Texas
My friends and family in California may not understand this, but many of us here in Texas believe that Texas is far too liberal for our blood. “But you don’t have a personal state income tax; you let people shoot burglars in other people’s front yards; everyone is Texas drives around with either a concealed weapon or a rifle prominently displayed in the window of your Ford 150’s.” This is all good stuff, I agree, but it is not good enough.
Many Texans believe that, closely tied to freedom is the freedom to own property. We Texans know that we have to pay taxes, and that pisses us off, but we will pay our taxes. However, what has happened here as of late is, property taxes have shot through the roof; they have more than doubled over the past 10 years (even with the reduction of property values), in part to feed a school system which is steadily getting worse, despite their getting a lot more money. Many of us Texas don’t like this. We don’t like to feel as if we are renting our property from the government. When we buy a plot of land, we want to own it; we don’t want to pay rent on it to the government, and that is essentially what has happened here in Texas with our property taxes. Sure, people pay higher property taxes in some liberal states, but this is hand-over-the-heart Texas, where some of us would vote for having a hunting season on liberals, so we don’t want to pay $3000–$5000/year for a house we own free and clear. I know one family who pays the Texas government around $12,000/year to live in their own home.
Here is what’s going on politically. There’s Governor Rick Perry, George W’s former lieutenant governor (or whatever we call ‘em here) who has been governor for about 10 years and is considered the conservative in the race.
Running against him is Kay Bailey Hutchison, a conservative Republican Senator, and she is portrayed as the Washington outsider (although people from outside the state see her as a Texas conservative).
They are both running for governor, and the Democratic nominee will be Bill White, who was a reasonable mayor for Houston (even though he is a Democrat, he’s probably to the right of Arnold Schwarzenegger).
Then there is this nobody candidate, running in the Republican primary, Deborah Medina, who has not run for office before, but she wants to run the greatest state in the union, and she might actually win. I watch a little tv and I see nothing but ad after ad after ad of Rick Perry calling Kay Bailey a Washington insider; and Hutchison calling Perry a phoney conservative with too many lobbyists in his administration; and I have yet to see a single ad for Medina. Yet, here are the polls:
October 2009
Perry 42%
Hutchison 30%
Medina 7%
February 2010
Perry 39%
Hutchison 27%
Medina 24%
You know that I pay some attention to politics, and yet, I will admit, I have not seen a single ad for Medina, I missed the Texas primary debates, and I heard Medina talk for the first time a few minutes ago (she was on a radio interview with someone who had previously dismissed her as an unimportant candidate). I saw what she looked like for the first time while writing this article.
By osmosis, I knew enough about Medina to realize that she was much closer to my way of thinking than Perry and Hutchison and that she is able to actually run an organization.
At the top of her webpage is the statement: “We Texans…want the government out of our bedrooms, pockets, libraries, and lives.” Mike Blevins, Lubbock. This statement changes daily.
In Texas, no one can win unless they have 50% of the vote. Even though Perry and Hutchison have powerful political organizations, this election looks like it will come down to Perry and Medina as the top two candidates, neither having 50%; and Medina will take this election in the run-off. This will be a great victory for the citizens of Texas.
Florida
In another surprise election, Charlie Crist, former governor of Florida, is facing Marco Rubio in the Republican primary. Most of the time, Crist would have stood for this seat unchallenged. He was a popular governor and a centrist Republican. He can work with Democrats. However, conservatives in Florida know what Democrats want, and they don’t want someone who can work with that. So Marco Rubio steps up, as the people’s candidate, as the conservative alternative, and he is giving Crist a run for his money. Crist won’t even debate him.
There might be some of you reading this, thinking, but aren’t you conservative Republicans a bunch of racists? How can you support Rubio? I find this charge so insulting, that I should issue a warning that, if you actually believe this, you do not want to come to Texas during October and November, which will probably become hunting season for liberals. Sometimes you have to thin the herd for its own good.
From Rubio’s website:
In 1971, Marco was born in Miami to Cuban-born parents who came to America following Fidel Castro’s takeover. When he was eight years old, Rubio and his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where his father worked as a bartender at the Sams Town Hotel and his mother as a housekeeper at the Imperial Palace Hotel. In 1985, the family returned to Miami where his father continued working as a bartender at the Mayfair House Hotel until 1997. Thereafter he worked as a school crossing guard until his retirement in 2005. His mother worked as a Kmart stock clerk until she retired in 1995.
Rubio attended South Miami Senior High School, graduating in 1989. He attended Tarkio College in Missouri for one year on a football scholarship before transferring to Santa Fe Community College and then graduating in 1993 with a bachelor of science from the University of Florida. He continued his studies at the University of Miami where he earned his juris doctor, cum laude, in 1996.
From 2000-2008, Rubio served in the Florida House of Representatives. During this period, he served as Majority Whip, Majority Leader and Speaker of the House, effectively promoting an agenda of lower taxes, better schools, a leaner and more efficient government and free market empowerment. Rubio also helped spearhead Florida’s congressional and legislative redistricting effort. He chaired the House Select Committee on Property Rights, which crafted national model legislation to protect private property rights following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Kelo v. City of New London decision that opened the door for eminent domain abuse.
