Posted on 01/07/2011 7:03:00 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Paul Krugman has noticed the looming budget crisis in the state of Texas, and he's all over it.
Specifically, he is pointing out that the Republican utopia of low regulation, low taxes, pro-business policies, and tough, conservative spending decisions is no panacea--either for the state's financial condition or for the state's citizens.
Despite these policies, Texas is as broke as, well, New York, with a huge structural budget deficit to fill. And it already has very low education spending per pupil and a very high percentage of residents without health insurance.
And now Texas's two-year budget review is coming up, so there will be some more hard decisions to make.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
....and Texas may have a $25 billion hole to fill. Now what?
Given the complete dominance of conservative ideology in Texas politics, tax increases are out of the question. So it has to be spending cuts.
Krugman is touting the deficit line which ranges from $18 billion up. But I disagree with him as to how the deficit will be dealt with.
Some spending cuts may occur but I believe we’ll see increases in taxes, fees and other assessments. The state gasoline tax has been at $0.20 for many years and there has been talk of raising it. Look for increases in fees that the state controls such as licenses, registrations, roadway fees, recreation fees, etc. etc. And if they really want to get fancy they can play with the estimated income that is used to meet the expenses thus balancing the budget.
Did Krugman do any analysis of the unfunded mandates imposed from Washington, DC?
1. What has happened to Krugman? Has someone replaced him with a droidbot? I once thought he was a conservative of some sort but I guess he had me fooled
2. Texas has more arcane rules than anyplace I have lived. Some are just downright intrusive and abusive. The persistent “vehicle safety inspection” is one example. Detailed scrutiny of vehicles for those who can pay and nothing for those who don’t. The police, sheriff, state police and CONSTABLE four deep traffic vultures is another cost I don’t get.
3. Texas’ deficit woes are largely the result of being overrun by illegal aliens. Far less than 20% of the state budget goes for things other than welfare and education. So far, Texas has handled this better than Kalifornication.
Paul Krugman claimed that Bush’s tax cuts were Keynesian economics......that deficits were everything......
Then when a liberal Democrat is president with a liberal Congress...to hell with Baby Boomers and up with deficits and Keynesian economics......
Krugman is a partisan hack, who is exposed as one by a fellow Democrat economist and business writer, Gene Epstein of Barron’s in Epstein’s book “econo-spinning”......though I don’t always agree with him.......he writes convincingly against mania and hype surrounding Krugman and Greenspan...etc.
Krugman isn’t even smart enough to understand that you can’t even have a graduated income tax as long as there’s a corporate income tax.....or that taxes “on the rich” were lower under Clinton than under Reagan...
from 1983-1997...the tip tax rate was 50%, which kicked in at $55,000 taxable income....not to mention a 40% rate and 45% rate below that!
Clinton’s 39.8% rate kicked in at about $250,000 taxable income....
and Reagan raised the gas tax and Social Security tax.
Media and Democrats always want higher taxes and more spending........
these were the Clinton tax rates: 15%, 28%, 31%, 36% and 39.8&—with the 39.8% rate kicking in at about $250,000.
This was the Bush tax rates: 10%, 15%, 26%, 33%, 35%-—with the 35% rate kicking in at about $370,000 taxable income,
I wish the Republicans would get off the Bush/Reagan worship and do it right........back to 2001......
I’d keep all the Clinton rates except would cut the 28% rate to 23%.....increase the standard deduction to state minimum wages and index for inflation.......and simply extend the brackets....as BOTH good politics and economics.
This is how you avoid the “tax cuts for the rich” accusation:
15% rate to $125,000...then 23% rate to $250.000, then 31% rate to $500,000, then the 36% rate to $1 million, and at $1 million taxable income, the highest Clinton rate of 39.8% kicks in.......
You eliminate the corporate income tax to avoid tax shifting.....tax dividends and capital gains as regular income, but index gains for inflation....and cut to zero if held to retirement.....
And we ALREADY HAVE a “partially privatized Social Security”,,,,it’s called 401ks and IRAs.......
mistake correction...from 1983 to 1987 the top tax rate was 50%...not 97 or “tip”
Fair enough. And come to think of it, a lot of my wife’s family are in Texas, and they are doing pretty well job-wise.
Some fellow just freepmailed me and said that Texas has been the source of 1/2 the new jobs in America over the last two years.
That Katrina trash never went home.
That give me more attitude will break you every time.
A perfect example is bus services for a small town where they may get 10-20 riders per day. Tax money is being thrown away on this kind of crap.
I'd guess that any state can do little to ease the federal burden on people,although a state may choose to make it worse,or MUCH worse.
She’d hit you back, Laz. And not in a good way.
Texas needs to get tough on Illegal Aliens...stop pandering to the Hispanic KKK groups and the Open Borders nazis. That would help the state budget problems a lot
Krugman points ou tthat texas has lowest per pupil spending in schools but he does not point out that Texas schools are better than California and probably most states.
Damn - says a lot
I’d hit it so hard it would force me to write bad checks...
Tears are healing. Get better, bunny.
Also, the last budget was based on PROJECTED sales tax revenues. By Texas state law, the legislature must pass a balanced budget(based on information available at the time). Dramatically reduced sales tax revenue caused the budget shortfall NOT Texas knowingly spending more than was going to be available.
While Texas may have budget issues as of 01/07/11, when the Texas Legislature is dismissed in the spring, the budget issues will be handled.(The remedies may be painful, but Texas will do what is needed.) Lefties like Krugman just can’t stand to see conservative states thrive and prosper. (Oh, did I mention the 4 new US congressional districts Texas picked up, due to all the new residents?) Too freaking bad for Krugman and his ilk.
The guy’s got to have the longest commute in the universe: roughly a million lightyears.
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