Texas Leaders Call for More Cuts Harmful to Texans - Friday, May 28, 2010
Governor Perry, Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst, and Speaker Straus called today on state agencies to plan for across-the-board budget cuts of 10 percent, with minimal exceptions. In past years, such across-the-board cuts have led to significant poor outcomes for children, as valuable programs and services were either eliminated or crippled by the reductions. Cuts already scheduled for this year also are impacting children.
Jason Embry, political columnist for the Austin American-Statesman, noted in a column this week that at least $2 billion in the current deficit occurred not because of the recession alone but because of past poor decisions and wildly inaccurate rejections pertaining to tax revenue. As Embry states:
A budget is a statement of priorities, and in this state, the priority is tax relief.
As lawmakers prepare to grapple with their $11 billion to $18 billion-pretty-soon-you're-talking-real-money budget shortfall, it is important to remember that the situation is more dire than it should have been because lawmakers don't care that the state's main business tax has woefully underperformed. ...
What's startling is that the Legislature has done nothing to fix it. Even if the business tax had raised as much as projected, the 2006 tax swap would have been a net tax cut of historic proportions — about $2.4 billion per year. But because lawmakers are so averse to anything resembling a tax increase, they haven't moved to make the business tax meet its original projections.
Texans Care for Children is working with a coalition of partners in advocating for a balanced approach that includes spending the state Rainy Day Fund, educating Texans about revenue issues, and calling for closing tax loopholes and raising new revenue. If you would like to join with us, please email us.
