By Mike Petters At Huntington Ingalls Industries, our ethics philosophy is simple: Always do the right thing. Even when no one is looking. Especially when no one is looking. At HII, every decision we make—no matter how small—is guided by our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct and by our Company Values: Integrity, Safety, Honesty, Engagement, Responsibility and Performance. These ...
Read More »TODD SMITH: Alexa, you are a Super Bowl winner!
Alexa may have lost her voice, but she found gold in the Super Bowl ad game. Amazon’s “Alexa Loses Her Voice” spot was named most entertaining and best overall among marketing pros surveyed by Morning Consult for Ad Age’s first Super Bowl ranking — measuring not just entertainment value but brand effectiveness. The Amazon ad also topped USA TODAY’S annual ...
Read More »Analysis: Senators argue over state tax diversion to cities
Democratic Sen. Hob Bryan of Amory is generally regarded as one of the smartest people in the Mississippi Capitol, even by those who oppose him ideologically and those who roll their eyes at his occasional finger-pointing, vein-popping rants about public policy. The 65-year-old attorney earned his law degree at the University of Virginia. He has served in the state Senate since January ...
Read More »BILL CRAWFORD: Early intervention with disadvantaged children has high ROI
Gov. Phil Bryant kicked off a recent seminar at the Civil Rights Museum auditorium featuring Nobel Prize winning economist Dr. James Heckman. An expert in the economics of human development, Dr. Heckman spoke on “Making the Case for Investing in High Quality Early Childhood Education in Mississippi.” The Graduate Center for the Study of Early Learning at the University of ...
Read More »TODD SMITH — Trust in U.S. institutions plunges in Edelman survey
Trust in the government, media, business and NGOs in the U.S. declined more rapidly in the past year than after the global financial crash in 2008, driven by lack of faith in government, according to the Edelman PR firm’s annual trust barometer. Globally, trust in journalism rose to its highest level in more than five years, that a decline in ...
Read More »PHIL HARDWICK: Incentives to attract individual families not so far fetched
Dear Mayor: I’m writing to let you know that my spouse and I have recently decided to relocate to another community. We are in our mid-50’s and have income over $200,000 per year. We plan on buying a house in the city. It will be in the $600,000 range. We are in excellent health and have no children. We travel ...
Read More »Analysis: Clash of ideology on health care regulation
A clash of ideology was on display last week in the Mississippi Legislature. On one side were free-market conservatives who want to overturn the state’s longtime system of limiting new medical facilities and services. On the other side are defenders of the current system who fear that changes could harm financially fragile parts of the state’s current health care system. ...
Read More »BILL CRAWFORD: Cuts put Mississippi health care infrastructure at risk
Our politicians these days seem to look only at the costs of health care when making policy decisions. Thus, it is no surprise legislative leaders are proposing to cut already low Medicaid reimbursements by 5% while Congressional leaders look to slash health care spending wherever they can. People with health crises have a different view. During this flu epidemic, ...
Read More »ROSS REILY — Legislature is intellectually dishonest on education
We keep hearing — over and over and over again — what a wonderful atmosphere there is in Mississippi for business. The Governor, Lt. Governor and Speaker of the House love to talk about how cutting taxes is going to save the world and bring more business to Mississippi. So, while I have my $10 savings on my taxes this ...
Read More »Analysis: Lawmakers must make decisions on oil spill money
Nearly eight years after an explosion unleashed millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi’s elective representatives still must decide how to spend part of the compensation for the spill. Contrasting approaches to that $750 million from oil company BP PLC for lost tax revenue are on display in the state Senate and House. The Senate, led ...
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