To a conservative, this sort of background brings tears to our eyes. We love anyone who understands just how great American is, and who better than a man who comes from a humble background with immigrant parents who worked hard to achieve the American dream. Besides, Crist is far too tan.
Marco’s victory won’t be an upset. It is the natural result of people waking up, seeing what President Obama is doing, and deciding, no, that is not what we want for America; we don’t even want someone who will meet Obama halfway.
The elections in New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts were great victories for the people of the United States, which affirmed the power of the TEA party movement. However, these two elections in Texas and Florida are much more indicative of how deep this movement goes. As one women at a townhall meeting announced, “You have awakened a sleeping giant.”
A retired math teacher who spends most of his time exegeting the Old Testament and, once a week, puts out an ezeen.
@Kukis
I too am deeply concerned about the issue of property taxes and the fact that Americans cannot truly own real-estate but simply rent it from the government. I became incensed when watching a Governors Conference many years back where our elected officials plotted on ways to get property tax levies passed in the face of growing opposition to such measures. I was appalled to find out that the primary method put forth was to exempt those most likely to vote against additional property tax levies from having to pay those taxes.
The argument by some is “how would we fund local government without property taxes?”. To this I have no immediate answer, but what I do know is that the American people are ingenious and if their elected officials can put their heads together and find less than scrupulous ways of getting additional tax levies passes by exempting people from said taxes, then they are smart enough to find other ways to fund local government through honorable means.
I would propose that individuals, not commercial interests, that own a home free and clear should be exempt from property taxes. Some will argue that this is unfair, someone has to pay for police, fire and roads. True, but for the majority of Americans that would own a home free and clear, they have already paid for roads that have been in place for 30 years. It is the new development that needs roads and those would most likely still be funded by property taxes because no one would have a home free and clear in those newly developing areas. Fire and police are ongoing expenses but there has to be a better way to fund such activities.
as long as illegals are running free, property taxes that 75% of go to support schools, will continue. 75%….saw it broken down on my property tax bill. they waste tons of money too.
I saw medina in the first primary debate. She looked like the newbie candidate that she is… however.. she made good points and had good, solid shots to take at both Perry and Hutch. Perry is polished and came across as a seriously polished politician next to her. Hutch came off as a Washington hack. She has no chance.
IF Medina could somehow wrestle the GOP nomination away from Perry, and I still think that is a BIG IF, I’m concerned about her ability to fight off the centrist Democrat Bill White.
The connections in Texas are real and there are big interests lining up on each side. I cannot imagine big interested business or groups lining up with Medina, since she wishes to enable the citizens and stop business as usual. So she’ll be fighting the machines of both in a general election and I sure don’t want the Dems to take the State.
I like Medina a lot. I think Perry can squeak out another win if he’s the guy. If Medina gets it, we’ll just have to really ramp up support for her… because she’s not going to get support from the regular places… in fact, I’m sure some big businesses or lobbys will flip to supporting White. It’s going to be interesting. I like that her numbers are rising.
Medina proposes a local consumption tax. She says it will be as low as 6%; someone else thought closer to 12%. I honestly do not know how well they have done their homework here, because when Medina was questioned on this, she offered up a few services which were not taxed…and, if this is true, it would be a pretty meager income.
I don’t mind property taxes, but they strike me as being about 2x too high. There needs to be some limitations and a freeze placed on these taxes after “x” number of years.
Being a Texan, I’m all for Medina. She is the ” all incumbent politicians need not apply” candidate.
Obviously no one can stay in public office very long before they become a creature of the system and therefore only part of the problem. There is just too much reduntancy in the system for it to matter much if the new elected representative is inexperienced. Term limits should always apply. No one is irreplaceable. Surely new, still idealistic elected politicians would have enough decency/passion to make sure their staffers are applying their political philosophy
Time for ALL incumbents to go. Even the good ones because no one is irreplaceable.
While there are those who support Hutchison (the ultimate D.C. insider) others of us remember her pledge to only serve two terms. Yep, and then she basdes Perry because she says he had been in office too long. Bad move on KBHs part. And her record in D.C. is not going to make a lot of true conservatives happy. Being the second biggest porker in D.C. (according to Citizens Against Goverment Waste) is not a [lone] star on her sleeve.
Medina is a new comer, at least to most Texans. While she did fairly well in the debates, there are a lot of issues she doesn’t have any answers for. Not good. And I don’t think she could win the leviathan onset that will be the White campaign in a general election.
I understand most Texans think our property taxes are too high. Hell, we just don’t like taxes, period. But what are the alternatives? A higher sales tax that would disproportionately affect lower income Texans?
I would suggest that we need a state law that provides uniformity in the appraisal district system. As it is, each central appraisal district is allowed to make up their own rules about how they appraise property. Examples: Fayette County has basically three classifications of home; wood, brick, metal. Bastrop County has at least 12; Colonial 1, Colonial 1.5, Colonial 2, Foke, Ranch, Victorian 1, 1.2 and 2, and so forth, each with a different value. Fayette County does percentage increases all across the board (last year it was about 3%), Bastrop County does drive by appraisals on most property every year, and then has no standard of proof how it achieves the value, yet will increase the property value by state limits (10%) every year.
