"We all heard the message Texans sent on election day," Perry said. "They expect us to balance the budget without taking more money from the employers of this state, taking more money from the working families. They want state government leaner, more efficient."
Wrong!
Voters here heard no such message.
Why didn't they?
Comptroller Susan Combs wouldn't release detailed budget numbers until after election day last November. So, they had no idea how out of balance the budget might be.
That said, expect Texas, like California, to evade a truly balanced budget by using all sorts of gimmickry of various kinds.
Especially since some Republicans outside of the Lege, but notable, are practicing deep denialism:
Talmadge Heflin, a Republican former House Appropriations Committee chair now with the limited-government Texas Public Policy Foundation, dismissed the $27 billion figure. He put the shortfall at $12 billion to $16 billion.
Yep, you're one of the GOP goobers who got the state to this point in the first place.
And how can you do anything BUT write a smoke-and-mirrors budget when Tricky Ricky says:
"We will prioritize what's important in this state. We will fund those. And we will craft a budget that meets those revenue projections and not raise taxes nor get into the rainy day fund," Perry said. "And that's been a consistent message for at least a year and a half."
That said, this is the same GOP that has repeatedly raised the price of various "fees" in the last decade.
So, what might you see coming out of this Legislature?
1. A 25-50 percent increase in vehicle registration costs.
2. A 10-15 percent hike in hunting and fishing licenses. (The Rethugs can't go higher than that without rebellion.)
3. A 25-50 percent hike in driver's license costs.
4. The same amount of hike in state park fees, with declining attendance then used as an excuse to cut back on operations.
That's just off the top of my head.
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