Action Update - Issue 68 :: March 24, 2006

by Janelle Shepard

Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts: "We have a bill."

This week State Rep. Jim Pitts (R-Waxahachie) was interviewed in his hometown newspaper - the Daily Light. 

“We will lower your property taxes,” Pitts said, noting, however, that lowering the revenue from one source means increasing revenue from other(s).

A main source of that new revenue would come from an adjustment to the franchise or business tax, which under the current system only sees one out of every six businesses being affected.

Pitts said that while the franchise tax will become more all-encompassing in the number of businesses it applies to, the rate of tax per business should see a drop, from about a 4 percent rate to possibly 1 percent. As well, there will probably be an exemption applied to the first $300,000 of a business’ revenue, with some discussion to possibly raise that exemption to about the first $500,000 of a business’ revenue.

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As the Special Session begins on April 17th, remind your legislator the budget surplus (estimated at $4+ billion) is not the cure to our woes. A one time fix is the a coward's way out. Texas will be in the same situation again - and soon.         

Stay tuned for the full report from the Sharp Tax Commission.

Who Is at Greatest Risk for Receiving Poor-Quality Health Care?

New England Journal of Medicine                                                       

American adults frequently do not receive recommended health care. The extent to which the quality of health care varies among sociodemographic groups is unknown.

The differences among sociodemographic subgroups in the observed quality of health care are small in comparison with the gap for each subgroup between observed and desirable quality of health care. Quality-improvement programs that focus solely on reducing disparities among sociodemographic subgroups may miss larger opportunities to improve care.    <continued>

Personal and Portable Health Insurance

by John C. Goodman                            

One of the peculiarities of the U.S. health care system is that the health plan most of us have is not a plan that we chose; rather, it was selected by our employer. Even if we like our health plan, we could easily lose coverage because of the loss of a job, a change in employment or a decision by our employer. These problems affect all Americans, but have the greatest impact on older workers, who are more likely to have health problems.

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RECOMMENDED READING

• Do Schools Need More Money?
  Among the universal truths of life are “death,” “taxes,” and “public schools need more money.”  Of these three, two are true. 
  
  
• Progressive Envy                            
  In determining the best tax policy for Texas, class warfare should not be part of the debate.
  
  
• More teachers' union myths
  

  They don't get it. Competition brings accountability.

  
  
• Cornyn: Immigration Reform Must Not Include Amnesty                                                 
  It’s discouraging that Democrat leadership is threatening to filibuster legislation that would enhance our security, Cornyn says
                                                                                                                                                             

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