Jackson, Miss. (Northside Sun) –

Our nation is going through a period of record low unemployment rates. Unemployment in July was 3.9 percent nationwide and 4.8 percent in Mississippi.

Although only a few states had higher unemployment rates than Mississippi, by historical standards, Mississippi has never experienced such a low level of unemployment in its entire history.

Even better, for the first time since the Great Recession, total employment is actually going up. Compared to a year ago, we have 10,000 new jobs.

I am reminded of columns I wrote in the 1990s when NAFTA was passed. Textile plants were shutting down like crazy. People believed that without protectionism our unemployment would skyrocket. But it didn’t happen. The market responded. People found other jobs.

Labor force disruption is a byproduct of progress. As the pace of progress quickens, the pace of job destruction will quicken as well.

Nobody likes to lose a job. It’s stressful, but it’s the cost of a higher standard of living.

In the last 30 years world poverty has declined from 40 percent to 10 percent. This is the greatest progress in the history of mankind. And it’s only going to get better. Per capita income has steadily advanced.

But as other nations develop, their labor costs go up and American industry begins to be competitive again. The worst is over.

When my children are my age, the world will be a much better place, if we don’t blow ourselves up.

When I was in first grade, I had to do a drill in which I ducked under my desk and put my hands behind my neck to protect myself from a nuclear blast. Right. Like that was going to protect me from vaporization. Even at age six, I saw through that.

My entire generation grew up with accepting the notion that at any moment the entire world could be blown to smithereens. Surely there are some personal and cultural scars.

The other great fear was overpopulation and starvation. That didn’t pan out either. Turns out as nations develop their birthrate drops like a rock. Europe, America and China are not reproducing fast enough to replace those dying.

Now we have global warming as the big bugaboo. No doubt there is something to this and it should be a concern. But I don’t believe it’s the end of the world. Last year, twice as much wind and solar energy was installed worldwide than fossil fuels. At that rate, we will be done with fossil fuels in about 25 years, if need be.

“Stay calm” was the motto of the English when Nazi annihilation seemed inevitable. Miraculously, it was not. The world survived the Nazi horror and has not seen another world war since.

Certainly, God has charged humans with stewardship of his magnificent creation. I would never advocate irresponsibility. But physics has shown the very essence of our universe is fine-tuned to 10 to the power of about 500. That would be one followed by 500 zeros. If any of the main forces of the universe were off by even one of those zeros, the entire universe would collapse. Given that, a degree of trust and faith in God seems warranted.

As I tell my friends, if I thought humans were really the masters of their fate I too would be terrified for the future.

Which brings me back to unemployment. Mississippi has led the nation in bribing big companies to locate here. Perhaps all those dead last demographic stats have given Mississippians an inferiority complex. We don’t think our state or our people are good enough to compete on our own.

Over the years, I have written many columns arguing against these sweetheart deals for big corporations. Not only are they unfair to smaller employers, they distort the free flow of capital and lower our standard of living. It is corporate welfare.

It’s not rocket science. The free market works better than corporate welfare. Free people left alone do better than government graft and corruption.

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann has been preaching this sermon for many years. If elected lieutenant governor, he has promised to end the mega-corporate sweetheart deals. Good for him.

Hosemann did a survey of 5,000 businesses about what they needed most to grow. Government handouts were way down on the list. A skilled workforce was by far the most important. Good schools and infrastructure was high on the list as well.

Businesses estimated that half the time, they can only find qualified employees in zero to three months, and it takes between three months to a year or longer to fill positions about 50 percent of the time.

When you subsidize special companies, they can use the subsidy money to steal skilled employees from unsubsidized companies. The net result distorts the labor market and hurts the economy.

Of course, these big subsidy announcements came with all kinds of studies to justify the hundreds of millions in corporate welfare. I have seen the studies. I have asked the hard questions. The studies are a joke. They’re just make believe to justify what is, in essence, a political decision. Every politician want to be seen as “creating jobs.” It’s pandering, plain and simple.

The government can do something. It provides the basic infrastructure such as roads, laws, safety and schools. As we progress, we are finding the free market can do even some of these things better. The main thing the government needs to do is get out of the way and let free people better themselves with a minimum of artificial constraints.

Fortunately, Mississippi seems to be making some progress in this regard.

Original Source: The Northside Sun

Jackson, Miss. (Northside Sun)-

Our nation is going through a period of record low unemployment rates. Unemployment in July was 3.9 percent nationwide and 4.8 percent in Mississippi.

