HERNANDO, Miss. — The Magnolia state is known for a lot of things like its blues music and southern hospitality, but thanks to Fortune Magazine, it’s now also known as the most crooked state.
Researchers for a new study compiled decades of corruption convictions to come up with the corrupt state rankings. Across the nation, more than 25,000 elected officials were convicted for the crime.
The study also shows Mississippi is one of the least economically developed states in the nation and that could be because the money is going into more elected officials pockets there instead of to the people who voted them into office.
Mississippi isn’t alone when it comes to corruption in the Mid-South. According to the same study in Fortune Tennessee is the third most corrupt state. The study says most of the shady deals come in the form of construction spending.
According to the report “states with higher levels of corruption are likely to favor construction, salaries, borrowing, correction, and police protection at the expense of social sectors such as education, health and hospitals.”
Last year’s graduation rates back that claim up as Mississippi ranked third from the bottom.