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Behind the scenes in the just-ended 2010 Legislature, Mississippi's 157,000 jobless workers had $18 million in federal recovery unemployment insurance benefits snatched from them by connivance between Bryant and MMA's brain trust. Make that read Jay Moon, MMA's honcho.
Gov. Haley Barbour had rejected $56 million from President Obama's $728 billion stimulus package that would have extended unemployment benefits if the state enacted several small modernization reforms in its jobless insurance system. Barbour objected to making reforms, contending they would eventually lead to increases in payroll taxes paid by businesses into the unemployment trust fund. Qualified observers say differently.
In the last days of the session, with reauthorization of the state Employment Service stymied by House Democrats, Barbour relented on adoption of one reform, an “alternative base period” to allow workers to count recent earnings if needed to qualify for unemployment benefits. Though not publicized, Barbour made a deal with Democratic Rep. Rufus Straughter of Belzoni, chairman of the House Labor Committee, not to oppose the reform if Straughter lifted his hold on state Employment Service renewal.
“Frankly, I was surprised when the governor agreed to it,” said Democratic Rep. Cecil Brown of Jackson who accompanied Straughter to meet with Barbour and later Bryant. By adopting the alternative base period reform, Mississippi would qualify to receive $18 million of the original $56 million in stimulus funds and annually qualify 4,000 to 5,000 jobless to get unemployment benefits.
It was a different story, however, when Straughter and Brown met with the lieutenant governor. “The MMA is against it,” Straughter remembers Bryant telling them. Consequently, Bryant said he would block the reform measure in the Senate.
Even when he and Brown told Bryant that the governor was on board, “he became arrogant,” Straughter said. The lawmaker told Bryant the alternate base period reform would particularly help minimum wage workers. “I questioned how he could oppose helping 4,000 to 5,000 low income Mississippians annually become eligible for jobless benefits,” Staughter added, “but he just became more arrogant.”
The reform mechanism, the House Labor Committee chairman said, was in a two-bill package. It was accompanied by a bill reauthorizing the employment agency. Bryant went along with that bill while blocking the reform measure.
“We only reauthorized the Employment Security Department for one year, and I intend to be back next year getting the reform bill passed,” Straughter declared. Under terms of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), states have until August, 2011 to qualify for the stimulus funds.
Department of Labor figures show in the final quarter of 2009, only 37 percent of jobless workers in Mississippi were drawing unemployment insurance payments. The low percentage of jobless able to draw benefits, say those familiar with the state's unemployment insurance laws, is largely due to limitations built into the system making it more difficult to qualify. Add to that, Mississippi's weekly jobless benefits are the nation's lowest.
Employers are mandated by federal law to pay a tax (the rate set by each state) on covered employees into the state's unemployment insurance trust fund, whose level is monitored by the feds. Because of Mississippi's low benefits, the state's trust fund in the past has remained at a high level. Recently, however, says Rep. Brown, the trust fund is down after taking a hit from a higher jobless rate plus a law pushed by Barbour four years ago to skim $20 million off the top of payroll taxes to go to community colleges for workforce training.
At least we have learned from Phil Bryant's blockage of jobless benefits for 5,000 low-paid Mississippi workers just who would be the power behind the throne it he becomes the state's next governor.
Bill Minor has covered Mississippi politics since 1947. Contact him at P.O. Box 1243, Jackson, MS 39215-1243, or e-mail at edinman@earthlink.net.
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