Today’s podcast is one of four podcasts from our two-thousand nine economic forecast conference. The Conference was held January twenty-second at the BancorpSouth Conference Center in Tupelo, Mississippi. Over 500 area citizens heard forecasts on the economy locally, state-wide, and nationally from noted speakers. This podcast features Dr. Phil Pepper who is the State Economist for the State of Mississippi. As the chief economist for the state, Dr. Pepper provides updates on the economy to the legislature as well as communities in the state. He serves as a member of the committee that makes tax revenue estimates for the state and assesses economic and revenue impacts from changes in the state’s tax structure.