History Is Lunch: Brian Pugh, “Chaos and Compromise: Mississippi’s Budgeting Process”

Pugh drew on more than a decade of experience working for the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration, governor’s office, and legislative budget office when writing his new book Chaos and Compromise, which looks at the policymakers responsible for the state’s budget. The book provides a historical perspective on the actions of elected officials going back more than a century and explores how the legislative, judicial, and executive branches have shaped Mississippi’s budget-making procedures. Chaos and Compromise examines how six of Mississippi’s recent governors—Bill Allain, Ray Mabus, Kirk Fordice, Ronnie Musgrove, Haley Barbour, and Phil Bryant—convinced the legislature to include their ideas in the often anguished process of making a budget.

“Dr. Pugh has successfully intertwined the story of how Mississippi state government budgets are born with the historical human-interest stories that make them relevant,” said former state fiscal officer Laura Jackson of the book. “Students of Mississippi politics should treasure this piece of recorded history.”

Brian A. Pugh is executive director of the Stennis Center for Public Service and adjunct professor at Mississippi State University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and master’s degree in public policy and public administration from Mississippi State University and his doctorate in public policy and administration from Jackson State University, where he also taught as an adjunct professor for the College of Public Service. Pugh holds a Certificate in Public Financial Management from the Center for State and Local Finance at Georgia State University. He is a member of the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management and the American Society for Public Administration.