Perry the Populist
May 3rd, 2007 at 7:05 am
Gov. Rick Perry, flanked by several lawmakers and the so-called Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, held a press conference yesterday to call for even more of the budget surplus to go to property tax refunds. Much of the rhetoric was of a familiar variety, roughly, “I think taxpayers know how to spend their money better than the government.” That’s always seemed like faint praise for our legislators, who voters elect to do precisely that: know how to spend the state’s money. It’s their job to make tough decisions on complex issues critical to the state.
Anyway, much of the press conference was given over to promoting a kind of taxpayer populist agenda, in which the average schmo (read: suburban homeowner) was painted as a poor guy who just can’t get his voice heard over all those big-money special interests roaming the capitol. (Yes, try and stifle your laughter, this is coming from Rick Perry. Can anyone say Mike Toomey?)
As a way of keeping property taxes low, the folks at the press conference were advocating a strict limit on spending increases in the budget, which would only be allowed to increase to match inflation and population growth. That’s a pretty drastic measure that would, in effect, likely lock Texas into its current rank as dead last in the country in state spending per capita. This is happening as the state struggles to deal with a unique demographic shift, something the state’s demographer Steve Murdock has come to call the Texas Challenge.
But later this quote by Perry kind of gives up the ghost:
People want to hear the message of tax relief, of honest budgeting. I happen to support increased investments in education, health care, transportation, border security…. We (the people of Texas) understand it’s a fast-growing state. We got transportation needs. We got education needs. We got a border that needs to be secured.
Translation: “I’m more than happy to play politics with the budget, and even though I know the tax cuts I advocate mortgage the state’s future, don’t I look good on television.”
Now that’s what we call leadership!
