Successful Special Session?

by: Damon McCullar

Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 08:32 AM CDT

Guv Good Hair is at it again.  He's telling Texans things that simply aren't true.  Property tax cut?  The average Texan will see $150 reduction in their property taxes next year!  The Lone Star Project has put together a great analysis of what we got out of the Special Session.

May 31, 2006

Rick Perry Airs Misleading Ad Facts Dispute Perry Claims Last week, Rick Perry began airing a television ad bragging and taking credit for everything from tax cuts to teacher pay.  The Lone Star Project analyzed the ad and found that it simply does not stand up to close scrutiny.  Perry’s comments are consistently deceptive and incomplete. A video “fact check” of the Perry ad can be viewed below.  We have also included a written transcript of the Perry ad with each claim “fact checked” by the Lone Star Project. Perry Ad Fact Check Click for the Lone Star Project Fact Check Video Claim 1 - Deceptive Rick Perry:  A fifteen billion dollar tax cut and more money for our schools.  We kept our promises to you.  The average homeowner will receive a two thousand dollar tax cut. Fact:  The average Texas homeowner will receive only a $150 property tax cut this year. Source: “[John] Sharp [Perry appointed Chairman of the Texas Tax Reform Commission] said the owner of an average home, which he described as appraised at about $118,000, would save about $150 in property taxes in the first year.” (Source: Austin American-Statesman, Friday, May 26, 2006 ) Claim 2 – Deceptive and Incomplete Rick Perry:  Every teacher will receive a well deserved pay raise. Fact:  Texas Teachers will still be paid $4,000 less than the national average. Source: Average Salaries ($) of Public School Teachers, 2004–05 National Education Association Rank State Average Salary   U.S. AVERAGE 47,808 33 TEXAS 41,009 (Source: National Education Assn. Statistical Ranking of the States http://www.nea.org/edstats/images/05rankings-update.pdf) Claim 3 - Deceptive Rick Perry: We closed corporate loopholes Fact:  Big banks, insurance companies and large landowners will receive more than $800 million in tax cuts. Source: Texas Legislative Budget Board Tax/Fee Equity Note HB1 and HB3   Change in Liability Under HB 1 [in $ Millions] Change in Liability Under HB 3 [in $ Millions] Net Change in Liability Under HB1 and 3 [in $ Millions] Finance, Insurance & Real Estate -961.6 160.1 -801.5 (Source: Texas Legislative Budget Board Tax/Fee Equity Note HB1 and HB3)   Claim 4 – Deceptive and Incomplete Rick Perry: and created new protections to keep taxes low. Fact:  Texas has the 8th highest sales tax rate – higher than New York, Michigan and Massachusetts.  Source: Federation of Tax Administrators, State Sales Tax Rates January 1, 2006 Rank State Tax Rates 40 NEW YORK 4 29 MASSACHUSETTS 5 14 MICHIGAN 6 8 TEXAS 6.25 ( Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Unemployment Rates for States Apr. 2006) Claim 5 – Deceptive and Incomplete Rick Perry: And we’re protecting our job climate. The best in the nation. Fact: Texas unemployment ranks 38th - worse than Oklahoma, Alabama and West Virginia. Source: Unemployment Rates for States Monthly Rankings Seasonally Adjusted April 2006 U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Rank State Rate 13 ALABAMA 3.6 17 OKLAHOMA 3.9 19 WEST VIRGINIA 4.1 38 TEXAS 5.1 (Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/web/laumstrk.htm) Rick Perry: Lower property taxes, higher teacher salaries, and the largest tax cut in history. That’s good for Texas. Summary:  Claims made in Perry ad are consistently deceptive and incomplete.   