Historic Texas Budget Crisis Was Created By GOP & Governor Rick Perry
For many decades Texas had a tax structure that provided adequate revenue to fund public education and balance the state budget. Occasionally the tax structure produced a surplus. Prior Democratic administrations wisely converted the surpluses into savings and created the Texas Rainey Day Fund for unanticipated circumstances. In 2006 Gov. Rick Perry passed legislation that contained substantial tax cuts to benefit certain big businesses. This tax cut legislation created a $5 billion dollar shortfall in state revenue. By 2011 this short fall, combined with a recession driven decline in sales tax revenue, blossomed into the $27 billion budget deficit crisis for the 82nd Texas Legislative Session.
This historic budget crisis was no accident. The shortfall had been forecast by the state comptroller at the time. The state treasury isn’t broke; it was robbed of the funds we need to serve the citizens of this state.
The record deficit was planned and welcomed by the Texas Republican leadership. In his inaugural speech before the 82nd Legislative Session, Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst boldly said, “We pronounce the word c-r-i-s-i-s as opportunity.”
True to their word, the Tea Party dominated Republican Party took every opportunity to take massive “whacks” at the funding of Texas government particularly the education of our children and the lives of our elderly.
Prior to the session, Texas ranked 38th in per capita student spending, 45th in SAT scores and last in the percentage of adults with high school diplomas.
Rick Perry, comparing Texas education standards to other states said “Thank God for Mississippi.” That was before the 82nd Legislature got a hold of Texas public education. Now, we might hear folks in Mississippi saying, “Thank God for Texas.”
The session cut $4 billion from public education. This will cause an estimated 100,000 Texas teacher layoffs, across the board classroom size increases and elimination of pre-kindergarten programs and student breakfast programs.
Medicaid was cut by $3 billion. There will be a big shortage in Texas nursing home employees to take care of the needs of elderly patients. Some nursing homes will close and no one knows where the seniors they serve will go.
Massive cuts in higher education will create faculty reduction, tuition increases and an estimated 43,000 poor students will be prevented from receiving college aid. So, not only have they stripped K-12 education, they have stolen the dreams of college students as well.
Additional massive cuts are made in highway funding and maintenance, prison security, state park operations and dozens of other state operations. When someone reminded Perry that his party’s philosophy was to never waste a crisis, Gov. Perry said, “I don’t think there is anything that is so important it can’t be reduced, or for that matter, eliminated.” (Except, apparently, his rent-a-mansion and his Presidential ambitions.)
The above radical agenda poses the following question. Is this type of political leadership healthy for either the immediate needs or the long term future of Texas?
Texans need to give this question serious thought because without change the current situation promises to get worse, much worse.
Lloyd Criss,
Chair Galveston County Democratic Party
2802 Rosadele
La Marque, TX 77568409 938-7642
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