As many Meridianites can attest, poverty remains, as it has for the past several administrations, one of the most important issues facing our city.

As I and my volunteers have gone around the city, we have seen dozens of families living in substandard conditions, unable to properly feed their children and having to rely on inefficient, corrupt social aid in order to survive. According to some estimates, almost 30 percent of our citizens live below the poverty line, and in some areas of the city that number jumps to a staggering almost 77 percent. This is, in my view, utterly unacceptable.

As awful as these numbers may be, however, they are not exactly surprising, especially given the mismanagement of our city’s economy by past administrations.

As mayor, I would take a different approach to attracting new businesses and alleviating poverty. My solution for the poverty facing our citizens involves a two-pronged approach of creating conditions more favorable to small and mid-size businesses by reducing both unnecessary regulations and harmful taxes. By doing so, not only will more businesses choose to locate in Meridian, but local entrepreneurs will be incentivized to establish their own businesses and create new jobs, allowing for both higher wages and a decreased poverty rate.

In addition, despite tax cuts, revenues would actually increase due to the increased size of the tax base because of increased economic activity. It has been proven by many past examples, the most efficient, fairest means of collecting revenue is by having fairly low tax rates, as this encourages more businesses to come into the city and increase investment and allow for more tax revenue. As it stands right now, many would-be entrepreneurs who would like to improve our city and the lives of our citizens are unable to do so due to the cost of keeping up with some of the more absurd ordinances, such as arbitrary restrictions on where businesses can be located or the implementation of so-called “privilege taxes” on certain types of businesses.

I know for a fact that many of our citizens would love to try making better lives for themselves, their families, and their communities, but first we must get unnecessary regulations out of the way. The people of Meridian know what is best for them economically, and only by recognizing this fact can our government finally allow our citizens to prosper and create a bright future for our children.

Mariner Durant is the Libertarian candidate for mayor of Meridian.