Texas House Budget Proposes Sweeping Cuts
The Texas House opened the conversation on state spending Tuesday with a $156.4 billion budget that's $31.1 billion smaller than its predecessor, a drop of 16.6 percent from the current two-year spending plan.
The cuts are deep, but the proposed budget doesn't call for an increase in taxes or tapping the state's $9.4 billion Rainy Day Fund. The budget was released to legislators on Tuesday night and is now available to the public online. The Senate will follow with a proposal of its own next week — lawmakers say the differences are relatively small ...
Comments (9)
Marcus Cunningham via Texas Tribune on Facebook
This...isn't as bad as I thought it would be. We'll see when the actual budget gets out
Melissa Huebsch via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Very interesting. I would definitely split my pills if it saved the state millions!
Wilkins Micawber
Using the numbers provided, this plan will save the state 1.225 billion dollars, nearly half of it on the backs of state workers. Changes in tax policy and revenue enhancements will bring in another 803 million. That leaves the state about 23-25 billion short of a balanced budget. With policies like these being offered, it's no wonder the state is broke.
I have a modest proposal: why don't we charge a residency tax to move into the state from California, Nevada, Michigan, etc? It's about as feasible as these recommendations, and if the plan is to make it more unpleasant to be a Texan, it will certainly have that effect.
Where is the school financing/ property tax reform in this plan? Why do we subsidize the cost of footbal in our public schools?
Believe it or not, folks, you can't keep squeezing state employees until you get 25 billion dollars out of them.
Ray Grasshoff via Texas Tribune on Facebook
As always, the devil will be in the details.
ronkabele
Ouch! Parks & Wildlife loses over 33% of its budget.
Brian Schafer
There will be a lot of squawking about this, but most Texans will not even notice the so-called "cuts".
No matter what the budget is or has been, the same groups of people whine that there is not enough spending on social services, education, etc. and much of it is political.
The fact is that the money is not there. One reason Texas has the revenue we do, is because it's a business friendly, low-tax state. Change that and you are going to lose revenue.
What is also confounding is that the same people who think unlimited immigration is just dandy, cry because there's not enough money to educate, feed and provide health care to illegals. Perhaps they should ask Mexico to contribute to caring for their citizens.
renea roberts
I agree with all of the above. And I wish the state would require higher education standards for certified nurses aides. It isnt even reguired to have a GED. I have worked around cna's that I wouldnt trust to boil water. Much less take care of a patient. It is the mos ridiculous thing I have ever seen.
We are going to need to make budget cuts for the state to survive, It will be painful, but it is better than the alternative of a bankrupt state.
Stuart Greenfield
Wilkins Micawber posted :
"Believe it or not, folks, you can't keep squeezing state employees until you get 25 billion dollars out of them."
Actually you could eliminate the deficit on the backs of state employees. Terminating 80% of all employees would reduce all fund expenditures by around $25 bil over the biennium.
Rhonda Ziegler
I offer these suggestions:
Welfare- Require random drug test. No pass, No check- If they can't take care of their children without it, honestly they probably aren't doing much for them anyway.
Welfare- If you receive a check then you should be required volunteer 40 hours a week, every week (2 weeks vacation yearly) to justify the checks you get. Employment evaluation should be required periodically; inadequate work receives loss of or reduced benefits. It also teaches children responsibility when mom and/or dad have to get up every day and be productive. I don't mind paying for daycare for people who are trying to help themselves or community.
Criminal Justice department- If I have to reduce my household luxuries so should they. Do away with cable TV and other perks. Prisons should be self supportive. Prisoners should be responsible for themselves, grow their own food, make their own clothes from the fabric they weave. What they can’t make they should have to barter with other prisons for supplies and products. They should be required to learn a trade so maybe they can be productive citizens when they get out.
Public Education- Attach money to students and make transfers open. Good schools with productive teachers will flourish and the bad ones will go away. Some may not know but a single teacher raising one child qualifies as welfare/food stamp recipient. I don’t think you can ask much more from them and I don’t feel too many people will consider teaching as a career if you keep cutting wages and benefits. Then what will happen to Texas’ youth? No qualified teachers means they will be at home thus affecting their parents employment or the prison system.
No more services for “illegal” immigrants. Spending ridiculous amounts of to provide free education, medical care, social services, etc. to people that are in this country illegally doesn’t make sense anymore than sanctuary cities obviously one of the most ludicrous ideas I have ever heard of but that is a battle for another day.
State (and Federal) Representatives need to be the first to cut their pay and excessive benefits. Why are they entitled to much better insurance plans, benefits, and retirement than the public that put them in office?
These are only a few of my thoughts.