President Trump delivered a prime time address last night to the nation concerning the war in Iran.

His tone and tenor were subdued and presidential. He did the right thing in praising and expressing gratitude to our military. And make no mistake, American technology, the product of capitalism, has enabled our military to conduct operations in both Venezuela and Iran with amazing precision, maximum effect and with minimal losses.

Announcing that the attacks could be severe over the next 2 to 3 weeks and not providing an offramp or date certain to exit the region are rattling markets and causing the price of oil to spike by over 10% today. You know the “drill.” Consequently, stocks are selling off after a brief reprieve over the last couple of days.

The president maintains that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen “naturally.” And he (rightfully) implored our European allies to get engaged and assist with restoring the flow of oil, which is more critical than them than us. However, oil is a globally traded commodity and so reduced supply across the planet drives up the price of all grades from all sources and regions.

I thought he did great in laying out the case for the action. Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. Because they would use it offensively. This is a classic short-term pain for long-term gain scenario. Imagine a world that is not continuously on Edge over the nuclear terrorist ambitions of a sick, primitive cult.

I do believe that once the situation is resolved, the president’s economic policies will promote economic growth, make the world safer and Americans more prosperous.

Some analysts are predicting $150 – even $200 barrel oil – as a result. That puts regular gas at six dollars a gallon and diesel at nearly $8/gallon.

This is absolutely crushing all Americans, but especially our farmers, they were already under financial pressure. That’s a huge issue in the State of Mississippi where agriculture represents roughly 10% of our total GDP.

This could also have a downward impact on state revenues, while spending is increasing – challenging lawmakers to balance income with costs.

The increase in state general fund spending is primarily driven by outlays for education and Medicaid. Expect spending on Medicaid to continue an upward trend.

Did you know? At ~$8.5 billion/year, the total cost of Mississippi’s Medicaid program, including federal and state dollars, exceeds the entire general fund budget ($7.3 billion).

Mississippi receives the highest percentage of federal dollars to fund its program because we are the poorest state in the nation. And consider that nearly half of every dollar of Medicaid from the federal government is borrowed. Just one of the reasons where baring towards $40 trillion of federal debt.