A thoughtful piece in the respected The Economist looks at the Texas boast in the past few years of outpacing all other states. It finds that the state's current budget problems is putting the theory of low-taxes and low-spending to the test. While creating some good job growth, the state's lean spending -- now that there's no money to keep up -- could leave the most vulnerable Texans in dire situations that would take the gloss off any state.
"Texas will be able to close its budget gap this year only through brutal cuts, now being negotiated. The recommendations from the Legislative Budget Board, which advises the state legislature on appropriations, portend a difficult few years, especially for sick people, old people, and students. The suggested cuts to the primary programme that funds school districts, for example, would put the state $9.3 billion below the amount required by its own education code. If there is any correlation between state spending on public education and the performance of its schools, those are cuts Texas can ill afford."
Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/03/the-economist-says-texas-model.html
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