Although only a few states had higher unemployment rates than Mississippi, by historical standards, Mississippi has never experienced such a low level of unemployment in its entire history.

Even better, for the first time since the Great Recession, total employment is actually going up. Compared to a year ago, we have 10,000 new jobs.

I am reminded of columns I wrote in the 1990s when NAFTA was passed. Textile plants were shutting down like crazy. People believed that without protectionism our unemployment would skyrocket. But it didn’t happen. The market responded. People found other jobs.

Labor force disruption is a byproduct of progress. As the pace of progress quickens, the pace of job destruction will quicken as well.

Nobody likes to lose a job. It’s stressful, but it’s the cost of a higher standard of living.

In the last 30 years world poverty has declined from 40 percent to 10 percent. This is the greatest progress in the history of mankind. And it’s only going to get better. Per capita income has steadily advanced.

Some of this global progress has come at the expense of the United States. We were king of the hill and now dozens of countries are advanced and can compete. It was a self pipe dream to think the United States could be extraordinarily rich and the rest of the world poor.

But as other nations develop, their labor costs go up and American industry begins to be competitive again. The worst is over.

When my children are my age, the world will be a much better place, if we don’t blow ourselves up.

When I was in first grade, I had to do a drill in which I ducked under my desk and put my hands behind my neck to protect myself from a nuclear blast. Right. Like that was going to protect me from vaporization. Even at age six, I saw through that.

My entire generation grew up with accepting the notion that at any moment the entire world could be blown to smithereens. Surely there are some personal and cultural scars.

The other great fear was overpopulation and starvation. That didn’t pan out either. Turns out as nations develop their birthrate drops like a rock. Europe, America and China are not reproducing fast enough to replace those dying.

Now we have global warming as the big bugaboo. No doubt there is something to this and it should be a concern. But I don’t believe it’s the end of the world. Last year, twice as much wind and solar energy was installed worldwide than fossil fuels. At that rate, we will be done with fossil fuels in about 25 years, if need be.

Fear seems to be part of our nature. My friend Billy Neville gave me a prayer book titled, “Stay Calm and Trust God.” One of the main concepts is that the end of faith becomes the start of fear.

“Stay calm” was the motto of the English when Nazi annihilation seemed inevitable. Miraculously, it was not. The world survived the Nazi horror and has not seen another world war since.

Certainly, God has charged humans with stewardship of his magnificent creation. I would never advocate irresponsibility. But physics has shown the very essence of our universe is fine-tuned to 10 to the power of about 500. That would be one followed by 500 zeros. If any of the main forces of the universe were off by even one of those zeros, the entire universe would collapse. Given that, a degree of trust and faith in God seems warranted.

As I tell my friends, if I thought humans were really the masters of their fate I too would be terrified for the future.

Which brings me back to unemployment. Mississippi has led the nation in bribing big companies to locate here. Perhaps all those dead last demographic stats have given Mississippians an inferiority complex. We don’t think our state or our people are good enough to compete on our own.

Over the years, I have written many columns arguing against these sweetheart deals for big corporations. Not only are they unfair to smaller employers, they distort the free flow of capital and lower our standard of living. It is corporate welfare.

Apparently some folks listened. We have not had a secret rushed corporate welfare special legislative session in years. And lo and behold, look what’s happened. Record low unemployment for Mississippi.

It’s not rocket science. The free market works better than corporate welfare. Free people left alone do better than government graft and corruption.

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann has been preaching this sermon for many years. If elected lieutenant governor, he has promised to end the mega-corporate sweetheart deals. Good for him.

Hosemann did a survey of 5,000 businesses about what they needed most to grow. Government handouts were way down on the list. A skilled workforce was by far the most important. Good schools and infrastructure was high on the list as well.

Businesses estimated that half the time, they can only find qualified employees in zero to three months, and it takes between three months to a year or longer to fill positions about 50 percent of the time.

When you subsidize special companies, they can use the subsidy money to steal skilled employees from unsubsidized companies. The net result distorts the labor market and hurts the economy.

Of course, these big subsidy announcements came with all kinds of studies to justify the hundreds of millions in corporate welfare. I have seen the studies. I have asked the hard questions. The studies are a joke. They’re just make believe to justify what is, in essence, a political decision. Every politician want to be seen as “creating jobs.” It’s pandering, plain and simple.

The only person capable of creating a job is you. When individuals develop the skill set to make them valuable in the labor force, they create jobs. Government cannot do it for you.

