Tax Cuts Would Be A Mistake In Texas Right Now

The Texas legislature is meeting now, and once again they are talking about tax cuts -- not because Texas citizens are taxed too much (Texas has one of the lowest tax burdens in the nation) or because the money currently collected is not needed (since both education and most state agencies are still underfunded). They are doing it to please their teabagger base in an attempt to assure their own re-election.

The article below was written by Chuck Matula (a senior finance major at UT) for The Daily Texan (the student newspaper at the University of Texas). Matula discusses this new effort by the legislature to cut taxes -- and shows himself to be much smarter than most of the elected officials in this state:

Every legislative session in Texas, taxes are a pretty big deal. A legislator’s position on how the state spends and collects money can have huge implications for their future as an elected official, and certain legislators who return to their districts with reputations as “fiscal hawks” are frequently greeted with a hero’s welcome. 

This has led to several distinct fiscally conservative developments within Texas state government. One of these features is spending caps, a provision passed 37 years ago within the Texas Constitution that stipulates that the growth of state spending may not grow beyond the state’s expected economic growth. That means that state spending can’t grow faster than its taxes come in. 

Although Texas may have its fiscal issues from time to time, this provision has served the state well in preventing quick growth in tax rates. Unfortunately, this provision is being undermined this year by the exact kind of people who herald themselves as “fiscal conservatives” during election season.  

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced a plan last month to circumvent the cap, effectively allowing certain types of spending to not count against the cap. 

Issuing debt is an important tool for the state to use to pay for things that are necessary but aren’t in the budget this year. The spending cap holds legislators responsible by ensuring that in future sessions the payments on that debt aren’t somehow magically not considered spending. Additional provisions within the Senate budget and its accompanying  legislation, SB 1 and SJR 1, would cut property taxes, typically collected by school districts, and compensate the school districts with state money that is similarly not counted toward the spending limit. If these legislators were arguing in good faith that spending needed to be increased and the spending cap compromised, they could make a very good argument. Instead they are trying to herald their status as fiscal conservatives while actually adding tax cuts to the budget that the state isn’t prepared to pay for.  

Changing the definition of “spending” is good practice for writing a budget, but cutting taxes without changing spending just for the sake of political favorability is shortsighted. There is tremendous pressure in the Capitol for tax cuts every biennium, but part of the hard work of governance is deciding whether or not you can deliver on that. Cutting taxes isn’t inherently bad — a comparatively low tax burden is part of the reason the state is so popular for business and individuals — but cutting them just to say you did it is disingenuous.  

Texas faces a litany of issues related to money every year that might be more deserving of tax cuts. It ranks 46th out of the states and D.C. in spending per pupil and ranks first out of every state in percentage uninsured. 

Whether or not the state will choose to fully fund the pension systems is a big question mark. Texas seems to be constantly embroiled in lawsuits over school finance, and just last August was found to be in violation of the Texas Constitution for failing to “provide a constitutionally adequate education for all Texans,” according to the Austin-American Statesman. 

Most notably, a group of six trade organizations, representing entities like the Texas Association of Business, the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association and the Texas Oil and Gas Association, signed a letter calling for investing in Texas infrastructure and education before cutting taxes. In light of ongoing problems like these, it is imperative that legislators take note. When the state grapples with health care, infrastructure and education problems, all Texans bear the costs. The Senate needs to reconsider its shortsighted bid to cut taxes before they’ve taken care of the difficult business of addressing ongoing fiscal problems.  

Tax cuts have a special place in the hearts of Texans, but trying to redefine “spending” to bring about those cuts is irresponsible. Senators are elected to do the people’s work in the Capitol, not cravenly manipulate the budget as a kind of political tool. The legislature should pass a budget that will help Texas stay the great place it is long into the future, where students leave public school ready for the world and sound infrastructure creates an environment where businesses can thrive. 

Maybe that’s a naïve thing to want. Maybe I have a bias as someone born and raised in Texas, who’s seen the boundless frontier of opportunity that this state has to offer, but I want legislators intent on fixing problems, not selfishly laying the groundwork for future ones.

Texas Politics In Graphs

All these charts were made using information from the Texas Civic Health Index, which was composed by the University of Texas Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life and the National Conference on Citizenship. They have more good stuff, and I urge you to go here to read it.

An Appeal To Progressives For Academic Survey

I received an appeal for help from a couple of academic researchers at the University of Texas yesterday. They are trying to do a survey of internet social media (including blogs). But so far most of the people who have filled out their survey have been conservatives. They need to balance this with more progressives.

