Don't Squander a Gift
January 13, 2007
We're here to celebrate Texas' $14.3 billion surplus, but we must invest the surplus wisely. If we do, Texans will gain. If we don't, we will be the spoiled children who squandered their gifts.
Written by Editorial, Dallas Morning News
We don't want to sound like spoiled children complaining about their birthday gift. Really, we're here to celebrate Texas' $14.3 billion surplus. Hey, it's better than a deficit any day of the week. Of course, we also want the Legislature to invest those dollars the best way. And when there's money lying around, rest assured the scramble has begun. Some legislators want to return the surplus to taxpayers, and Gov. Rick Perry has said he might want to lower the business tax recently created to fund schools. Taxpayers should benefit from the good times. It's how they benefit that matters. Here are a few suggestions: Prepare more teens for college. Ensure decent nursing home care. Treat the mentally ill. Develop top-tier universities. Provide adequate water supplies. Protect abused children. We're taxpayers, too. We wouldn't mind a few extra bucks. But the above items are some of Texas' legitimate needs, especially as it wrestles with being a big urban state, with an increasingly young and poor population, whose economy depends on healthy, smart workers. The money could go fast, unless legislators excel at setting priorities. Here are several compelling needs: $2.2 billion to fund the property tax cut legislators approved last year. $3.7 billion to return the Rainy Day Fund to recommended levels. $4.5 billion to fund growth in K-12 schools and maintain current services. $2 billion to pay for eligible Medicaid recipients, finance Children's Health Insurance Program changes and give doctors enough money to cover Medicaid patients. $1.7 billion to help universities meet current costs and enrollment growth. $130 million for prison drug rehabilitation programs. $77 million to fund the next leg of the state's water plan. $95 million to keep Child Protective Service caseloads manageable. Goes fast, doesn't it? Those legitimate priorities quickly add up to a little more than $14.3 billion, before you consider anything else. What's more, legislators must squeeze all needs under a cap on how much they can spend. Our caution: Invest the surplus wisely. If they do, Texans will gain. If they don't, they will be the spoiled children who squandered their gifts.
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