What would happen to you if your boss clearly assigned a job with a deadline to you, and you just didn’t do it?

It’s a question Mississippi legislators should be asking today.

Lawmakers ended their regular session Thursday without finishing the task at hand.

Members of the House and Senate couldn’t agree on a redistricting map, so they just walked off the job.

The session is over now, and no one really knows what will happen next.

Population shifts defined by census numbers require the state to redistrict and receive U.S. Justice Department approval. Without a map to submit to the justice department, the state may have to live with maps drawn by federal judges not in touch with the needs of our state.

Or, Gov. Haley Barbour could call a special session — costing taxpayers dollars we cannot afford to waste.

Or, the state may move ahead with this year’s elections only to have a new set of legislators tackle redistricting next year leading to a second costly election one year after the first.

Wouldn’t it have been easier just do the job right the first time?

The good news is, the taxpayers are the bosses in this scenario, and it is an election year.

We wonder what the taxpayer bosses will do next?