Hammond: No Time to Be Penny-Wise, Pound-Foolish
There’s something to be said for leaders in the Texas Legislature sticking to their guns and releasing a state budget that keeps spending within existing revenues.
To my friends in the House and Senate, I say: We must continue to fight to ensure that we implement cost-saving reforms that reflect Texas' commitment to economic growth. But our current budget shortfall isn't a time to be penny-wise and pound-foolish.
The state will have $72.2 billion available for general-purpose spending during the 2012-13 biennium, leaving a $15 billion gap from the current general revenue spending of $87 billion. How ...
Comments (1)
Lori Driver
Mr. Hammond,
First, I would like to say that I do agree with you on allowing slot machines at existing Texas horse and dog racetracks and Native American reservations. Why not keep that revenue in the great State of Texas rather than watching it flow freely over our state border into Louisiana.
With that said, I strongly disagree with you on some of the points you made regarding education. $385.1 million dollars for incentive pay for our school's most outstanding teachers. Lord, they make enough the way it is. If they would spend the majority of their time in their classrooms teaching rather than having substitutes teaching our children, that would be a start. They already get the summer off, time off for a winter break, time off for a spring break. If any other business was run like that with their employees having that much time off, their doors wouldn't be open very long.
And English as a second language. English ought to be our ONLY language. It's time that we stand up and insist on that point rather than bowing down to those that use English as their "second" language. If they want to live, work and prosper in our great nation, they need to assimilate into our world, not the other way around.