A Sept. 4 article in “The Atlantic” claimed Republican politicians across the nation are “impoverishing and immiserating their own constituents” to gain political points with conservative voters.

It left out a key point. Some constituents have it worse.

Do you ever wonder why Mississippi has the highest death rate and the lowest life expectancy among the 50 states?

Surely you recall information emerging from the Legislature earlier this year about Mississippi’s highest in the nation death rates for infants and pregnant moms.

Perhaps you remember two years ago in September 2021 ago when Mississippi surpassed New Jersey for the highest rate of COVID-19 deaths. “Since the start of the pandemic, at least 9,165 people in Mississippi have died of the virus,” reported the Associated Press. “The state has a population of roughly 3 million and has had one of the worst vaccination rates in the country.”

Mississippi also has the highest rates for several health-related causes of death – cancer, stroke, high blood pressure, kidney disease and influenza/pneumonia. Plus the highest mortality rate from Alzheimer’s disease and the second highest for diabetes.

Then there are homicides – the latest data on homicide death rates ranked Mississippi at the top. We also have one of the highest rates for deaths in prison and the highest for deaths by firearms.

And car deaths – the most recent data shows Mississippi with the highest automobile fatality rate.

Back to the article’s contention. Are Mississippi politicians causing these constituent deaths? Not directly. But they are not preventing many of them. And that is a sobering takeaway.

It is no secret that more and better access to affordable healthcare would save many lives in Mississippi from infants and pregnant moms to senior citizens with multiple morbidities. But rather than adopt and fund a constructive plan to address these issues, politicians over the years focused on tax cuts and budget cuts while allowing our health care infrastructure to wither when we needed it to be robust.

It is also no secret that greater investments in law enforcement at the local and state levels, including prisons, could reduce homicides, youth violence, and fatal traffic accidents. For example, the state expansion of the Capitol Police Force appears to have noticeably reduced homicides in Jackson.

Another thing “The Atlantic” article contends is that Republican politicians fail to invest in many such initiatives because “the prospective beneficiaries are less well-off and thus have less political influence.”

But now comes a potential bright spot. Likely new Speaker Jason White told Mississippi Today last week he wants the House to look into all facets of health care.

Bill Crawford is a syndicated columnist from Jackson.