Perry's smoke and mirrors plan

[NoPasaran]

State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn has spent much of the past two weeks pointing out what she and her staff say are the numerical shortcomings of Gov. Rick Perry's school finance and tax cut plan.

The governor and his people, for their part, have said the attacks by Strayhorn, a possible Republican primary challenger for Perry in 2006, are all about politics and have accused her of "fuzzy math."

But around the Capitol, a good number of Republican and Democratic officeholders, legislative staff members and lobbyists with no particular bone to pick with Perry say the finances of his plan have a gaping hole. A $2.6 billion hole in the 2006-07 two-year state budget cycle, to be precise.

And you don't necessarily need fuzzy math, an accounting degree or rampant political ambition to detect that gap. It's right there on Page 21 of the governor's plan.

To pay for the $7.1 billion in tax cuts and education spending increases that Perry envisions for the 2006-07 fiscal years, the governor would reach back into fiscal 2005 and ahead into fiscal 2008 for almost 37 percent of the money. The upshot is that without that one-time windfall in budget cycles to come, that money would have to be generated some other way.

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/auto/epaper/editions/friday/news_04880c41d24e715300c3.html

Maybe we should call this the Wimpy Tax: "I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." http://www.theneitherworld.com/popeye/wimpy/

[texas1928]

1. Repukes

They love cutting taxes and spending more. Bush cut all those taxes and now does not have the money coming in to pay for his war. Repukes like to deficit spend, democrats spend what you got and try to save some of that. So perry is going to stick this state even farther in debt then Bushie did.

[GOPisEvil]

3. Well, theoretically, Texas is not allowed to have deficit spending.

So, what they do is cut services to save money. The services that get cut the most are social services. That's what Republicans really hate.

[Gothmog]

2. Gov Goodhair is an idiot

It sounds like his tax plan does not hold together. What a aurprise.