Watched local news tonight while cooking. Saw three different stories about cutbacks. 1) They're cutting 30 police officers from HISD schools. Remaining officers will try running around between schools. 2) Cut backs on Texax tuition grants for 5,000 university students. 3) Cutting back on City of Houston Library Hours. 4) This was last week. I read an article that tuition at Texas universities went up 20% recently. Big tax cuts for the wealthy and growing deficits were the big story for year one of the Bush Admin. Here is a prediction that if I'm still posting I'll be back to remind you in a year or two. Several years ago stories were runing that crime was th elowest in 30 years. Shortly we will be having a crime wave due to the bad economy and cuts of the Bush years. I'll be back to tell you so. Now, I know Refman and others feel it is their moral duty to have tax cuts on the inheritance tax for millionaires, but doesn't it make others of you wonder if it is worth it.
Just to point out, all of the above budgets are determined by the state government, so if it is Republican dominant, then that is glynch's argument. Of course, almost every state is experiencing similar budget crises, so it is nothing unique to Texas.
glynch - If you are so against the current administration, why don't you volunteer your time to the hopeless Democratic Presidential campaign.
The relationship between the Federal budget and the state budget is a very complicated one. The Bush Fderal budget that creates deficits in order to have his tax cuts weighted to the rich is contributing to the budget problems of the states, hence the cutbacks. Similarly Texas sends money to Houston. Here is an editorial that gives you some feel for it. Such programs as medicaid are joint funded by states and the feds. ***************************************** The States Are Hurting o save money, Kentucky is freeing prison inmates. In California, the governor is threatening to slash financing for the state's proud university system and cut subsidized syringes for diabetics. Oklahoma plans to scale back health care for children under 6. Across the country, all but a very few state governments are in desperate need of Washington's help. The National Governors Association calls the budget crisis "the most dire fiscal situation since World War II," and the impact is felt equally by the cities and communities that the states help support. If state and local governments are the laboratories of democracy, most are now unhappily experimenting with ways to inflict the least amount of pain on their neediest constituents. The shortfalls are due in part to a weak economy that decreases tax revenues and increases the need for state services. But the states can only cut and tax and borrow so much. They need Congress and the White House to provide funds promised for homeland security, election and welfare reform, education and especially health care. States, most of which are required by law to balance their budgets, have upgraded police and emergency services in the wake of 9/11. Washington has yet to pay them back. Almost $3 billion proposed for election reform in the states still needs to be dislodged from the federal government. Federal transportation and welfare bills that could bring fiscal relief are up for consideration next year. Most of all, the states need help with skyrocketing health costs. States and the federal government share Medicaid's costs, but Washington needs to find a way to increase its share of this growing burden. The Republicans who run Washington often tout the sanctity of the states and pay homage to a form of federalism that shifts as much power as possible out of Washington. Now those same Republicans must heed an increasingly strong plea for help from the very state capitols they admire. feds effect on state budget
We are definitely feeling the pinch around here. There is a joke going around the University about 2% cuts mandated for each department; "Better get to work or you could be Mr. 2%".