The government can do something. It provides the basic infrastructure such as roads, laws, safety and schools. As we progress, we are finding the free market can do even some of these things better. The main thing the government needs to do is get out of the way and let free people better themselves with a minimum of artificial constraints.

Fortunately, Mississippi seems to be making some progress in this regard.

Original Source:  The Northside Sun

Hattiesburg, Miss. (Hattiesburg American)-

The voter turnout in the June 5 Mississippi primary elections was abysmal, and Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann doesn’t want a repeat in the Nov. 6 general election.

He came to Hattiesburg Tuesday to kick off a statewide effort — meeting with local elected officials and asking them to get out the vote in November.

“The number of people voting in Forrest County (in June) was 6,093 out of 44,727 — 13.6 percent of people voting in the primary here, Republican and Democrat,” he told an audience at the Forrest County Courthouse. “In Lamar County, it was just a little bit better — 5,165 voted out of 32,310 who are eligible to vote or 15.9 percent.”

The numbers statewide mirrored those locally, with 245,100 of more than 1.8 million registered voters going to the polls in June for a 13.4 percent turnout.

“We have an opportunity to get a second chance,” Hosemann said. “That second chance will come during the general election in November.

“That’s why we’re going around having meetings all over the state to get people to start thinking about November.”

Hosemann said voters should remember the Mississippi men and women in the armed services who fight overseas to protect the right to vote.

“You and I will be able to get in our truck and go vote at hundreds of precincts (in the state),” he said. “You have a right to vote, but you also have an obligation.

“If it is not enough to exercise your right, you should exercise your obligation.”

Hattiesburg City Council Member Deborah Delgado attended the meeting and said she was concerned about what she heard.

“It just means all of us need to be out there encouraging people to vote,” she said. “I am really concerned about voter apathy and low voter turnout.

Hosemann also said Mississippi’s voting systems are secure. The state recently received $4.5 million from the federal government to upgrade the Statewide Election Management System.

That money was matched with $224,000 from Hosemann’s office budget.

He said the money will go to counties for security and election upgrades. Counties have to apply for the funds and could receive them in 60-90 days.

Hosemann did warn about the information voters see on Facebook and other electronic media. He said the Russians are adept at putting out messages that look like they are coming from legitimate political parties.

He advised voters to educate themselves on the issues.

“We will have the opportunity to see all kinds of things come across our internet,” he said. “They can say just about anything.

“We have to look at what the candidates are actually saying, what are their positions, what they are for and what are they against.”

Hosemann also launched, for the first time this year, his youth voter program Promote the Vote. He went to two schools in the Hattiesburg Public School District to talk about art and essay contests and a mock election.

“We are seeing historically low turnout at the ballot box, so it is more important than ever to teach our children about the importance of civic engagement and how every vote counts,” he said in a statement.

At a glance

Sept. 24: Absentee balloting begins

Oct. 8: In-person voter registration deadline

Oct. 9: Mail-in voter registration deadline (postmark)

Nov. 6: General election

Original Source: Hattiesburg American

Hattiesburg, Miss. (Hattiesburg American)-

The voter turnout in the June 5 Mississippi primary elections was abysmal, and Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann doesn’t want a repeat in the Nov. 6 general election.

He came to Hattiesburg Tuesday to kick off a statewide effort — meeting with local elected officials and asking them to get out the vote in November.

“The number of people voting in Forrest County (in June) was 6,093 out of 44,727 — 13.6 percent of people voting in the primary here, Republican and Democrat,” he told an audience at the Forrest County Courthouse. “In Lamar County, it was just a little bit better — 5,165 voted out of 32,310 who are eligible to vote or 15.9 percent.”

The numbers statewide mirrored those locally, with 245,100 of more than 1.8 million registered voters going to the polls in June for a 13.4 percent turnout.

“We have an opportunity to get a second chance,” Hosemann said. “That second chance will come during the general election in November.

“That’s why we’re going around having meetings all over the state to get people to start thinking about November.”

Hosemann said voters should remember the Mississippi men and women in the armed services who fight overseas to protect the right to vote.

“You and I will be able to get in our truck and go vote at hundreds of precincts (in the state),” he said. “You have a right to vote, but you also have an obligation.

“If it is not enough to exercise your right, you should exercise your obligation.”

Hattiesburg City Council Member Deborah Delgado attended the meeting and said she was concerned about what she heard.

“It just means all of us need to be out there encouraging people to vote,” she said. “I am really concerned about voter apathy and low voter turnout.

“People need to be aware and know that we can make a difference and we can make a change. They need to vote.”

