Texas

[Cary]

My "conservative" friend was getting all ugly with me about how great things are in Texas with budget surpluses and job creation, and was bragging about how all this alleged success was due to "conservative" polices. Then he was blaming California's woes for all of California's liberal policies.

I've done a little research and mostly I've seen things that look like your typical "conservative" bullshit spin.

Does anyone have a good objective source on the subject? I would like to squash my friend's arrogance like a little bug. :mad:

[safeinOhio]

1. First Ronnie screwed up Cali

then the whole country.

[Skink]

2. Having listened to Kinky do some book talks I can say he is up on the issues like no other...

if we made him railroad comissioner we would be set for a puppet Governorship like no other. Imagine Willie Nelson as Comptroller.

[Jane Austin]

3. We have a multi-billion $$$ budget shortfall

this time around.

Thanks Gov. Goodhair.

[tulsakatz]

4. I don't have any sources but.........

...I'll bet the budget surplus he's talking about came from the stimulus! And I bet if you ask your friend, he'll say he was against that!!

If republicans are so great at budgeting, why was so much money wasted (unnecessarily) during the Bush years?

[bemildred]

5. The Polling Center: Is Texas a Good Economic Model?

It's just a recent talking point that is being parroted all over.

Throughout the primary campaign season, Gov. Rick Perry touted Texas’ relatively favorable economic and fiscal position vis-à-vis other states as a vindication of his policies and, more broadly, of Texas’ low tax, low regulation model of government. Perry likely will make Texas’ comparatively strong economic performance the centerpiece of his campaign against Bill White as well. The governor’s frequent references to Texas’ better-than-average economy and comparatively low per-capita deficit are not only meant to lend support to his own re-election campaign within Texas, but are also meant to promote the Texas model as an example for policymakers elsewhere. As he says in a recent New York Times article, “What I’m really interested in doing is continuing Texas on this path and letting it be a blueprint, a road map for other states to be successful.”

Perry is by no means the only person in politics who likes to compare Texas’ fiscal and economic circumstances to those of other large states. In the wake of the national recession and the enormous fiscal crises that states across the country (most notably, California) are facing, many of the country’s most prominent conservative journalists and pundits have seized upon the Texas-California comparison as evidence that the fiscal policy model practiced in Texas is superior to the high-spending, pro-union model practiced in the blue states. (For just a few examples of these commentaries, see here, here, and here; for some push-back from liberal columnists, see here and here).

What do Texans think about these matters? Do they agree with Perry and the conservative punditry that the Texas way is the better way? In the February 2010 University of Texas/Texas Tribune statewide poll, we asked 800 residents the following question:

How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Generally speaking, the way state government runs in Texas serves as a good model for other states to follow?

http://www.texastribune.org/blogs/post/2010/mar/15/polling-center-texas-good-economic-model/

[Cary]

6. I'm wondering how Texas compares to Mexico

Mexico has more millionaires per capita than any other country in the world and an average wage of what? $5 per day?

I don't know how well they're doing on a debt per capita measure but it seems to me that "conservatives'" real model should be Mexico. Texas is a piker compared to Mexico.

[ParkieDem]

7. My perspective

There is no doubt that things are better in Texas than in most of the rest of the country. I know very, very few people who are unemployed here in the Dallas area.

But is that due to "conservative" economic policies? I don't think so. Texas has an abundance of natural resources, and as commodity prices have risen in the past few years, many people have benefited. We're not as dependent on petroleum as we were in the 1980s, but it's still a big part of our economy.

As far as budget deficits are concerned, they are very difficult to predict because Texas has a two-year budget cycle. revenues rise and fall quite a bit during that time. From what I understand, the projected deficit is $11-$15 billion, which isn't terrible for a state this size, but still big. Texas also has a "rainy day" fund of around $8 billion.

The value of oil & gas properties go a long way in determining how much revenue the state takes in. If oil prices were to skyrocket again, a lot of that shortfall would be taken care of.