| First of all, thanks to Debra Medina for tweeting out this report from her new organization, We Texans. In 2008, the Pacific Research Institute, in association with Forbes, issued a report on the U.S. Economic Freedom Index. The study reported that Texas fell 14 spots from 2004 to 2008, which immediately followed a 9-spot drop from 1999 to 2004. Here's the rankings, according to Forbes: Texas' Economic Freedom Index, According to Forbes
| State
| 1999 Rank
| 2004 Rank
| 2008 Rank
| | Texas | 8
| 17 | 31 |
The report singles out Texas as a state that is "headed in the wrong direction." Here's how they explain their results: The methodology consists of four parts: (1) we compiled a set of indicators for economic freedom and from that we created five data sets; (2) these data sets were converted into 35 unique indexes using different weighting techniques; (3) we compared each index to the others in terms of its ability to explain, other things equal, human migration across the 50 U.S. states; and (4) the index with the greatest statistical link to migration was chosen as the best and was used to rank the U.S. states in terms of economic freedom.
Texas' economic situation is much worse than Rick Perry wants Texans to believe. Here's three articles to support that: - $1.3 Billion Budget Deficit For This Biennium
From Ross Ramsey's story in today's Texas Tribune, "Documents Reveal Deficit in Texas State Budget":
Every year, the state borrows money to make up for a cash-flow gap created every autumn, when its bills arrive faster than its revenue. The state normally pays the loan back in the spring and summer, when revenues catch up. But this year, there's a dull-but-important fact hidden in that cash flow estimate: State leaders looked a year ago and determined that the "deep hole" — when the cash-flow demand peaks — would be $7.8 billion. Now, Combs has told the debt markets that the deep hole is actually $10.8 billion, or about $3 billion worse. Next week, Texas is set to sell $7.8 billion in cash-flow notes, officially called Texas Revenue Anticipation Notes, or TRANs. (It will have to make up the remaining $3 billion by borrowing from other state funds.) The disclosure documents accompanying that borrowing contain the first public disclosure of a deficit in the current budget. Even though state leaders have already ordered agencies to trim up to $1.2 billion from their current finances, the state will come up $1.3 billion short, the disclosure documents reveal.
- Projected $18 Billion Budget Deficit For the Next Biennium
The $1.3 billion deficit in the current budget is on top of the $18 billion budget deficit Texas is expecting next year. From the Wall Street Journal: "Big Texas Deficit Puts Governor in Tight Spot":
Mr. Perry, a Republican in office for a decade, is touting his tax-cutting prowess and tight-fisted spending record as proof that he remains the right man for the job. He has maintained a wide lead in polls. But as the state's budget shortfall widens—to as much as $18 billion, or about 20% of the next two-year budget, according to the state legislature's latest analysis released earlier this month—critics are complaining that Mr. Perry's policies have left the state with little room to reduce spending.
- State Business Tax Falls Over $2 Billion Short
Finally, the Houston Chronicle is reporting that the business tax Perry crafted in 2006 is going to fall over $2 billion short of inital projections:
The business tax, meanwhile, is expected to bring in $3.84 billion this fiscal year, said Mike Reissig, associate deputy comptroller, less than the nearly $4.3 billion Combs had predicted. The tax initially was project to yield $5.9 billion a year when it was approved. The current budget was balanced with funds that are no longer available, including $12 billion in federal stimulus money.
When you add in the fact that, under Rick Perry, state debt has doubled and state spending has nearly doubled, it's no wonder Texas is losing its economic freedom. And that's before you get into the real cost of our economic crisis: the pocketbook costs that continue to increase, whether they are for homeowners insurance rates, utility rates, college tuition, or health care preimums. Rick Perry will spend millions of dollars to engage in election year politics that spread lies about Bill White and try to hide his failed record. It's why he won't appear before editorial boards and it's why Rick Perry refuses to debate Bill White. I'm thankful that Debra Medina, at least, is willing to share reports like the one she did today, so that more and more Texans can learn about Perry's failures. |
