes to compensate state troopers and teachers, plus pay utilities and other expenses under the heading “operations.”
We pay as we go.
Capital expenses are different. Mississippi finances long-term projects, such as the new Supreme Court building, bridge and highway projects and such. This is done through issuing bonds, which is a very responsible way to pay long-term expenses. It can even be smart.
Say a county issues $10 million in bonds to build a bridge today. Say the interest rate is low and the total payoff over 10 years is $13 million. Citizens will come out better than if the county had waited and “saved” for 10 years if the construction cost rises to $15 million.
The reality, though, is that governments really have no legal mechanism to save and invest, much less the willpower. There have been several attempts in Mississippi to establish “trusts” in which cash would earn more cash to pay operational expenses. Each has failed. But that’s OK, because the bonding process is efficient if used in moderation.
The utter disgrace, of course, is at the national level.
Unlike Mississippi, America cannot pay its daily expenses without going deeper into debt every single day. America uses VISA to pay MasterCard.
Although there’s a lot of chatter on the presidential campaign trail, only Congress has the power as well as the responsibility to chart a smarter course.
That hasn’t happened for decades, and it hasn’t mattered a bit whether Republicans or Democrats held majorities.
Like it or not, we live in a democracy. While it certainly makes sense to ponder our personal finances first, our names are just as firmly affixed to the money borrowed by lawmakers in Jackson and in Washington, D.C.
And just as with those who call Dave Ramsey’s show, our choices are (1) bankruptcy, (2) pay now, or (3) pay later.
• Charlie Mitchell is assistant dean at the University of Mississippi School of Journalism. Contact him at cmitchell43@yahoo.com.
