Texas GOP short changes schools

Houston Chronicle:

A sweeping $10.8 billion House tax plan would not raise enough revenue to maintain promised property tax relief in coming years, according to the state comptroller.

The bill, adopted by the House last week, was part of a package to restructure the way Texas pays for K-12 public education. The proposal would offset a one-third slash in school property taxes with a reformed business tax and a variety of consumer taxes, including an increase in the sales tax and an additional 3 percent tax on snacks such as popcorn and cookies.

"My heart goes out to them," Republican Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn said. "They just passed the largest tax bill in history and it does not balance. They thought they were raising $12 billion in revenue. I ran the numbers and it raises about $8 billion revenue."

Republicans say the bill will go through anyway.

Remember this is the bill that grants even more tax cuts to the wealthy while shifting the burden to the poor. Now those people are getting even less for the more they have to pay.

Compassionate conservatism at it's best.