Beware of permanent temporary tax increases

Nobel laureate and economist Milton Friedman once joked that “nothing is so permanent as a temporary government measure.” And that certainly includes “temporary” tax increases.

In Mississippi, where I live and work, residents in the capital city of Jackson know that very well. Voters recently approved a $65 million bond issue to cover maintenance woes that have long plagued the Jackson Public School District. It was sold by supporters as “not a tax increase,” but a continuation of a previous tax increase from a previous bond measure that had been paid off.