If you woke up this morning feeling like your pocket was being picked, you shouldn't be surprised — the new state fiscal year arrived with a roar. The budget approved by the Legislature is spending your money at the rate of $2,417.18 per second. Just 8 hours and 40 minutes into the budget year, Texas' legislators have spent more than $75 million.

Kudos to Gov. Rick Perry for an unheralded veto that saved one of Texas' few local taxpayer protections. He stopped legislation that would not only have allowed unchecked tax increases, but would have effectively disenfranchised Texas' voting taxpayers. The Legislature, city councils, school districts and county commissioners just wanted taxpayers to shut-up… and pay-up.

During the Session, House and Senate members passed legislation to severely restrict taxpayers and voters from petitioning local government for rollback elections.

What do you do when the price of an essential commodity has risen so high that it fuels inflation, devastates family budgets and threatens the economy?  Obviously, you raise taxes on it, causing its price to go up even more!

At least, that’s what you do if the commodity is energy and you’re a politician.

When government resorts to advertising its programs and services, that’s a sure sign government has gotten just a little too big. 

Texas bureaucrats spend millions every year advertising the Children’s Health Insurance Program and other welfare assistance activities. They literally beg people to feed at the government trough. 

In what is either a rare act of political honesty or an unbelievable admission of dereliction of duty, or both, State Rep. Fred Hill (R-Richardson) swore under oath that he doesn’t know anything about the state’s existing spending limit.

Odd, considering he has served for years on the extremely powerful Legislative Budget Board – the 10 appointed members of which are specifically charged by the Legislature to “Adopt a constitutional spending limit.” In fact, that is the first responsibility listed on the LBB web site!

“I do not have any involvement in the development or calculation of the State spending limit,” swore Mr. Hill on August 7, 2007.  (Taxpayers and voters would be excused if they break into a little swearing of their own at this point.)