Check the Lone Star Project Sources for Yourself Claim 1 Austin American – Statesman CAMPAIGN WATCH Friday, May 26, 2006 Expect $1,350 in savings for average home, Sharp says The owner of an average-value home will save about $1,350 in school property taxes over the next three years, former Comptroller John Sharp said. Gov. Rick Perry tapped Sharp to head a commission that authored an overhaul of state taxes, which lawmakers passed in their recent special session. That overhaul reduced school property tax rates by one-third over the next two years while expanding the business tax and increasing cigarette taxes. Sharp said the owner of an average home, which he described as appraised at about $118,000, would save about $150 in property taxes in the first year and about $600 per year over the next two years. His explanation splits the difference between Perry and Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, who is running for governor. Perry says in television commercials that the average homeowner will save $2,000 over the first three years. Strayhorn said this week that the average homeowner would save about $598 in that time. The gubernatorial rivals came up with different figures by using different average home values and different assumptions about how far school district tax rates would inch back. — Jason Embry Claim 2 Average Salaries ($) of Public School Teachers, 2004–05 National Education Association RANK STATE 20004 - 05 AVERAGE SALARY 1 CONNECTICUT 58,688 2 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 58,456 3 CALIFORNIA 57,876 4 MICHIGAN 56,973 5 NEW JERSEY 56,682 6 NEW YORK 56,200 7 ILLINOIS 55,629 8 MASSACHUSETTS 54,325 9 RHODE ISLAND 53,473 10 PENNSYLVANIA 53,258 11 ALASKA 52,424 12 MARYLAND 52,331 13 DELAWARE 50,869 14 OHIO 48,692 15 OREGON 48,330   U.S. AVERAGE 47,808 16 MINNESOTA 46,906 17 INDIANA 46,591 18 GEORGIA 46,526 19 HAWAII 46,149 20 WASHINGTON 45,724 21 VIRGINIA 44,763 22 VERMONT 44,535 23 WISCONSIN 44,299 24 COLORADO 43,949 25 NEW HAMPSHIRE 43,941 26 NEVADA 43,394 27 NORTH CAROLINA 43,348 28 ARIZONA 42,905 29 SOUTH CAROLINA 42,207 30 IDAHO 42,122 31 TENNESSEE 42,072 32 FLORIDA 41,587 33 TEXAS 41,009 34 KENTUCKY 40,522 35 ARKANSAS 40,495 36 WYOMING 40,392 37 UTAH 39,965 38 MAINE 39,610 39 NEBRASKA 39,456 40 NEW MEXICO 39,391 41 IOWA 39,284 42 KANSAS 39,175 43 MISSOURI 38,971 44 LOUISIANA 38,880 45 MONTANA 38,485 46 WEST VIRGINA 38,360 47 ALABAMA 38,186 48 OKLAHOMA 37,879 49 MISSISSIPPI 36,590 50 NORTH DAKOTA 36,449 51 SOUTH DAKOTA 34,040 (Source: National Education Assn. Statistical Ranking of the States http://www.nea.org/edstats/images/05rankings-update.pdf) Claim 3 Texas Legislative Budget Board Tax/Fee Equity Note HB1 and HB3   Change in Liability Under HB 1 Change in Liability Under HB 3 Net Change in Liability Under HB1 and 3   [in $ Millions] [in $ Millions] [in $ Millions] Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing -86.8 98.3 11.5 Mining -256.7 -22.1 -278.8 Utilities & Transportation -387.5 265 -122.5 Construction -30 191.3 161.3 Manufacturing -502.2 916.2 414 Wholesale & Retail Trade -280.1 136.3 -143.8 Information -270.8 508 237.2 Finance, Insurance & Real Estate -961.6 160.1 -801.5 All Other Services -262.4 1,133.60 871.2 Total Taxes on Business: -3,038.10 3,386.70 348.6 (Source: Texas Legislative Budget Board Tax/Fee Equity Note HB1 and HB3) Claim 4 Federation of Tax Administrators, State Sales Tax Rates January 1, 2006 Rank State Tax Rates 50 ALASKA none 49 DELAWARE none 48 MONTANA none 47 NEW HAMPSHIRE none 46 OREGON none 45 COLORADO 2.9 44 ALABAMA 4 43 GEORGIA 4 42 HAWAII 4 41 LOUISIANA 4 40 NEW YORK 4 39 SOUTH DAKOTA 4 38 WYOMING 4 37 MISSOURI 4.225 36 NORTH CAROLINA 4.5 35 OKLAHOMA 4.5 34 UTAH 4.75 33 IDAHO 5 32 IOWA 5 31 MAINE 5 30 MARYLAND 5 29 MASSACHUSETTS 5 28 NEW MEXICO 5 27 NORTH DAKOTA 5 26 SOUTH CAROLINA 5 25 WISCONSIN 5 24 VIRGINIA 5 23 KANSAS 5.3 22 NEBRASKA 5.5 21 OHIO 5.5 20 ARIZONA 5.6 19 ARKANSAS 6 18 CONNECTICUT 6 17 FLORIDA 6 16 INDIANA 6 15 KENTUCKY 6 14 MICHIGAN 6 13 NEW JERSEY 6 12 PENNSYLVANIA 6 11 VERMONT 6 10 WEST VIRGINIA 6 9 ILLINOIS 6.25 8 TEXAS 6.25

