Speaking last week about what to do with the money if an increase in the state tax on cigarettes were approved, Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, D-Brookhaven, shed light on how the mind of a lawmaker works.

No criticism intended. The tax, benched again this year, should have been increased.

It’s just how she was rationalizing.

Sen. Hyde-Smith referenced the tax swap legislators authorized back in the 1990s. To offset super-high car tax fees, the Legislature increased from 3 percent to 5 percent the sales tax on vehicles imposed at the time of purchase. The higher sales tax revenue was, in turn, used to lower the cost of car tags. (Even though revenue-neutral for the state, meaning people were still paying as much as ever, lawmakers also ordered that every tag renewal notice contain — usually in red ink — a statement praising the Legislature for saving citizens money.)

But now, Sen. Hyde-Smith said, with fewer new car purchases due to the national recession, the state was “suffering a shortfall” in the sales tax collected and that decline must be offset, apparently dollar-for-dollar, in car tag taxes. Indeed, she said, citizens were going to be horrified when they saw the increases in their tag renewal notices.

She didn’t necessarily endorse the idea, but said earmarking about $30 million from a higher cigarette tax to the car-tag account would keep things even.

All nice, neat and clean. Keeping things even sounds eminently fair.

Now think about all the times the state has received windfalls of cash. Keeping things even somehow just didn’t come up. Think about the fact that since 1993, casinos have paid $4.5 billion in state and local taxes. Has even one member of the Legislature said the effect of a new revenue source should be kept even by reducing an existing tax? The answer is no.

This is not to say the gaming revenue has been spent unwisely. Much of it has gone to increasing teacher pay and providing health insurance — good uses.

But it shouldn’t pass without notice that when a state revenue stream starts running dry, action to “balance” is required. When new money rains in “keeping things even” is never mentioned.