Texas Political Parlor: Trolling for Dollars
Image by KUT News. Lawmakers are still looking for additional dollars to cut, in order to balance the 2012-2013 Texas budget.Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The State of Texas has come up with a way to plug the $4 billion budget gap for the remainder of this fiscal year, in large part by using the so-called “Rainy Day Fund.” That still leave the shortfall in the 2012-2013 biennial budget to knit together, though.
Governor Rick Perry drew the proverbial “line in the sand” Monday, by steadfastly refusing to use any of the remaining Rainy Day Fund money to fill in the gaps over the next two-year budget cycle. And the GOP leadership is equally steadfast in its refusal to raise taxes. That has some House Democrats–and some Republicans, too–scratching their heads about where the money to plug the hole comes from.
KUT’s Ian Crawford and Jason Embry of the Austin American-Statesman discuss some of the options on the table in this week’s shamrock-themed “Texas Political Parlor.”
Podcast: Download (4.0MB)
