Key point: Texas Democrats are acting responsibly about our state's $18 billion budget deficit. Whether it is members of the 20/20 PAC, Senator Kirk Watson, Rep. Rene Oliveira, or Bill White on the campaign trail, we are the party of responsible budget leadership, while Rick Perry just wants to dig us further and further into reform.
The state budget crisis is a major campaign issue. But while we don't know who will be Governor next session, or which party will be in control in the State House, it is Texas Democrats who are leading the way to offer real solutions and thoughtful study to solving our state's $18 billion budget deficit. The 20/20 PAc joined the conversation about budget reform today, as reported this morning in the Austin American-Statesman's First Reading:
The Texas 20/20 PAC, a group of 10 Democratic legislators that calls itself “the House’s voice of moderation,” today will release a report on what states around the country have done to close their budget gaps. The author is former Deputy Comptroller Billy Hamilton, who was a high-ranking aide to Democratic and Republican comptrollers.
The 20/20 PAC is putting their stamp on the budget issue, in a pretty impressive way. The hire of Hamilton is a good move ot show they are being earnestly bipartisan, and not just political with their desires. With so much uncertainty going into the next session these sort of policy principles that cut across party lines are important. It's great to see the conservative House Democrats speaking out and trying to lead on this issue early on.
Other Democrats have previously called for responsible budget reform. Senator Kirk Watson has gotten in front of the issue, too. A recent article in the San Antonio Express-News, "Democrat says this may be right time for budget reform" mentioned the following:
Watson said before he'll vote to spend any of the $8.2 billion expected to be in the fund when lawmakers write the next two-year budget, leaders and lawmakers must first agree to budget reform.
[...]
Watson takes issue with tricks like the use of nearly $3.7 billion in levies ostensibly collected for particular purposes – from combating pollution to helping people struggling to pay their electric bills – being used instead to balance the budget. He's concerned about debt. He's alarmed over the continuing effects of the finance package that cut local school property tax rates without raising other state taxes enough to cover the cost.
Democrat State Representative Rene Oliveira is Chair of the House Ways & Means Committee, the tax committee in the Texas Legislature. Rep. Oliveira has spoken in repeated news reports about the need for serious examination of tax exemptions. In one of the most recent stories, "Lawmakers take aim at items exempt from sales tax," we learn the following:
“There are some easy ones (exemption eliminations) that I think Texans and a bipartisan group of House members would support, but I think people need to have the reality check of what we are facing before they will look at this as an alternative to drastic cuts,” said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rene Oliveira, D-Brownsville, whose panel has been studying exemptions. “Do I think a majority of the House is ready to say yes to this? No.”
Oliveira's plowing ahead with his work, which has included determining the policy reason for each exemption and whether that reason remains valid.
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.
"There is no way that they will be able to come up with $18 billion in cuts," said Eva DeLuna Castro, a senior budget analyst at the Center for Public Policy Priorities, a nonprofit that advocates for low-income Texans. "They would have to shut down our prison system."
Whether it is the House Mmebers of the 20/20 PAC, Senator Kirk Watson, Representative Rene Oliveira, or Bill White on the campaign trail, Democrats are stepping up to show responsible budget leadership while Rick Perry writes a self-help book for extreme right-wing Republican wannabees.
Yet another reason why I'm proud to be a Democrat.
Today is day 52 of Rick Perry refusing to debate Bill White.
Last week, Bill White held a press conference in Austin to challenge Rick Perry for his ongoing absence from the duties of his office. Labeling him "Part-Time Perry" White and his campaign team laid out the following charges and research:
As the state faces a budget hole of $18 billion, Part-Time Perry continues to charge Texas taxpayers over $9,000 a month in rent and $428.57 an hour for work.
Perry's extravagant rental mansion is worth $1.85 million, 10 times more than the average price for a home in Texas, which is $183,800.
"Texas taxpayers are stuck with the bills for Rick Perry's fancy mansion, his Food & Wine magazine and his one and a half chefs, while Perry charges $428.57 an hour for work," Bill White said. "He's been a career politician for so long he's forgotten who he serves. Texans deserve a governor who's working for them, not himself, and a governor who works as hard as they do."
Debra Medina was not given a booth at the Republican Party of Texas state convention in Dallas last weekend. As Christy Hoppe with the Dallas Morning News reports, "Ex-Texas gubernatorial candidate an outlier at state GOP convention in Dallas":
Debra Medina, the tea party favorite who made an impressive stand in the primary for governor, is rousing the GOP rabble.
She's formed a group, called We Texans, to push her agenda on state sovereignty and private property rights. But the party establishment has been less than welcoming to her continued presence. She is a delegate to the state convention and a former GOP county leader, but her group was denied a booth inside the convention hall. [...]