Tags: Special Session, (All Tags)

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Successful Special Session? | 8 comments

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by: you @ soon

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San Antonio's newspaper's description of this group.... (1.00 / 1)

The Lone Star Project, a DEMOCRATIC GROUP, points to several top-of-the-ticket races in recent years in arguing that Travis County has less of a partisan split than other possible trial venues despite its LIBERAL REPUTATION.

(San Antonio Express-News, 11/11/2005)

www.completethewar.com

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by: sfagrad02 @ Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 18:07:15 PM UTC

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by: you @ soon

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Yeah...so what? (5.00 / 1)

The analysis is very well annotated.  Are you saying that it isn't valid?

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

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by: Damon McCullar @ Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 18:13:13 PM UTC

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by: you @ soon

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funky code (0.00 / 0)

I think this is why I stick with the regular, because the table is totally not making this entry code right. When saving entries with tables, I think you have to chose no formatting.

Please read the Community Guidelines and How to Rate Comments.

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by: Karl-Thomas Musselman @ Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 18:56:17 PM UTC

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by: you @ soon

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maybe fixed (0.00 / 0)

I think I got this working, but I'm not fully sure.

Please read the Community Guidelines and How to Rate Comments.

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by: Karl-Thomas Musselman @ Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 19:01:02 PM UTC

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by: you @ soon

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It looks more credible.... (1.00 / 1)

when you copy and paste directly from the source...not a Michael Moore-esque partisan attack dog Web site. I might as well post "facts" from the Christian Coalition Web site and see who all buys it.

Interest groups, regardless of political or ideological affiliation are only about spouting rhetoric and spinning stats.

www.completethewar.com

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by: sfagrad02 @ Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 21:12:44 PM UTC

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by: you @ soon

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Watch the video (5.00 / 1)

It's well researched. It's honest. It's based entirely on facts.

The Lone Star Project -- though unapologetically Democratic, for which I applaude them -- does legitimate, honest, well developed research. Don't lump everyone into the same category, especially if you don't want people to do that to you.

Do you dispute any of the points made in the video? Did you even watch it?

Now, a very great man once said that some people rob you with a fountain pen.

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by: Phillip Martin, Progress Texas @ Sat Jun 03, 2006 at 04:59:16 AM UTC

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by: you @ soon

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Don't bother trying to teach (1.00 / 1)

a pig to sing.  Or a troll to think, in this case.

It wastes our time, and annoys the Republican. 

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by: PDiddie @ Sat Jun 03, 2006 at 16:52:57 PM UTC

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by: you @ soon

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Anytime I need solid facts... (0.00 / 0)

I go to the source itself. It's what I was taught to do in school. I don't need a partisan group loaded with spin doctors throwing together "facts" on a website for only the partisan faithful to buy into. Ken Mehlman and Howard Dean will not sway my views with any number they can put on a Web site and call research.
If you are going to call me simple minded, then why did you need the Lone Star Report to rehash the facts for you? I'm sure many of you were taught to go to the Web sites and verify the information for yourselves.

www.completethewar.com

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by: sfagrad02 @ Sat Jun 03, 2006 at 18:30:52 PM UTC

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Successful Special Session? | 8 comments