More: Delbert Hosemann: Mississippi voters can now get, change voter information

Hosemann also said Mississippi’s voting systems are secure. The state recently received $4.5 million from the federal government to upgrade the Statewide Election Management System.

That money was matched with $224,000 from Hosemann’s office budget.

He said the money will go to counties for security and election upgrades. Counties have to apply for the funds and could receive them in 60-90 days.

Hosemann did warn about the information voters see on Facebook and other electronic media. He said the Russians are adept at putting out messages that look like they are coming from legitimate political parties.

More: Citizen poll watchers not welcome in Mississippi

He advised voters to educate themselves on the issues.

“We will have the opportunity to see all kinds of things come across our internet,” he said. “They can say just about anything.

“We have to look at what the candidates are actually saying, what are their positions, what they are for and what are they against.”

Hosemann also launched, for the first time this year, his youth voter program Promote the Vote. He went to two schools in the Hattiesburg Public School District to talk about art and essay contests and a mock election.

“We are seeing historically low turnout at the ballot box, so it is more important than ever to teach our children about the importance of civic engagement and how every vote counts,” he said in a statement.

Original Text:  Hattiesburg American

Hattiesburg, Miss. (Fox 23) –

Hattiesburg, Miss. (Fox 23)-

Jackson, Miss. — Promote the Vote (PTV), the Secretary of State’s comprehensive K-12 voter education program, launches this week with a new theme, partner, and implementation materials for teachers.

This year’s program, which will include a mock election and art and essay contests, asks students to contemplate how they may “Make a Difference in Mississippi” by voting and otherwise getting involved in their communities.  For the first time in PTV’s decades-long history, Mississippi Public Broadcasting’s (MPB) Education arm will partner with the Agency to encourage school, teacher, and student participation.

“We are seeing historically low turnout at the ballot box, so it is more important than ever to teach our children about the importance of civic engagement and how every vote counts,” Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said. “Participating in PTV is a fun, manageable way for busy teachers to talk about our elections process in the classroom.”

“The PTV initiative fits in well with MPB’s mission, which is to make Mississippi better,” said MPB’s Executive Director Ronnie Agnew. “Secretary Hosemann’s office and MPB share the belief that we have a responsibility to encourage citizens to exercise their right to vote, and there is no better place to start than with our children. MPB will use the power of its statewide broadcasting radio and television infrastructure to assist the Secretary of State’s Office in engaging, educating and informing the children we hope to reach with this much-needed program.”

The pinnacle PTV event is a mock election for both U.S. Senate races and the U.S. House race pertinent to each school’s district, which will be held between October 1-26, 2018.  A downloadable ballot will be available to participating schools on October 1.

Once students vote for their candidates using the mock ballot, teachers or administrators should tally and transmit their classroom or school vote totals by e-mail to ptv@sos.ms.gov by 5 p.m. on October 26, 2018.  Results of the Promote the Vote mock election will be available in November.

Aside from the mock election, PTV offers art and essay contests, available for students in grades K-12 and 6-12, respectively.  The art contest, called “Colors of My Community,” prompts entrants to pretend they are an artist commissioned to draw a mural on a building in their hometown representing the place and people.  The essay contest, called “We Have Business to Do!,” calls on students to focus on the business economy in the local community by using the Secretary of State’s Y’all Business website, www.yallbusiness.sos.ms.gov.

Art and essay entries will be accepted by the Secretary of State’s Office until December 7, 2018.  Winners will receive an award from local banks and be eligible to participate in a ceremony in February 2019 at the Mississippi State Capitol.

Downloadable PTV materials are available to participating schools and teachers at www.sos.ms.gov/PTV and include deadlines, rules for participation in the mock election and contests, easy-to-implement ideas for how to run a fun and successful mock election in the classroom, congressional district maps, elected officials worksheets, and contest entry forms, among other information.

Original Source:  Fox 23

Jackson, Miss. (WLBT) –

Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann says between late April and late May, 3,000 attempts were made to tamper with the statewide election management system.

Secretary Hosemann says cybersecurity is a daily problem. He says all of Mississippi’s voting information has now been encrypted or converted into code to prevent unauthorized access. He feels security is getting tighter.

Mississippi has now been granted $4.5 million to bolster election security. The counties will get most of those funds.

“The counties will apply and we will allocate the funds out based on voting age population, so your number is already fixed,” he says.

Counties could also use a portion of those funds for other measures, like disability access to polling places.

Original Source: WLBT

Jackson, Miss. (Jackson Free Press) –

Businesses in Mississippi are looking for workers with work ethic, honesty and communication skills, a new survey revealed today shows.

