Your Opinion: Conservative comparison

Dear Editor:

At printing, Sen. Kehoe and Mid-Missouri's House Republicans may or may not have determined to provide another cash-cow for Ameren despite their extremely healthy profit picture, to reduce the taxes of billionaires like Rex Sinquefield, to translate this "gift" into additional sales taxes on the rest of us, to fund our highway repairs through additional sales taxes and all in the effort to grind our future down because of the similar push in Kansas.

This is what conservatives in our Legislature propose. I would suggest we examine what conservatives have done for Mississippi which has been identified as the most conservative state.

Our legislators give lip service to children but Kaiser Health has recognized Mississippi as the worst state to spend as a child. Thirty-two percent live in poverty and half those in extreme poverty.

In Mississippi a child is neglected or abused every hour. A child or teen is killed by gunfire every week. Mississippi indisputably ranks first in infant mortality. Mississippi is fifth worst in education applying metrics such as financing, educational environment and equity.

Mississippi ranks in the bottom five states in metrics for obesity, low high-school graduation rates, limited availability of primary care physicians, low birth weight infants and prevalence of diabetes. Mississippi is tied for last for all health determinants combined. Mississippi ranks last in life expectancy. A Mississippians life is seven years shorter than one in thoroughly blue Hawaii. Further, though a great state for retirees with resources, poverty among those over 65 places Mississippi at the top of that less-than-desired measurement.

Mississippi is ranked last for both median income and per capita income. Consequently, Mississippi is ranked highest for households in poverty. Curiously, Mississippi ranks just behind South Dakota, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina at 5 percent or less of their labor force organized. See a trend here?

There is a curious alignment in subscriptions to porn sites. Though the per capita rankings are spread on a very narrow range from a high of 3.6 percent to a low of 2.4 percent per 1,000 broadband subscribers; Mississippi and Utah share the clear lead in online adult entertainment subscriptions. For a state that shares its top percentage of self-identified Christians at 55 percent or higher with nine other states, this is definitely a curious alignment.

Perhaps conservative thought isn't everything it's promised.