Texas has $25b budget gap, largest in the nation

Lawmakers are planning to make extreme cuts in services, including education, in order to try and make up the difference.

For many years, Texas' fiscal conservatism has been held up as a model, as Republicans in the state house had free reign to implement their plans. Now, it appears that what was implemented to try to balance budgets and improve growth has wrought catastrophic damage.

Discuss.

Wait, they somehow managed to surpass California? That's both amazing and depressing.

The gap is now proportionately larger than the deficit California recently closed with cuts and fee increases, its fourth dose of budget misery since September 2008.

So it looks like the various tricks the government tried to pull have run out and the depression finally said hello.

I guesss its True what they say, Everything is bigger in Texas.

What exactly were the policies before this occurred?

They need to either raise taxes or take out loans. There's not much to cut. Economy and all. The previous spending is broken down in the article, although the article seems to be referring to its own research department instead of an external site.

Politicians are afraid to raise taxes or cut spending. Film at 11.

edited 10th Nov '10 1:51:18 AM by RicRomero

They're not afraid to cut spending, they just have a tendency to cut programs they don't like and inflate those they do.

Like Texas education...which really needs far more money in it then they spend.

^

Not so much that, they just need better people on the education board, the ones they have right now are all bible thumping morons.

Trying to delay a recession only makes it worse when it gets there, and Texas had been delaying this one for quite some time.

Why does no-one think raising taxes is a solution anymore. I mean seriously, no government is allowed to say that they would just simply raise a tax anymore without people throwing a fit.

Because OMG SOCIALISM!!!111!eleven!

I'm agreeing with Barkey. It doesn't need more money so much as better written standards. The current model of "ten percent of students are failing" "ADD MORE CLASS TIME FOR EVERY STUDENT" is just retarded.

Allow me to be the first person to say

lol fiscal conservatism

Obviously, the problem is that they're spending their money unwisely.

They should spend a few hundred million dollars to hire some better consultants-who'll just tell them that they're wasting all their money hiring expensive consultants!

^Sounds like a Dilbert cartoon...

^^ Knowing how government operates, they'd actually fall for that.

You know, I feel like the Tea Party and its message is sort of the culmination of the sound-byte society. As I understand it, the old conservative orthodoxy was that taxes are generally bad, active word being generally. It was understood that there were some situations where higher taxes were good, or at least the lesser of two evils. Nowadays, it feels like that message has been dumbed down to "All taxes are evil." Look at the House republicans: they claim to want to fix the federal deficit, but refuse to allow a tax cut to expire that most economists, liberal and conservative, think needs to expire for the US to have any chance of paying down its debt. There isn't enough money that can be cut to make up for that without horribly gutting social services, and God only knows the effect that would have on the economy. I'm sure it's much the same with Texas, California, and pretty much every other state in the country with a budget deficit. (Who from Wisconsin heard the "Mr. Tax-Raising Politician Man" radio ad in 2006?)

Well...this school spent $75,000 to hire Sarah Palin to speak at a fund-raiser which they are hoping will raise...several hundred dollars...

The $75,000 were paid by private donors though. Who apparently cared a great deal more about funding their favored politician than funding their school.

If Palin had even an ounce of class, she would have donated some of her fee right back. But nope! Not Caribou Barbie!

Nowadays, it feels like that message has been dumbed down to "All taxes are evil."

It's true—I've talked to people who say that all taxes are inherently extortion.

I guess said people are anarchists.

Or maybe they're running an anarcho-syndicalist commune. Or are communists, since at that level it turns into the same thing. TAANSTAFL, if you want things like armies, police, schools, and roads, someone has to pay for them.

And people will usually pick army. Because even if you live in a smelly crap hole knowing you can inflict something worst on someone with a different culture than you is always important.

I'd like to run as a politician once and just start pointing out every lie that the PR people want you to tell.

^ Good luck winning with that kind of platform.