Governor, economic analyst disagree
about who should forecast state's future

By By Steve Gillespie / staff writer
June 13, 2003
As a state economist, Dr. Phil Pepper provides updates on the economy to the Legislature and serves on a committee that estimates tax revenue and assesses the impact of changes in the state's tax structure.
Instead of a state economist, Gov. Ronnie Musgrove has proposed using a group of business people to forecast the state's economic environment.
While in Meridian on Thursday, Musgrove said he will propose forming such a group to the Legislature.
Pepper said the current system does a good job of projecting the state's economy.
He said having a business person included in the current process may may be a positive change, but he said that while four or five businessmen may have a good idea of what is going on with their individual businesses, they will have a hard time understanding the broader perspective.