While other states scramble to find money or beg Washington for bailouts, Texas is sitting on a $11 billion surplus. How did that happen? Leonard Gilroy (love that name!) at Reason takes a look.
(Of course, fiscal stinginess can extract its own price. How about using some of that surplus to create a true Tier 1 public university in Texas? So that 5,000 Texas students don’t have to go out of state to get a superior education?)
16 comments
Ummmm, how about not spending it at all, Mr so-called conservative.
1. Doesn’t a surplus, admirable and better than the alternative, mean overtaxation of the citizens of Texas especially in light of the new business income tax that was so “necessary” and is now underperforming.
2. The privatization effort which is so effective in cost savings should be extended to the public schools.
3. Texas should consider loaning the surplus to California to cover their deficit to be paid back by a tax on whatever California can dream up taxing. The revenue stream could be used to reduce taxes on Texans with weekly public reminders in the California press that their tax dollars are reducing the tax burden on Texans. California might consider electing real fiscal conservatives in the future.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
DB:
1. No, it doesn’t mean that.
2. Great, schools run by Haliburton and Blackwater.
3. Scharwzeneger is a fiscal conservative (or whatever the looney GOP call themselves these days.) As with all wingnuts, cutting taxes without cutting spending is what is done (the alternative, governing, is too hard. WWWW’s anyone?) Governor I’ll-Be’Back cut the auto registration tax w/o cutting costs. And of course, the Wingnut ambrosia of Prop13 is still working its magic. Man, Grover Norquist could command you wingnuts to wear ruby slippers and high five kangaroos and you would do it – provided it was in a small bathtub of course.
Are you so inured to embarrassment that you really can spout such – oh, intellectual ephemera — and believe it substantial?
Please.
Oh, and visit Dallas, Home of America’s Worst President!
Haliburton & Blackwater run DISD = major improvement.
Hey Wingnut Groupie
Schools run by Halliburton or Blackwater would be a great improvement over the liberal run establishments we have right now
Wingnut
1. What does it mean?
2. Blackwater, Whitewater, anyone would be better.
3. Arnold is not a fiscal conservative.
LBJ never called Dallas home, he just had a loop named after him here or do you mean someone else is America’s Worst President.
“How about using some of that surplus to create a true Tier 1 public university in Texas? So that 5,000 Texas students don’t have to go out of state to get a superior education?”
I’m behind you 100%, Wick and so are thousands of other parents in DFW!
1. “Haliburton & Blackwater run DISD = major improvement.” Ha! Confirmation that wingnut philosophy is bankrupt. Here’s an idea for the wingnut koolaid: Let’s get Randall Terry to run them! Yea, that’s conservative thinking. You betcha!
2. LBJ the worst? I guess in the wingnut world that the Civil Rights Act would be a sign of incompetence. Maybe he should’ve politicized the Justice Department instead. How do you folks function day to day? Try to remember, those aren’t voices in your head, just a clogged corpus callosum trying to communicate to the other half.
3. You’re right! If Norah Jones had gone to suburban schools she’d be Vanilla Ice.
4. Gov Terminator not fiscal conservative? W not fiscal conservative? W Sr not fiscal conservative? Reagan was fiscal conservative? Really, failed to bring in enough taxes for their raised spending.
Maybe you should try a new strategy, after the morning jello try to stay awake and find some nice Science channel show about cause and effect!
cause: Electing Republicans effect: Government as a Confederacy of Dunces.
(Please note, that’s not the way you understand confederacy. There is no link to the Stars and Bars there)
Wingnut was not loved enough as a child… I’m sending you virtual conservative hugs!!! Don’t you feel better now?
Too late, Mark Foley’s been sending hugs already.
Wingnut:
Cause and Effect LBJ style-
Have a baby, get a gov’t. check,
have another baby, get a bigger check,
get married, no gov’t. check
Did wonders for the black community.
Gosh, you guys make it so EASY. It should be illegal to enter any comment thread bookended by: Fish & Barrel
Have a BAANK, get a gov’t. check,
have another BROKERAGE, get a bigger check,
get to middle class, no gov’t. check
Did wonders for the black community America.
Really! You can still get that GED, but I would encourage much/much/much tutoring.
Previous to the election Pelosi mentioned a $500 or $1K check to taxpayers “in time for the holiday season”.
Anyone seen that mentioned post-election?
Wick you missed this one. This is smoke and mirrors… our leadership sold our state freeways to toll road authorities, hence the “surplus”.
As a parent of two students who are at OU, I think that the great state of Oklahoma might go bust if the students from Texas stopped traveling I35N to Norman.
looker: I’m glad somebody mentioned the tollway situation. vast tracks of Texas are being sold to private interests, some of which are foreign companies, all resulting in the state making money and the people, on top of rising gas and car prices, to pay tolls on more and more roads that we use.
Dubious Brother: For someone who seems to be a Republican, you are pretty funny and a good debater.
Wingnut Groupie: AWESOME comeback with the bank bailout being welfare for the rich!