JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -
This week, several state and public agencies in Mississippi are bracing for spending cuts. The federal government has said they need to cut $85 billion from its budget, unless a solution is found.
They're calling this 'the sequester', which is just the legal name for immediate spending cuts. The deadline to avoid the cuts is Thursday at midnight.
State economists say everything from education to the military could feel deep impacts if it's implemented. State economist Dr. Darrin Webb says the sequester could mean the loss of 7,000 jobs in Mississippi and wide-ranging, long term effects on our economy.
"Across the board, education, k-12 higher education, headstart, all those are going to be impacted obviously law enforcement would be effected by that," Webb said.
A statement released by the White House this week identified specific cuts in the Magnolia State, including $5.5 million in education funding for primary and secondary education and 9,000 civilian Department of Defense employees. Current projections also leave a half a percentage growth loss for our state's economy.
"Can the economy withstand that. We think it can given our current projections the national economy in particular they've estimated a growth of 1.9 percent so that brings you back down to 1 1/2 percent not great growth by any means certainly you would like to see it grow stronger but it's not a recession either," Webb said.
Other programs like Headstart are also slated to take a hit. Sixteen-hundred children would lose access to early childhood education. Medical cuts would include slashing 283,000 in funds to fight public health threats.
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