The Facts
- Texas has created more jobs in the last 10 years than all of the other states combined.
- The five largest cities in Texas rank in the top seven nationally—out of 66—when it comes to job growth.
- Supply-side economist Dr. Art Laffer ranks Texas as having the third best state economic performance—and first among the most populous 44 states—in the last 10 years.
- Challenges to keeping our economic lead lie ahead: we are facing what looks to be a $4 billion plus budget deficit in 2013 and $10 billion plus shortfall in 2014-15.
Recommendations
- Texas does not need any new revenue in its effort to balance the budget in 2014-15. Texas shouldn’t raise taxes to keep up with increased government spending; instead, the growth in government must be reduced to keep spending within available revenue.
- Get government spending on education, medical care, and welfare under control by increasing consumer choice, promoting economic growth in order to reduce the need for much of this spending, and letting the competition work in all of these systems to increase efficiencies and reduce costs.
- Reduce the overregulation, unnecessary programs, and subsidies to businesses and consumers that cost Texans billions of dollars each year while reducing economic growth.
- Implement Tax and Expenditure Limitations so that state and local spending from all sources increase only by the sum of population growth plus inflation or the growth in gross state product or personal income, whichever is less.
- Amend the Texas Real Private Property Rights Preservation Act to cover regulatory takings of property by cities.