Phony state surplus
July 23, 2008
Lately a few state policymakers have talked about a new round of property tax cuts because of a projected state surplus of $10 billion to $15 billion.
Written by Editorial Board, Waco Tribune-Herald
Lately a few state policymakers have talked about a new round of property tax cuts because of a projected state surplus of $10 billion to $15 billion. Don’t count State Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, among them. He says that talk of having surplus dollars for tax cuts is premature and ignores obligations left on the table. The figures touted don’t take into account, for instance, the 80,000 new students each year that enroll in public schools. Nor does it allow for the growth in federally mandated programs such as Medicaid. “When we factor in a population growth that is greatly increasing the demand for services,” he said, “as well as the hike in gas prices and utilities costs that are impacting the state, as well as the individual, the cushion isn’t nearly so plump. Previous Texas legislatures have put tax cuts ahead of the state’s needs at every turn. Let’s not do that again.
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