By Matt Ballew III
We have a problem in most U.S. cities and states, and certainly Washington, D.C. Way too much debt!
Many of our political leaders are reluctant or unwilling to make the hard choices to begin living within our means. In fact, many believe the solution is to borrow more money to stimulate the economy, suggesting we will eventually grow our economy faster than the growth of our debt.
I hear people resigned to a bad ending and worried, not for themselves but for their children. They realize their standard of living will be greatly diminished and future generations will bear the brunt of the poor fiscal and monetary policies of the last forty years.
We now see class warfare at the polls, with those reliant on government refusing to accept budget cuts and those in the private sector demanding fiscal responsibility.
While Mississippi has experienced growth in wages, salaries and total personal income, it is not where it needs to be. Mississippi is still ranked the 46th state for business by an annual CNBC survey.
What Mississippi and the country need is a change in our education of the public from top to bottom. A recent survey from The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis indicated that fewer than 44 percent of adults even recognize the Federal Reserve System as the institution responsible for the nation's monetary policy.
Education on economics and personal finance for K-12th students for the last 100 years would have gone a long way toward avoiding our current problems. But we have to start somewhere, and Mississippi can be proud of the success of its Mississippi Council on Economic Education.
In 2002, MCEE was formed through the initiative of Gov. Winter and John T. Dillon, chairman and CEO of the International Paper Company. MCEE set out to require economics courses in order to receive a high school diploma, establish study centers at Mississippi's major universities to train teachers on economics and personal finance education, develop entrepreneurial labs encouraging small business ideas and much more.
Over the last 10 years, more than 8,000 of these teachers have reached 800,000 students. MCEE has been active in more than 99 percent of the state's schools and its efforts have been recognized nationally.
MCEE has an annual forum fundraiser, which will be held at the Jackson Convention Center Oct. 30. The keynote speaker is Stuart Varney, an acclaimed economist and host of Varney & Company on the FOX Business Network. Other guests include Sen. Thad Cochran, State Treasurer Lynn Fitch, Miss Mississippi Marie Wicks and Maggie Wade of WLBT will emcee.
This organization is a vital part of the solution to our economic problems. Your support directly benefits the economy of Mississippi. Contact MCEE at Millsaps College at (601) 974-1325 or MSCEE@Millsaps.edu for information about the forum or how you might become involved.
Matt Ballew III is chairman of Security Ballew Inc. and a board member of the Mississippi Council on Economic Education.