When you talk to some people, they’ll say, ‘Well these are soft skills,’ but they’re hard skills to me,” Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said at a press conference today announcing the results of his office’s survey. “These particular ones will actually more than satisfy the test of time.”

More than 5,300 businesses responded to the survey, and small businesses represented more than 90 percent of respondents.

“These are our small businesses, and this is where the growth will be in Mississippi in the future,” Hosemann said.

The survey from May follows one from November where businesses said they cannot expand because they lack the educated workers to do so, as the Jackson Free Press reported then.

In the recent survey, businesses explained what they are looking for in an educated workforce and how they want to get there. Nearly 25 percent of businesses said reasonable wages and employment opportunities will help retain an educated workforce. Around 15 percent of businesses said “top-rated public schools” would also help.

“These three right here—public schools, reasonable wages and employment opportunities—that’s it,” Hosemann said. “From those three right here, you’ll see growth in Mississippi businesses.”

Approximately 70 percent of businesses said they were not interested in working with schools to help grow the workforce. But Hosemann said he is confident that will change as businesses realize partnering with schools will create a better educated workforce, which will benefit the companies.

Of the respondents, nearly 400 said they would like to collaborate with local schools and community colleges to help train a better workforce. The secretary of state’s office will mentor those businesses to help foster the relationships, Hosemann said.

“I’m really proud of the numbers,” Hosemann said. “Mississippi businesses are speaking loudly and clearly about what we are doing.”

Original Source: Jackson Free Press

Tupelo, Miss. (WTVA) –

Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann says the state is spending $4.7 million to keep its election system secure.

Hosemann says $4.5 million came from a federal grant, and his office gave $200,000.

“We’ve already done cybersecurity work on that[Statewide Election Management System],” said Hosemann. “We’ve encrypted it and worked with the Department of Homeland Security. Some of that money will be used for that.”

The rest will be split between every county to help with new machines, disability access at precincts and security.

WTVA asked Hosemann if Mississippi voters should be worried about hacking?

“If the Russians are going to affect the election, they’ll probably have to come into the precinct, take the machine and run out with it,” added Hosemann.

WTVA viewers had mixed opinions on how they felt about the security of their votes.

“I just want my voice to go where it’s supposed to go,” said Roger Mcinnish, who was unsure about the security of his vote.

“I’m fairly confident in what we have in place, so I can be reasonably assured that my vote did count,” added Mike Flynn.

According to Hosemann, keeping the voting system safe is a day-to-day battle, but he’s confident your votes are safe.

“They [state departments] have worked at attempting to penetrate,” added Hosemann. “We’ve had outside people also attempt [to penetrate] our Statewide Election Management System. We have passed on each of those.”

Original Source: WTVA

Jackson, Miss. (Jackson Free Press) –

Mississippi county election commissions will be able to apply to the secretary of state’s office for federal grant funds to secure elections this year. Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann announced that Mississippi will receive $4.5 million in federal Help America Vote Act funds, likely this summer. Hosemann put up a 5-percent match, about $224,000, from his state budget so the state can receive the funding.

He told the Jackson Free Press that some of the funds will go toward making the Statewide Election Management System stronger, but the majority of the money will go to the counties that apply. They can use the funds to upgrade voting machines, or if they do not need those upgrades—like in Hinds County—they can apply for funds to use on election security and disability access.

“We’re encouraging them to make sure we have disability access to the polls,” Hosemann said.

Counties will not receive the funds before the congressional primary election on June 5 but could have them before the general election in November.

Hosemann’s office has worked with the Mississippi National Guard and the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that the state’s election system is secure. Mississippi’s voting machines are not connected to the Internet, and some counties use paper ballots. In order to test security, Hosemann has hired outside groups to attempt to penetrate the statewide election system, but no such attempts have prevailed, he said.

“The cyber-security risk is not that they will get your ballot; it’s that they will influence your decision,” Hosemann told the Jackson Free Press. “If you look at these companies that have been charged by the president for participating in our election process, they’re all doing it by Facebook and email, and those kinds of things.”

He pointed to social-media accounts Russian groups used to influence public opinion during the 2016 presidential election.

Mississippians will go to the polls on June 5 to vote in Democratic or Republican primary elections, which are open. All four Congressional House seats are up for re-election, as well as both Senate seats after Sen. Thad Cochran retired this spring.

To check your voter registration status or see where you vote, visit: www.sos.ms.gov/vote.

Original Source: Jackson Free Press