Chronically Biased (the series)
by David Benzion · 01/16/2007 6:25 amThe Houston Chronicle has written an editorial today addressing the legislative session that has just begun.
No mention whatsoever is made of the need for tax relief or appraisal reform.
Instead, we get these gems:
Texans are hungry for a leadership that puts more emphasis on their health, welfare and education and less on the personal political standing and the priorities of special-interest lobbyists.
Because, as we all know, the health, welfare and education bureaucracies are noble, objective and neutral observers–not “special-interests”–and carry zero weight among elected officials in Austin.
For the first time in years the Legislature has enough extra revenue to reorder priorities and deal with festering problems, such as rising tuition that is making it more difficult for members of the middle class to send their children to state colleges and universities. The dilapidated condition of the state parks system also must be dealt with by returning already dedicated state sales taxes to the purpose for which they were intended.
I have yet to meet a member of the middle class who is having difficulty sending their child to a state college or university who is not ALSO struggling even more paying for sky-rocketing home property taxes.
Maybe the Chron’s plan is for all of us to live with our college-aged kids in their dorm rooms, or in refurbished state parks.
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David catch Lou minetta on the opinion page next to Kuffner is the most randomly linked lefty wingnut
http://www.chron.com/news/opinion/
Yeah he wants the Feds to eliminate the morgage and state tax deductions so we pay more federal taxes cause its fair and the children need the money
Making the miniscule Business Tax look like a refund compared to what some want
Speaking of Chronicle editorials, would be interesting if someone like Sarge or Squawk could read and comment on the article written by William F. Buckley on the troop surge where he ends by saying”On the basis of this analysis I will vote against supplementary U.S. involvement in Iraq” Last I heard he was still a conservative
To the Texas legislature, cut spending!
#2, Buckley is NOT our Commander in Chief.
{Yea, I know… gotta explain EVERYTHING to the lefties…}
Didn’t answer the question 3. Just wanted someone to comment on his reasons for not backing the increase. I agree with him, but maybe I am missing something.
You have to wonder if anybody on the Crummyicle’s staff pays property taxes or has kids ready to go to college. They obviously have their priorities all screwed up. I wonder how long it will be before the Crummyicle starts printing in Spanish??
#1 EricP,
I think Lou is suggesting that the mortgage deduction and sales tax is an unfair subsidy. Those of us in the middle income bracket who buy moderately priced homes (ie here in Texas) end up subsidizing the upper class’s mansions and those who pay hyper-inflated prices, such as out in California.
From chronicl.com -
“However, with the new session of the Texas Legislature now under way, Republican state Rep. Betty Brown has proposed a resolution declaring Athens, Texas, is the original home of the hamburger.”
Is that what our esteemed legislators are going to do witht he short time they are in session?
Have they forgotten (or did they ever know about the property tax problem, the border problem, the spending problem?
I can’t believe someone would actually propse legislation to declare Athens Texas the birth place of the hamburger. I’m going to shoot myself.
#6
NO! Don’t shoot yourself! Aim the gun elsewhere!
(Take your pick of targets)
I can’t beleive that Betty Brown has not been laughed out of office. How can she show her face around town?
What a waste of time!
Though this is off topic (some types of people like drawing people off topic so they can’t address the real issues, no names being mentioned) I think this would be educations for some.
Dear gabboy,
I know it may be hard to see from your perspective as we sometimes project our views on others. Like I would or would not do thus and so. But conservatives are not nearly as monolithic in their views as liberals. Case in point would be the democratic party. See how they treat their decenter (conservatives). If you’re a pro-life dem. you get no oppertunity to speak.
To make this clear, I don’t find it strange that a conservitive would be against the war, or decisions made in the war. Liberals must think one way and that is it.
The Chronicle’s definition of leadership is spending and raising taxes.
Tax relief, we dont need no sticking tax relief. (she says as she gets her latest tax bill and its 10 % higher than last year which was 10 % higher than the year before, which was 10% higher and so on and so on)
Thank goodness all my children are grown, married and gone (it didn’t necessarily happen in that sequence). I can’t fathom the thought of having to live with a college-age student (I had a couple of those at one time) let alone allowing them to come back to live with me afterward. What a nightmare that would be. I told all of mine no coming home unless you have a terminal illness and need real care. If you become homeless, you have been given well educated and you are on your own. I will change the locks on all my doors at the house.
Will be watching what they choose to do about higher education. They slashed our budgets so severely in 2003 and to “make up for it” they deregulated tuition. Now the legislature is SHOCKED that tuition rates are on such a dramatic rise. Well, when you cut your funding to a “state supported” university to less than 50%, what do you expect? (We call ourselves “state assisted”.) They cut 13% of our total budget halfway through the fiscal year (we’d already spent the first six months…) I think that was the last time the state gave us a 2% cost-of-living increase.
I’m dying to know who gets a 13% personal income increase. Where do you work and what do you do and are there any openings! (The LBB said that was the increase amount they were using, right?)
It doesn’t take a rocket expert to figure the tax situation out. Even those morons at the Houston Comical should have covered this kind of math in grade school. If a guy earns the typical 3% salary increase per year, tax appraisals (and hence taxes) increase 10% per year, it should be pretty apparent to these knuckleheads that a guy gets taxed out of his freaking home in only a few short years. Like I’ve said many times. The only legitimate time for an appraisal increase is when the home is sold. Otherwise, it’s not on the market and can’t get a true market value. The value is what it sells for, not what some idiot thinks it ought to sell for.
Just curious island:
#1 - Were your BUDGETS slashed by the state, or were hoped-for budget INCREASES slashed??
#15 Great question. My sister is always reminding me of that. Our FY03 budgets were cut halfway into our actual spending. In other words we turned in a budget and it was approved. Six months into our spending we were told we would not receive 13% of our total budget. We had to make huge cuts, though thankfully we did not have any layoffs. Things are getting better now, but tuition is soaring and I hate that - I feel like we are shutting doors to students. (Scholarships have increased and people are generous to help endowed scholarships, but it doesn’t cover everyone.)
#2 & 4: Yellerdog/aka gadboy
What do your statements about this thread have to do with the price of tea in China? Pay attention, and PLEASE figure out your identity! (You know sarge is looking for you, to answer his questions, don’t cha?) Thanks!
At least the Comical got one right http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/pearland/news/4472046.html
Friendswood taxpayers are actually CASHING those rebate checks, as picutred on LoneStarTimes (unless you believe what the Dimobrats have to say–hillarious commnents included in the article.
gadboy Says: (off topic presented in the story )
and Typically….calls me out and then expect me to go find the article he wants me to comment on.
Squawk,
#20
Typical of a liberal!
Oh, c’mon Squawk….y’all called him out on the Texas Monthly (?) story! where he made a comment on, but didn’t remember. Cut the liberal some slack. His mama only dropped him on his head twice, for pete’s sake…
#22;
Never, I say never cut liberals ANY slack.
They deserve none.
rj