"The party convention is like the cover of a beautiful book. The facade is lovely, it paints a very pretty picture, but look inside," Medina said. "It's all hot air and no substance."
Medina was the only Republican in Dallas to take on the most important issue of substance facing Texas: Rick Perry's $18 Billion Budget Deficit. From her "We Texans" event:
A Texas-size hole in the Lone Star state's budget is putting pressure on Gov. Rick Perry, who is running for re-election this year as a model fiscal conservative. [...]
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.
Texas Democrats, who hold their own confab in Corpus Christi in two weeks, responded to Perry's convention appearance with a gathering four blocks away, using a plastic blow-up elephant as a prop to make their point.
They maintained that for all his Washington bashing, the governor neglected to remind delegates that he took $22 billion in federal stimulus money to help balance the state's budget.
Democrats did not think much of Perry's self-styled conservatism, either.
“This weekend, the largest elephant in the room at the Republican Party convention is Rick Perry's $18 billion budget deficit,” state Democratic Party spokeswoman Kirsten Gray said.
And to drive the point home -- with a prop I had a little too much involvement in getting set up -- was, in fact, the largest elephant in the room:
On April 26, 2010, Rick Perry first said he'd refuse to debate until Bill White released his tax returns:
"If he releases his tax returns, we'll be happy to talk about debate dates," said Miner.
Now that Bill White has released his tax returns, Rick Perry must agree to debate. And there are many questions he will have to answer -- questions we will be highlighting every day until the Texas press corps finally asks them and Rick Perry finally answers them.
Part-Time Perry needs to answer questions about how he plans to address the state budget shortfall. So far, Perry has offered little more than shrugging it off and claiming he'll do the same thing in 2011 as he did in 2003. At least two things are immediately wrong with that: first of all, the deficit is nearly twice-as-large this time. Secondly, the last time we slashed our budget like that our state services were simply obliterated.
But finally, and perhaps most importantly, is the startling revelation that Rick Perry has only logged two hours of "office time" in fifteen weeks. Bill White's campaign has challenged Perry to answer for this. From their press release:
"Why won't Rick Perry debate?"
Why won't he answer questions and face Texans without a script?"
How has career politician Rick Perry confronted this impending budget crisis?
An analysis of 15 weeks of his state schedule reveals that Part-Time Perry had only two hours of "office time" scheduled, and more than half of Perry's time was spent at press conferences, photo ops, lunches and dinner parties.
During these 15 weeks, Rick Perry also enjoyed 10 long weekends, which gave him plenty of time to enjoy the food prepared by his one and half chefs in his $10,000 per month rental mansion.
"Perry thinks he is doesn't need to answer to Texans and can just relax in his rental mansion all the way through November," said Bacon. "Perry doesn't think he needs to work on our budget crisis, he admitted he was waiting until 2011 to address it, and he even made the outrageous claim that the $18 billion shortfall was grabbed from the air. Perry needs to stop playing political games, stop denying the budget crisis and start working for Texans."
Democrat Bill White criticized Republican Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday for pressing state agencies to cut their spending by 5 percent, calling the approach "Soviet-style" budget management.
With Texas facing a budget shortfall of at least $11 billion, White also refused to rule out future tax increases to close the gap.
"Until you look under the hood and see what you can do, and what the state of the economy is and what the trade off is, you shouldn't be making that decision (on taxes)," White said at a conference hosted by the Texas Tribune online news site.
The second paragraph -- White refusing to rule out future tax increases -- was (predictably) pounced on by Team Perry, whose rampant cynicism about state government created the budget shortfall in the first place. Rather than accept responsibility, Perry's team attacked "liberal Bill" for raising taxes and blah blah blah even a freshman poli sci student knows the rest.
Rick Perry's fiscally irresponsible budget practices are the reason our state is facing an $11 billion budget shortfall. As Jason Embry of the Austin American-Statesman wrote in a column, "Budget mess got going with 2006 property tax cuts"
The economic downturn isn't helping the shortfall, but it's not driving it, either. The driving factor is a decision by Gov. Rick Perry and the Legislature in 2006 to reduce property taxes by $14 billion every two years and raise only about $9 billion to replace that money. In other words, the Legislature committed $5 billion every two years to holding down property taxes instead of spending that money on education, public safety or other priorities.
Embry's column -- and a similar one written by Bob Garrett of the Dallas Morning News titled, "Agency budget cuts small in face of Texas' gaping shortfall" -- points directly and clearly to both the problem and the cause of the problem. Unfortunately, direct accountability in journalism is rare, and not the rule. The following is an (incomplete) list of stories put out by the Texas press corps regarding yesterday's meeting of the House Appropriations Committee and the news that the state is facing, at minimum, an $11 billion budget shortfall.
