Gov. Phil Bryant is pushing ahead with a recurring theme in his administration that could bode well for the state in coming years.
It's a simple concept, one that has been at the heart of the economic system in the United States since its beginning but has never put down roots in certain areas of American life, specifically, government jobs and public education.
It's competition - competition among state agencies for their piece of the budget pie and competition among educators for pay increases.
Mississippi's Legislature has been looking at performance-based budgeting for state agencies, and although the practice hasn't been adopted, there seems to be growing sentiment favoring the approach.
Agencies would be required to develop strategic plans outlining their goals, and how they fare in the budgeting process would be based on whether goals were met. The most efficient, successful agencies would be rewarded.
Last week, Bryant made the case for a similar merit-based pay system for teachers. A report by Mississippi State University's Research and Curriculum Unit recommended the system, and the U.S. Department of Education is encouraging states to move in that direction, Bryant said.
Simply put, pay increases would go to teachers whose students demonstrate academic growth.
"We should pay for what works, not for what merely has been accepted," Bryant was quoted as saying in The Clarion-Ledger.
He added that under the state's current compensation system, ineffective teachers and mediocre results have been accepted.
Bryant also pointed out that highly successful teachers tend to be demoralized by the current system.
Competition works for the competitor because it's an incentive to succeed, to get better at whatever the undertaking, and it works for us all collectively because products and services get better.
Whether educational opportunities are excellent or mediocre, the students will be pushed into the world and forced to compete for jobs and survival. It only makes sense that we reward the educators who have that gift to teach and inspire kids to be the best they can be, so they can be successful competitors themselves.