Superintendents Outraged Over State Lawmakers Ignoring Budget Deficit Warning

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ABILENE, Texas -- In 2006, former Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn sent a letter to state Gov. Rick Perry predicting a $23 billion shortfall over the next five years due to Perry’s tax plan. Local superintendents say they're outraged that state lawmakers saw this coming and didn't do anything to stop it.

Clyde CISD Superintendent Dr. Gail Haterius said she’s upset that the budget deficit is being blamed on the current bad economy.

“All of the "money people" that are in the know say this is a structural deficit,” Haterius said. “It's not caused by the recession. There's just not money projected to be in there anyway and it makes it worse that that's exacerbated by the recession."

Haterius told KTXS she came across the letter six months ago and Governor Perry should have taken this warning seriously.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
http://www.ktxs.com/news/27509126/detail.html

[sonias]

1. structural deficit

And the biggest problem is that they're still ignoring the structural deficit they created. The current budget they just passed does nothing to correct that. They continue to put on their blinders and stick their fingers in their ears and say "la, la, la, la - I'm not listening to you".


Some at least acknowledge it - but they won't solve it either:
Senate Leaders: Texas Must Address Structural Deficit
Texas Tribune 4/5/11

Senate Leaders: Fix State Revenue Now or Pay Later
Texas Tribune 4/5/11
(snip)
"When you have a system where you have statute after statute that forces you to spend more and more money and then you enact statutes that require you to collect less and less in taxes, you've got a system that's fundamentally unstable and sooner or later you're gonna have to fix it. I would suggest we start soon," said state Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

:shrug:

[sonias]

2. Texas subsidizes gas drilling while cutting school budgets

Texas Star-Telegram OpEd 4/11/11
Texas subsidizes gas drilling while cutting school budgets

The budget the Texas House passed last week would add more than 330,000 Texans to the ranks of the unemployed, according to a recent report from the Legislative Budget Board.

It would force some schools, hospitals and nursing homes to close.

(snip)
We have other options.
The most obvious alternative is to end a massive and no-longer-justified corporate subsidy called the "high-cost gas" tax exemption.

(snip)
But while the federal definition included gas production involving "extraordinary risks or costs," Texas regulators included gas "produced from designated tight formations or produced as a result of production enhancement work."

In other words, since the federal government would no longer be determining extraordinary risks or costs, Texas decided that tight formation drilling and hydraulic fracturing -- "fracking" -- qualified for a tax break.

Frack the gas subsidies - stop them now!

:kick:

[white cloud]

3. Just amazing

And these people have no clue to the problems they have created. And have no Idea how to fix it. insane

[sonias]

4. Texas sized crazy

We have the craziest tea bagger contingency in the country and the model is being exported to D.C.

Texas miracle has never been a miracle - it was always smoke and mirrors and pretty soon everyone will finally see the ugly truth. :(

[TxVietVet]

5. I'm hoping what you're saying happens soon.

[They_Live]

6. Can we amend our state constitution

to include a recall option? Especially for any public servant who blatantly lies to us during their campaign. It's infuriating.

[sonias]

7. I would love to see that recall option too

And you would think the Tea Party would be all behind the effort. They love instant gratification.

Yes we could amend the state constitution or even pass a bill that would amend the election code for that event. Don't hold your breath on getting the Lege to put that provision in the election code. That could mean elimination of job security. :shrug:

Even by a constitutional amendment it's a big task:

www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/CN/htm/CN.17.htm

THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE 17. MODE OF AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION OF THIS STATE

Sec. 1. PROPOSED AMENDMENTS; PUBLICATION; SUBMISSION TO VOTERS; ADOPTION. (a) The Legislature, at any regular session, or at any special session when the matter is included within the purposes for which the session is convened, may propose amendments revising the Constitution, to be voted upon by the qualified voters for statewide offices and propositions, as defined in the Constitution and statutes of this State. The date of the elections shall be specified by the Legislature. The proposal for submission must be approved by a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each House, entered by yeas and nays on the journals.

All of the code and statutes and the constitution are on-line here:

www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/