None of the stories below mention the very basic fact that the policies set forth by Rick Perry and Texas Republicans led directly to the budget shortfall:
The Associated Press story -- which was only a paragraphs long and was reprinted in many papers -- also did not point fingers at Perry
I'm encouraged by today's story by Jay Root, as well as a blog post put up this afternoon by Jason Embry, that give Bill White the opportunity to point out the facts: Rick Perry caused the budget deficit we are in. However, as soon as White is quoted, the press -- for balance -- goes to Rick Perry (or his spokesperson, Mark Miner) for a quote. And then Bill White's factual statement (that Perry caused the $11 billion budget shortfall) is lined up against Rick Perry's spin (Bill White is a liberal OMG aren't you scared!), and the two are given equal weight.
If that's what has to happen for campaign coverage, fine. But it will forever confuse me that reporters, when writing about a story as critical to Texas as the budget, simply refuse to write about WHY we have that budget shortfall. A column by Jason Embry, Bob Garrett, and others from time-to-time is fine, but the day-to-day journalism must do more to explain to Texans about why the state is suffering the way it is.
Because when they don't, the story reads like a failure of government, as opposed to a failure by the people in charge of government. The distinction may be small -- and I'm sure many reporters will challenge such a distinction -- but it's true. Especially here in Texas, where every single official is appointed by Rick Perry. As we go forward, reporters should -- in my humble opinion -- do a better job at pointing out who caused the various shortfalls at our state agencies and state government.
Today, State Representative Jim Dunnam, who is Chair of the House Select Committee on Federal Economic Stabilization Funding, penned a Statesman in the op-ed knocking Dewhurst and Perry for their blatant hypocrisy. From his op-ed, titled, "Texas a fiscal wonderland? Now that's pure fantasy"
The problem with much of the current Republican Party leadership is not that they disagree with Democrats. The real problem is that they disagree with reality.
By shamelessly pretending that in is out and up is down, they have spun themselves into Wonderland.
Whether you like the stimulus or not, this misinformation is getting out of hand.
You should really read the entire op-ed -- Chairman Dunnam does a great job detailing all of Perry's hypocrisy.
Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst wrote an op-ed in today's Austin American-Statesman where he attempts to spin a lie that Texas didn't need stimulus dollars to balance the budget.
Given recent comments about our state's budget, I feel it is time to separate fact from political fiction. The fact is, in stark contrast to the U. S. Congress, the Texas Constitution requires the Legislature to balance the state budget every two years, and that would have happened with or without any federal stimulus dollars.
In 2007, I led the effort to save $7 billion to balance the revenue shortfall we anticipated this year.
So it's simply political fiction that stimulus dollars were necessary to balance our budget.
OK then Dewhurst -- how would you have balanced the budget without using the $14 billion in federal stimulus dollars?
To balance the budget, he's either got to cut spending or raid the Rainy Day Fund -- but the Rainy Day Fund wouldn't have filled a $14 billion budget hole. So what would Dewhurst have cut?
Kicked more kids off of CHIP?
Further gutted public education spending?
Dewhurst has no answer to this at all.
Meanwhile -- while Dewhurst is out spinning lies to cover his and every other Texas Republican's political hide when Rick Perry is rallying against Washington at the same time he's accepting $14 billion to fill a budget hole that he created -- his Senate Finance Chair, Steve Ogden, is actually telling the truth.
"In order to balance the budget this biennium, which is $182 billion, we used $14 billion in federal stimulus money to balance it," said Sen. Steve Ogdenm R-Bryan. "We're not expecting a similar amount of similar money to be available in the next two years because the federal government just doesn't have it. So, assuming that's true, you go into the next session with a $14 billion hole."
According to the State Comptroller's office, Texas requested and was allocated almost $20 billion in federal stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment ACt, and has so far been awarded about $13 billion. About $3.6 billion has been received, and nearly all of the received funds have been spent.
If David Dewhurst really wants to claim that Texas didn't need the stimulus funds, then he should produce a budget that shows what he would have cut. But he'll never do that, because this isn't about leadership or fiscal responsibility or being honest about how Texas Republicans play a shall game with Texas' taxpayer dollars.
It's about political power, and political wars -- and Dewhurst, Perry, Strauss, and every other Texas Republican is going to rally against Big Bad Washington while silently singing President Obama and the Democratic Congress' praises that they bailed Texas out of a massive $14 billion budget hole.
Don't believe Dewhurst' spin -- and don't believe it when you hear it repeated for the next year in the press, in local elections, in campaign forums, or on the campaign trail. The Republican-led legislature was only able to balance the budget because of federal stimulus dollars.
Remember -- I didn't say it. The Republican Senate Finance Chair did.
While Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison, complain about the Obama administration and Democratic controlled Congress spending on the stimulus, the budget and potentially on health care reform their votes in favor of building seven more F-22 fighters for $1.75 billion are hypocritical in the extreme. Republicans including Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Senators John McCain and John Kyl among others agreed that the F-22 was unnecessary and an inappropriate expenditure. Fortunately the vote to kill the F-22 was truly bi-partisan with 42 Democrats, 15 Republicans and 1 independent; unlike some other legislation lately which had only token Republican support.
Our senators claim to make their votes based on what's good for Texas and the country but how is building a cold war era fighter that can't be flown near an aircraft carrier and hasn't been used in combat over Baghdad because its super-sensitive electronics can't deal with the mass of radio signals good for the country?
I've heard some Republicans say they voted for the F-22 to save jobs; but their party generally claims, quite loudly, that government spending doesn't create jobs, so which is it? There are plenty of worthwhile projects that $1,750,000,000 could fund including bridge repairs, building schools, green energy and energy efficiency projects that would pay dividends for all of us for years to come.
(John is doing great work to help organize Democratic activists for the two State Board of Education elections in Travis County in November 2010. Get involved early and help make a difference! - promoted by Katherine Haenschen)
State Board of Education Forums at Yarborough For Saturday May 2, 11:45-1:15 pm
"Why You Should Care about the State Board of Education"
Julie Cowan is the proud mother of three Anderson high school students. She has served as PTA president at Anderson High School (currently), Murchison Middle School, and Doss Elementary School. She has served AISD in numerous capacities, most recently participating on the 2008 Citizens' Bond Advisory Committee, 2007 Middle School Strategic Planning Task Force, and 2007 and 2008 Budget Committees. In addition to supporting public education, Julie served the Travis County Medical Alliance as president. A graduate of Southern Methodist University, Julie has a BA in Political Science, a BFA in Public Relations, and a Texas Teaching Certificate. Julie is married to Dr. Rob Cowan, a board certified OB/Gyn.
Alana Morris works in K-12 public education in suburban Houston. Her over twenty years of public school experience in Texas, includes work both as a classroom teacher and as a district-literacy specialist. She is author of Vocabulary Unplugged, and past president of both the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language and the Coalition of Reading and English Supervisors of Texas. Alana was appointed by the SBOE as a work-group specialist for the most recent revisions of TEKS for English Language Arts and Reading. This service led her to testify before the SBOE, and got her fired up enough to testify before both education committees of the Texas legislature. Because of their leadership, Alana and two colleagues were given an Intellectual Freedom award from the National Council of Teachers of English.
Dr. Ronald Wetherington is professor of anthropology, and director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Southern Methodist University. He received a B.A. in zoology from Texas Tech and an M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Michigan. In the Spring of 2009 he served as one of six special science advisors to our State Board of Education. The Texas Freedom Network gave its 2009 Grassroots Hero Award to Dr. Wetherington, saying that he is :a "dedicated individual who exemplifies Texas Freedom Network's work to Stand Up for Science", and adding that "whether working behind the scenes to patiently educate board members or in front of the cameras making a vocal case for science standards free from creationist ideology, Dr. Wetherington has worked tirelessly to ensure Texas students have a rigorous science curriculum that will prepare them for the 21st century."
Forums are at Yarborough Public Library, 2200 Hancock Dr., Austin, TX 78756, on the first Saturdays of each month from February-November, 2009, except for July and September when the library is closed for holidays. Forums are always from 11:45am - 1:15pm. All forums are free, and open to the public.
Coming in August: Laura Ewing(D) from Galveston county, and Patricia Hardy(R) from Tarrant county on "What You Should Know Before You Run for the State Board of Education". Each has run for the SBOE, where Ms. Hardy represents SBOE-11.
For more information, contact John Keohane keohane@prodigy.net (512) 371-3853
(Bill Spelman is endorsed by BOR. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
We're in a recession, and unemployment is still rising. Should Austin offer tax incentives to bring in new businesses? If sales tax revenue doesn't turn around, should we cut public safety, parks and libraries, or something else? Shouldn't you be involved in making these decisions?
I believe the weak economy and the tight budget are the most pressing issues facing Austin today. Please join us next Tuesday evening for a town hall meeting to discuss them.
COMMUNITY TOWN HALL "Budget & Economy"
Tuesday, April 14
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
First Unitarian Universalist Church
4700 Grover Ave
Austin, TX 78756
RSVP on Facebook
You're invited to share your ideas and be a part of the solution. Austin faces some tough challenges ahead, but by working together, we can leverage our city resources to get the most bang for our taxpayer buck. If you can't make the event, then please share your ideas online.
Thanks for your support. I look forward to meeting with you personally to hear how you think we can best improve Austin.