Also, according to the state, when the state reviews the county appraisal system, the county is allowed to present the properties to the state for review, the choice of properties being made by the county.
Dan Patrick (R-Houston) has been trying to get our appraisal system revamped ever since he was elected, but each time he presents a bill, it is thwarted by the Austin Dems.
So what is the alternative to relatively high property taxes? And maybe we need to look to other states to see just how much better off we really are. No state income tax, no tax on groceries or prescriptions, relatively low vehicle license plate fees (my F250 cost me less than $80, in Mississippi it would have been over $450 per year), no personal property taxes (which explains why so many RV owners register their motor homes and 5th wheels in Texas). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Texas ranks 49 out of 50 in individual taxation (50 being the lowest).
And let’s not forget the good things: in Texas, no veteral who suffers from 100% disability pays any ad valorum taxes.
Rick Perry has made some mistakes and has had some growing pains. But he is a 10th Amendment kind of guy, and he doesn’t mind taking on D.C. Huchison is a “go along to get along” Republican and Medina doesn’t have the cajones to stand up to an every encroaching federal government.
Oh, and btw, your polls simply show that more people are beginning to have an opinion on the Tx Gov race: October adds up to 79% and February 90%. Unless Medina can pick up the entire remaining 10%, it will be a run off between Rick and Kay.
Gary Kukis:
Now THAT, was a great article. Thanks!
It is great to rail against taxes. I pay some Texas taxes through business interests there. but if you are going to cut taxes, you need to cut services too. Unless and until you come up with a way to cut spending to pay for it, you are bnlowing smoke.
And yeah, wodiej, cut the Texas educational spending some more.
http://www.texasisd.com/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=29&num=69821
Texas is already about 20% below the national average. Next stop, Mississippi?
I listened to both debates. Medina impressed me during the first debate but lost me with her comments concerning property tax in the second debate. I can’t vote for her. She’d lose to White most likely.
I do not like Perry, but I may have to vote for him come November. Our taxes are high but what are the alternatives? Income tax? No doubt that would give us the worst of all possibilities, a continuing property tax and an income tax. Taxes don’t go away.
Yes, we do need to cut services in Texas. You have no idea how much welfare is going on in Houston (and I assume elswhere in Texas). Our food stamp, section 8, and general welfare are tremendously bloated, and there is no reason for it. Whenever you give people free food and housing based upon them living without responsibility, you encourage iressponsible lives.
Secondly, there is a LOT of waste in the school systems, some of which is based upon special education and the mistaken notion that every district needs to provide alternative places for evil students. Furthermore, in the past 5-10 years, the size of the administrators has grown dramatically in many school districts.
Thirdly, an income tax of any sort is a terrific mistake. There is a huge cost associated with the collection of a state income tax, which cost grows dramatically once these workers begin to retire. Just ask California about that.
And these bloated services apparently encourage irresponsible spelling as well. 🙂
retire05 said:
“A higher sales tax that would disproportionately affect lower income Texans?”
How is this so? By nature of their “poverty” they would purchase less “stuff” thus would be less affected by an increased sales tax. A sales tax is a consumption tax, the more you purchase the more taxes you pay. It is the only truly fair tax that there is in that everybody pays the same flat tax rate and only pays more in tax if they purchase more “stuff”. Look at the lottery tickets that the “poor” purchase and tell me that they cannot afford to pay their fair share in taxes. I am not from Texas so I do not know if you have a lottery but in my state I call it the “stupid tax”. It is unreal how much money the “poor” dump into scratch tickets. The welfare system is a complete scam.
Rant off……
We have a stupid tax here in Texas as well.
Medina admitted to being a twoofer on Beck apparently…..she is finito:
@Curt:
Ooof.
Medina is toast.
I agree, my Texas property taxes are too high. 70% of my income went towards property taxes for the 2008 and 2009 tax seasons (and I only have a 2-1-1 home). 2010 may end up somewhat less since I fought and got a reduction in my appraisal value. Anyway, it looks like I need to pay more attention to the state elections. I closely followed the last local elections, and as usual, lost. In fact, I have voted against every mayor and proposal that would have increased property taxes for the last 30 years, but to no avail. So if anybody has the right to gripe, it’s me.
I just heard echoes of the Howard Dean scream.
I agree. She will have a hard time climbing out of this hole that she dug for herself.
If she comes out and says, “I am a practical person and I never gave any thought to this 9/11 truther movement. It just seemed too removed from what concerns me from day to day. Now that I looked into it, I realize that this is just crazy thinking.”
However, I don’t even think that will save her.
And it gets worse:
A complete Ron Paul nut. Thankfully she was vetted before the election.
Thank you Glen!
And look what the Democrat candidate for Texas Governor said.
Curt, could you post a link on Medina’s recent comment…thanks
The link was in my comment.
I sooooo do not like Ronulans. I only dislike leftists more than them.