They have promised complete confidentiality (and will even delete your IP address when they receive your completed survey). I don't often ask my readers to do this sort of thing, but I hope many of you will help these scholars by giving them your own progressive views. Don't let the right-wingers hog the conversation.

I have taken the survey myself, and I can assure you it is virtually painless (fairly short and easy to complete).

Here is the e-mail I received (with a link to the survey):

Hi Ted:  


I am a senior scholar in the School of Journalism at University of Texas (and a former professor at Texas Tech). My research partner and I are conducting our seventh online survey, investigating  social media use and political attitudes and behaviors.  Steve Whichard  from Doing my Part for the Left suggested that I contact you about help in promoting our survey. 


Frankly, conservatives are kicking our butts; the vast majority of our survey respondents have been conservatives.  We are embarrassed we can't convince more liberals to fill out our survey. Could you provide us a link to Jobsanger to help provide a liberal balance? We also include questions about how people found out about Osama Bin Laden’s death, what sources they used to get further information and how they shared information about his death. 


The survey is online athttp://survey.utk.edu/mrIWeb/mrIWeb.dll?I.Project=SOURCES2011 for your perusal.
 
Our survey has been approved by the Internal Review Board at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. As part of the permission process it is guaranteed that all submissions are anonymous and confidential. Any identifying information (i.e. IP address) will be deleted by the researchers upon receipt.  


Tom Johnson

UT Chancellor Says NO To Guns On Campus

The United States leads the world in the number of firearm deaths that occur every year. Here in Texas, there are 11 people killed by guns for every 100,000 people in the state each year. In their infinite wisdom, the Republican leadership in the state has decided that the solution to too many gun deaths is to put guns in the hands of more people. They reason that if more people have guns, there will be fewer gun deaths. I know that doesn't make sense, but then Texas Republicans are not known for making sense.

Texas already has a concealed carry law that allows people over 21 to carry a firearm nearly anywhere (even into the State Capitol building itself). There are still a few places a gun cannot be carried -- like bars, schools, colleges, churches. But the state's Republican legislators are trying to fix that. There is currently a bill in the state legislature that would allow adults 21 and older to carry a concealed firearm on the campus of state colleges and universities, and it looks like it has a good chance of passage.

But not everyone thinks this is a good idea. University of Texas Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa believes it would just make his campus a more dangerous place. And in a last-ditch effort to stop the insane bill, he has written a letter to Governor Perry. Here is the text of that letter:

Dear Governor Perry:


As the legislature considers the important and sensitive issue of concealed handguns on campuses of institutions of higher education, I would be remiss in my duties as chancellor of the state's largest university system if I did not convey my concerns regarding this issue.


I greatly respect and value the authority of the legislature to make this important public policy decision, and I recognize the variety of opinions surrounding it. The University of Texas system has worked diligently to make our campuses safer, through the use of emergency notification systems and other measures. Yet parents, students, faculty, administrators, and institutional law enforcement have all expressed to me their concerns that the presence of concealed handguns on campus would contribute to a less-safe environment, not a safer one.


Additionally, further unease has been expressed by our campus mental health professionals, who know and deal with the reality of the emotional and psychological pressures of academic life, separation from family, relationships -- all pressures that contribute to the harsh reality that suicide is the leading cause of death among college students. There is great concern that the presence of handguns, even if limited to licensed individuals 21 or older, will lead to an increase of both accidental shootings and self-inflicted wounds.


Our law enforcement personnel, consisting of highly-trained professionals who work within these unique campus environments, are particularly troubled about the ability of our officers to differentiate between the bad actor and a person defending himself/herself and others when both have guns drawn. Furthermore, the high density of campus housing -- which includes both persons of age and persons too young to secure a concealed handgun license -- raises issues of how licensed individuals will be able to secure their weapons when not carried on the individual's person.


There is also unease that laboratories and hospitals, where chemicals and gases are not only present but often under pressure, create unique situations where the discharge of a firearm may have consequences well beyond what one may expect in other environments.


I must concur with all the concerns and apprehensions expressed to me, that the presence of concealed weapons, on balance, will make a campus a less-safe environment. I respectfully request that you and your colleagues will weigh these concerns, and the safety and lives of those on our campuses, as you consider this issue.


I realize this is one of many important decisions on the legislature's collective shoulders this session. Thank you for considering our concerns.


With great respect, 


Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D.
Chancellor