I’m sure that you’ve all heard of the “Blame America First” crowd, but have you heard of the “Tear Texas Down” crowd? These people have emerged as a result of the recession and rather than acknowledge that a 9.4 percent unemployment is more attributable to four years of liberal dominance on Capitol Hill than eight years of a wartime presidency, liberals in Texas resort to tearing down Texas at any chance they get. We especially saw this during the 2010 Midterm Elections when Texas Democrats tried every lie that might help them gain some relevance in this state.
Texas, the second largest state in the US, has an unemployment rate that is well below the national average and has generated more than half of all new jobs in the country; for this reason, the “Tear Texas Down” crowd has been very unsuccessful at doing just that. With Comptroller Susan Combs’ revenue report, we have seen increased activity (mainly whining, kicking and screaming, among other childish activities) from the left in Texas, sarcastically exclaiming, “Glad we aren’t California!”
This is an obvious insinuation that Texas is in the same financial situation as California, and liberal “economist” Paul Krugman has gone so far as proclaim that Texas is proof that limited government and fiscal responsibility are bad for a state. Are these people living in the same country and dealing with the same facts as the rest of us?!
First of all, Texas’ biennial budget shortfall is between $13 billion and $28 billion, depending on who you ask of course. Regardless of what the shortfall is, it is important that we keep this all in perspective. Texas currently has nearly $10 billion saved up in its “Rainy Day Fund” and over the next few months, our legislators will be working to write a budget to get us through 2013 when the next legislature will convene. So even if we go by liberal estimates, being short $28 billion over a two year period is not bad, especially when we consider that California’s budget is equally short but that is just for this next fiscal year! So even when comparing the states using liberal estimates, we get that for the 2011 – 2013 fiscal years Texas is short $28 billion (Honestly, It’s much closer to $13 billion), while California could potentially be short $50 billion.
What makes these states so different is that Texas legislators will work hard to keep our taxes from being raised in these tough times and will end the session without a deficit. California on the other hand is very likely to raise its taxes and still write a budget with a large deficit, which will be added to its already existing $91 billion debt. Yep, that’s right! As of June 30, 2010, California (bastion of liberalism and “proof” that more government is good government) owes $91 billion dollars. Glad we aren’t California, right? Seriously, I understand that liberals got their feelings hurt in 2010 and have felt neglected for nearly two decades in Texas, but can’t they at least acknowledge that the Republican Party has positioned our state very well financially?
As a college student, I feel that it is selfish of legislators to merely accrue more debt when they are running out of cash. Who is going to pay for that? Sure isn’t the selfish legislators. It is going to be me and subsequent generations. Thankfully, I live in a state where personal responsibility is not just a slogan, but a proven way of governing and creating opportunity. This “Tear Texas Down” crowd can complain all they want about any issue in Texas; after all, we are not perfect, but critiquing our financial situation is an issue they will always lose on. So I ask disgruntled liberals in Texas to just accept that at least Texas does not have a double-digit unemployment like California, Michigan, or Nevada. They’ll sleep easier at night knowing this, and if they still find something “wrong” with Texas, then they should present us with some ideas that will work. Isn’t that the point of a legislative session?