Jake McGraw, Author at Rethink Mississippi

Jake McGraw

Jake McGraw is the public policy coordinator at the William Winter Institute and the editor of Rethink Mississippi. A native of Oxford, Jake studied public policy and economics at the University of Mississippi and economic history at the University of Oxford. He currently lives in Jackson. You can contact Jake at jake@winterinstitute.org.

Commentary
Preparing for the Next Big One

This year, the next disaster keeps arriving before the last disaster is over. Historic rainfall in January and February swelled the Pearl River and flooded large swaths of Jackson and central Mississippi, inundating hundreds of homes and displacing thousands of residents. Tornadoes ripped across the state throughout the month of...
May 1, 2020
Commentary
Let Mississippians vote by mail in November

On November 3rd, more than 1.2 million Mississippians will cast their votes for the presidency, Congress, and a handful of down-ballot offices. At best, we will be in recovery from the worst public health and economic crisis in our lifetimes. At worst, we will still be in lockdown after premature...
April 17, 2020
Commentary
Keeping Mississippians at Home

Governor Reeves’s statewide stay-at-home order goes into effect today. It is a necessary — and overdue — measure to forestall the spread of the coronavirus that has infected at least 1,300 and killed 26 people in Mississippi. It is also another sign of how much the world has changed in just a...
April 3, 2020
Commentary
Coronavirus and the Digital Divide

Right now, the best thing people can do for public health is to isolate themselves at home. The best thing people can do for the economy is to continue working. Both are possible for people who have reliable internet access and jobs that can be performed remotely. For everyone else, they are mutually exclusive. I...
March 27, 2020
Commentary
The recession has begun: How bad will it get?

Conventional economic wisdom says that Mississippi is often the last state into and last state out of a national recession. That wisdom largely held for the 2001 and 2008 recessions, which started in sectors (tech and finance, respectively) that did not have wide footprints in Mississippi. But once the downturns...
March 19, 2020
Commentary
Coronavirus arrives in Mississippi

On Wednesday night, Mississippi became the 39th state to confirm a case of COVID-19. Five more presumptive cases have been reported today. Coronavirus took a while to reach Mississippi, but now that it’s here, the priority is containing its spread and treating the people who suffer severe complications. At the...
March 12, 2020
Voting
Flood control in Jackson: two birds, ‘One Lake’?

The rainiest new year in memory swelled the Pearl River and inundated more than 450 homes and businesses in the Jackson area in recent weeks. The flooding has been a humanitarian and economic disaster for a city that contends with infrastructure emergencies on its sunniest days. It has also reignited a...
March 5, 2020
Editor's Blog
Weekly roundup: Yes, we can read… and do math

For all of the standardized testing in schools these days, there’s only one exam that measures student achievement across the entire country. It’s the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which is actually a set of exams periodically given to representative samples of students in all 50 states and D.C....
November 1, 2019
Analysis
Mississippi’s brain drain crisis in 12 slides
October 12, 2019
Analysis
New Census data, same old story: People keep leaving Mississippi

Mississippi's net migration loss since 2010 is almost equal to the population of Biloxi, the state's fifth-largest city.
December 21, 2017
Editor's Blog
Love it or leave it?

A state representative's abrasive email sheds light on Mississippi's self-destructive mentality.
March 18, 2016
Commentary
Commentary: Mississippi does not have a state lottery. Let’s keep it that way.

The benefits are overstated, the costs are underestimated, and there are much better ways to fund essential services.
January 25, 2016
Analysis
Why doesn’t Mississippi have a lottery?

It's a simple question that requires a complex answer.
January 14, 2016
Analysis
Pre-K study shows that Mississippi kids succeed when given a chance

An analysis of MDE data shows that pre-K attendance can kickstart a positive domino effect that raises the likelihood of long-term academic success.
September 22, 2015