MISSISSIPPI: And a 'C' for Musgrove

Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, who is in the midst of his first term, has offered budgets that are "fairly tight-fisted, keeping general fund spending increases below population and inflation growth," according to the Cato Institute in its biennial review of the nation's governors. The research foundation gave the Democrat a "C" on his fiscal report card.

The report said Musgrove has instituted across-the-board spending cuts, vetoed a questionable prison budget, and also vetoed the fiscal 2002 budget because the Legislature assumed the state would have more revenue than he expected. Musgrove turned out to be right. But the Cato report also said that Musgrove's record has been marred by his spending increases, particularly a $338 million, six-year pay hike for teachers, health care expansions, and more money for corporate welfare programs.

"Musgrove's most recent initiative is a so-called economic development program for the Mississippi delta to be paid for by higher sales taxes and more state debt," said the institute.

"This plan has met with resistance among Republicans because payments for debt service are the fastest growing area of the state budget, having ballooned by 485% between fiscal 1992 and 2000," the Cato report concluded.

The Cato Institute is a libertarian-oriented nonprofit public policy research foundation based in Washington, D.C., that favors unfettered markets and limited government.