Raising taxes and seeking new revenue sources is off the table for Texas taxpayers and voters, so it also needs to be for lawmakers. Government efficiency, not creative financing, is what taxpayers have been, and will continue to be, demanding.
Texans for Fiscal Responsibility today joined with numerous other organizations in urging legislators — and candidates — to begin now the diligent work of planning a fiscally responsible budget that lives within the taxpayers’ means, doesn’t raid the rainy day fund, expands government, or uses “new revenue sources.”
Looking ahead to the 83rd legislative session, legislators must demand right now that agencies re-double efforts to find inefficiencies and cut costs. Indeed, the Texas Public Policy Foundation reports taxpayers could save a billion dollars if they required state agencies start reducing their spending by about 3 percent right now!
Finally, legislators would do well to remember that the right fiscal policy in 2013 is the right politics in 2012: reducing the burden of government ensures the long-term strength of the economy for all Texans.
Voters consistently report that they want people who cut taxes and restrain government spending. It’s up to those who want to be legislators in 2013 to make that a reality.
Other organizations in the Conservative Budget coalition include the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Americans for Prosperity, the San Antonio Tea Party, the Heartland Institute, Americans for Tax Reform and American Majority.