Texas has the lowest state tax burden in the nation - and is experiencing job growth

from Don Surber
May 17, 2009

Texas is the new California

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: People are moving to Texas for jobs, which are on the rise. The reason for the jobs — lower taxes — isn’t mentioned until the 58th paragraph.

And then, all it said was, “Texas’ business climate of low taxes and a low regulatory burden draws companies and workers, Saving said.” He is Jason Saving, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Texas just happens to be 50th in taxes per capita. That’s right, it has the lowest state tax burden in the nation.

Paragraph 15: “According to the latest Census figures released in March, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington added 146,500 people between July 2007 and July 2008 — more than any metropolitan area in the nation. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown added 130,000 for the No. 2 spot, and Texas had 10 of the top 25 counties with the biggest numerical gains.”

Also from the article, Jim Gaines, a research economist at Texas A&M University: “Why do people move? Generally, jobs. “Right now, Texas will probably be the only state in the Union that reports more jobs than the year before — by a total of close to 154,000 [in 2008]. Those numbers will be reduced this year. But if you are an entrepreneur or want to start a business, this is the best place to do it because of the pro-business attitude of the state.”

So basically its unemployment figure is rising not because people are losing their jobs, but the net gain in jobs is not keeping pace with the net gain in people.

Interesting.

I just wish the story had explored the tax angle better. It is not the only factor, true. But it is one that might explain what is behind the growth in jobs and hence in population.
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Texas Gov: States will 'assert their independence'

from Politico.com
By ANDY BARR
5/15/09

Republican Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday that he expects to see a number of states follow his home state of Texas in pushing resolutions that will “assert their independence from the federal government.”

“If this administration gets its way, we’ll all be the same. We’ll all be the way Washington wants us to be,” Perry said on a call with Gov. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) and roughly 20,000 callers, which was sponsored by the Republican Governors Association and billed as Tea Party 2.0.

Asked by a caller about his support for a Texas state House resolution reaffirming the state's sovereignty under the 10th amendment, Perry said that the issue “goes right to the heart of what the tea parties are all about.”

“You are going to see more and more laws like that across the country where states assert their independence from the federal government,” he said on the call, which lasted for more than an hour.

The governors spent the call answering questions selected from more than 700 that callers submitted.

The number of participants was off from the 30,000 who signed up for the call, though the RGA explained that a surge of calls at the beginning proved too much for the conference system to handle, causing the system to disconnect some callers.

“I think we would have had a higher number without the technical problems,” said RGA spokesman Mike Schrimpf.

Both governors blasted the Obama administration and credited last month's anti-tax Tea Party protests for reviving grass-roots energy in the conservative movement.

“I am horrified with what is going on with inflation and the printing press they are running in Washington,” Sanford said.

Perry said that “the Tea Party movement is an example of the growing frustration among hardworking Americans, and it is just going to get bigger.”

The rallies were a “great moment in American history,” the Texas governor added, recalling that he watched “Ted Nugent at the Alamo riffing with Glenn Beck.”

“We’ve been watching this liberal love fest that has taken over our country for about a year now,” he said, “and we need to take back our country.”

Both governors stressed that the Republican Party should not become more moderate as a way to regain power in Washington.

“If you look at this notion of what we are really about I would liken the Republican Party to nothing more than a brand in business,” Sanford said.

When great businesses face down times, Sanford explained, “they don’t expand the tent…they go back to what made those companies great.”

“I don’t think it is in the Republican Party’s best interest as some people have said to tack to the center,” Perry said. “I don’t make any apologies to anybody about being a true-blue conservative.”

Perry and Sanford conceded that the party is in a tough spot at the moment but expressed hope for the future and excitement over the grass-roots energy that spawned the tea parties.

“It was really invigorating for me, to see them to see their passion,” Perry said of the three rallies he attended across Texas. “There isn’t anything more important than having this movement succeed.”

Sanford, meanwhile, urged those on the call to remain persistent in their opposition of the Obama administration and patient for incremental signs of progress.

“What matters in politics is sustained pressure over time on one specific area,” he said.
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Must Watch!! - We Will Not Be Bullied Into Socialism

Gov. Perry Backs Resolution Affirming Texas Sovereignty Under 10th Amendment

HCR 50 Reiterates Texas’ Rights Over Powers Not Otherwise Granted to Federal Government

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today joined state Rep. Brandon Creighton and sponsors of House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 50 in support of states’ rights under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state,” Gov. Perry said. “That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the states’ rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our state from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union.”

A number of recent federal proposals are not within the scope of the federal government’s constitutionally designated powers and impede the states’ right to govern themselves. HCR 50 affirms that Texas claims sovereignty under the 10th Amendment over all powers not otherwise granted to the federal government.

It also designates that all compulsory federal legislation that requires states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties, or that requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding, be prohibited or repealed.

HCR 50 is authored by Representatives Brandon Creighton, Leo Berman, Bryan Hughes, Dan Gattis and Ryan Guillen.To view the full text of the resolution, please visit: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/81R/billtext/html/HC00050I.htm.

Is Texas A Terror State? Yes, according to DHS report.

from American Thinker
April 14, 2009

According to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, Texas fits the Department's profile of domestic terrorism described in their newly released report titled, " Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment".

Islamic extremists' acts of domestic terrorism were recently given the dignity, by Napolitano and Obama, of being classified as man-made disasters, and abroad, the "war on terror" has been reclassified as an "overseas contingency plan". But an entire non-Islamic class, or perhaps by extension entire states, according to the report, are not afforded such considerate and cordial titles if they are anti-abortion, tend to harbor returning soldiers stationed in the Middle East, aid and abet the reintegration of military personnel into civilian life within their borders, are anti-illegal immigration, are anti-gun control, possess Christian views, are against high taxes, and are opposed to the overreaching power of the federal government. They fit the assessment of "extremists" that was

"provided to federal, state, local, and tribal counterterrorism and law enforcement officials so they may effectively deter, prevent, preempt, or respond to terrorist attacks"

It is the opposition of the "overreaching power of the federal government" that may have sealed Texas's fate as a terror state. Rick Perry's statement on the Governor's website, may have doomed the state of Texas by supporting HCR 50, which supports states' rights under the 10th Amendment. You know the 10th Amendment--the one that expounds on Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution and spells out explicitly the limits of the federal government, just in case the federal government became confused of their limits. Perry stated,

"I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state. That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the states' rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our state from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union....Millions of Texans are tired of Washington, DC trying to come down here to tell us how to run Texas."

The remaining text of the declaration:

A number of recent federal proposals are not within the scope of the federal government's constitutionally designated powers and impede the states' right to govern itself. HCR 50 affirms that Texas claims sovereignty under the 10th Amendment over all powers not otherwise granted to the federal government.

It also designates that all compulsory federal legislation that requires states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties, or that requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding, be prohibited or repealed.

Let's test Texas's terror threat assessment capabilities based on voting habit:

Anti-abortion--check

Pro-Gun--check

Anti-gun control--check

Predominantly Christian--check

Military bases--check

Returning soldiers--check

Against high taxes (no state tax in Texas)--check, check

Anti-illegal immigration--check

Against an overreaching federal government--check

Conservative--check

Extreme right-wing (according to Democratic Party standards)--check

Understands Article 1, Section 8--check

Understands the 10th Amendment--check

Rejects federal authority in favor of state or local authority--check

That sums it up: Texas is most definitely a terror state in the eyes of Secretary Napolitano and her agency.
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