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Texas depended on stimulus funds more than any other state

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by da1, Nov 3, 2013.

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  1. da1

    da1 Member

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    NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry likes to tell Washington to stop meddling in state affairs. He vocally opposed the Obama administration's 2009 stimulus program to spur the economy and assist cash-strapped states.

    Perry also likes to trumpet that his state balanced its budget in 2009, while keeping billions in its rainy day fund.

    But he couldn't have done that without a lot of help from ... guess where? Washington.

    Turns out Texas was the state that depended the most on those very stimulus funds to plug nearly 97% of its shortfall for fiscal 2010, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

    Texas, which crafts a budget every two years, was facing a $6.6 billion shortfall for its 2010-2011 fiscal years. It plugged nearly all of that deficit with $6.4 billion in Recovery Act money, allowing it to leave its $9.1 billion rainy day fund untouched.

    "Stimulus was very helpful in getting them through the last few years," said Brian Sigritz, director of state fiscal studies for the National Association of State Budget Officers, said of Texas.

    Even as Perry requested the Recovery Act money, he railed against it. On the very same day he asked for the funds, he set up a petition titled "No Government Bailouts."

    http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/23/news/economy/texas_perry_budget_stimulus/index.htm
     
    #1 da1, Nov 3, 2013
  2. itstheyear3030

    itstheyear3030 Member

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    It's not just stimulus funds. Red states are the largest recipients of federal money from so-called "entitlement programs," as well as federal subsidy money (mostly agricultural).
     
    #2 itstheyear3030, Nov 3, 2013
  3. B-Bob

    B-Bob "94-year-old self-described dreamer"
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    The data is not even debatable on this front. It seems to me that the anti-entitlement politicians would agree to a rule where NO state can take in more federal money than it gives, except in cases of natural disasters. If they want to "go commando" on economics, that seems like a good start.
     
    #3 B-Bob, Nov 3, 2013
  4. glynch

    glynch Member

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    One of the sillier things about consevatives/ "libertarians" is that they are not sophisticated enough to understand all the many ways that taxes and government have helped them.

    Simplemindedly they think that it would be better if they had their present life AND had all the taxes they ever paid sitting in the bank. Sweet.
     
    #4 glynch, Nov 3, 2013
  5. bigtexxx

    bigtexxx Member

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    could have used the rainy day fund
     
    #5 bigtexxx, Nov 3, 2013
  6. Refman

    Refman Member

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    Never assume that if somebody disagrees with you, that they lack sophistication. Similarly simplemindedly, you believe, almost as a knee jerk reaction, that increased taxation and government is always the first and best answer.

    Maybe one day you'll figure out that neither extreme is particularly helpful in the long run.
     
    #6 Refman, Nov 3, 2013
  7. white lightning

    white lightning Member

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    Then why didn't they? Are they opposed to the existence of stimulus funds or not?
     
    #7 white lightning, Nov 3, 2013
  8. bigtexxx

    bigtexxx Member

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    obvs b/c the federal government gave them a gift

    Texas didn't need it though -- it had the rainy day fund

    biased article. author has agenda
     
    #8 bigtexxx, Nov 3, 2013
  9. mfastx

    mfastx Member

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    Thanks, Obama.
     
    #9 mfastx, Nov 3, 2013
  10. glynch

    glynch Member

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    #10 glynch, Nov 3, 2013
  11. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Member

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    At least Perry wasn't dumb enough back then to turn down the money.
     
    #11 JuanValdez, Nov 4, 2013
  12. aeolus13

    aeolus13 Member

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    I'd like to ask you a serious, unironic question because I hear things like this coming from Tea Partiers and other righties all the time:

    Do you really think this is accurate? Do you really think that liberals LIKE paying more taxes? Do you genuinely think we look at abominations like Pentagon procurement and our byzantine federal tax code and think "Now that's some good governance right there!" Do you think we like waiting in long lines to take off our shoes and get our balls felt by the TSA? Or are you just being silly and hyperbolic?
     
    #12 aeolus13, Nov 4, 2013
  13. white lightning

    white lightning Member

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    If they accepted the money then they endorsed the program.
     
    #13 white lightning, Nov 4, 2013
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