[In California], Democratic majorities have obediently done the bidding of public employee unions to the point that state government faces huge budget deficits. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's attempt to reduce the power of the Democratic-union combine with referenda was defeated in 2005 when public employee unions poured $100 million -- all originally extracted from taxpayers -- into effective TV ads.
Texas is a different story. Texas has low taxes -- and no state income taxes -- and a much smaller government. Its legislature meets for only 90 days every two years, compared with California's year-round legislature. Its fiscal condition is sound. Public employee unions are weak or nonexistent.
And Americans have been voting for Texas with their feet. From 2000 to 2009, some 848,000 people moved from other parts of the United States to Texas, ...at the same time as 98,000 were moving out of California.
The Bottom Line:
What's surprising is that Democrats in Washington are still trying to impose policies like those that have ravaged California rather than those that have proved so successful in Texas.
Our incumbent Governor just ran a successful primary campaign with a slogan of Texas preserving the lowest state expenditures per capita in the nation. Lower than richer states and lower than poorer states. Oh, and my house actually increased in value last year.
ReplyDeleteMike Ward
A Californian in Texas