Action Update - Issue 91 : : March 6, 2007
Living Large In Texas 
The stakes involved in a fat Lone Star State are high, and the pressure to fight the problem via public policy is overwhelming.
Steve Jacob - FW Star Telegram
We all know what it takes to keep weight gain at bay in most cases: Move more, eat less. The government and our employers, who heavily subsidize our health insurance if we're lucky, can do little to motivate us to do this for ourselves.
Compared to other states, Texas does not stack up well. Texas cities account for 40 percent of the 2007 Men's Health top 10 fattest cities list, which included San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and El Paso. (Arlington and Fort Worth ranked 14th and 17th, respectvely). The state is the 10th heaviest in the nation, according to a study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The 31 percent obesity rate among Texas men is the nation's highest.
<entire report>
Republicans Gone Wild: Really Bad, Really Good
by Michael Sullivan, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility
We need to watch State Rep. John Davis (R-Houston) a little more closely.
For many years, the state made it easy for people to defraud taxpayers. The Children’s Health Insurance Program, nobly created so the poor can have their kids on medical insurance, was a breeding ground for bad behavior. Studies found parents driving expensive luxury SUVs, holding large investment accounts, and yet were somehow just too poor to pay for their kid’s insurance. So these leaches were allowed (even encouraged) to let you pay for it. What’s more, the state let someone apply and stay on the dole for a year – even if they only needed help, legitimately, for a couple months.
When conservative legislators came into the majority in 2003, they set about to reform the system. Legislators said that if a parent wanted taxpayers to pay for their kids’ health insurance, then the parent must apply every six months. Not only that, but the parent should have to actually prove they really need assistance. Good policy. Of course, the liberals whined and moaned; their big-government utopia was getting a little sunlight thrown at it.
Sadly, Mr. Davis (his Austin phone number is 512-463-0734, and his district number is 281-333-1350) has decided to appease the whining liberals. He has this session introduced House Bill 2049, which basically unravels the good reforms of 2003.
Mr. Davis is a decent fellow. And I don’t mind if he wants to be loved by the big-government liberals. I do mind that he is using our money to do so, while sacrificing important reforms.
Republicans supporting policies that grow government, like Mr. Davis’ would do here, is the chief reason conservatives nationally stayed home in November. Conservatives are simply tired of big-spending Republicans. And even more tired of Republicans who back off from hard-won victories.
Let’s hope Mr. Davis’ colleagues put this bad idea out of our misery.
Calling All Taxpayers: Let’s Kill This Tax
State Rep. Joe Straus (R-San Antontio) has introduced legislation to kill one of the taxes that plague our phone bills. The “TIF” tax was started back in the 1990s with the idea to raise funds for wiring rural schools, hospitals and libraries for the Internet. When the job was done, the TIF tax was supposed to go away.
The job was done, but the tax stayed on the books. Last legislative session (in 2005), State Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) offered a bill to get rid of tit. To their shame, most of the Republicans (including Straus) voted against her, opting to keep taking your money.
Mr. Straus readily admits that was a bad vote, and came out of the chute this session with legislation, HB735, to kill the tax. This time around, more folks are eager to be seen killing a tax. Mrs. Thompson is among a good number of legislators signed on as co-authors, and the bill sailed through a committee hearing.
It’s likely this legislation will be on the House floor in the next week or so. Call your legislator today and ask them to jump on board for the first tax-elimination bill this Session. It is bipartisan, and it removes an unneeded tax from your phone bill. And did I mention it actually gets rid of a tax? This is a win everyone could call home about.
Taxpayer Protection: All The Cool Kids Are Doing It
Not withstanding the grow-government-wing of the party, many Republicans in the legislature understand that they need to control the size of government if they want to be taken seriously by conservative voters.
Several bills have been, or are being, filed that offer incredibly strong taxpayer protection. The best so far is a constitutional amendment filed by State Rep. Ken Paxton (R-McKinney), a long-time advocate of responsible government. He has introduced HJR53, along with 21 of his colleagues. This constitutional amendment would responsibly limit the growth of government at all levels in Texas, and requires surpluses be returned to the taxpayers as tax relief.
Every member of the legislature who wants to be considered a defender of the taxpayer should sign on to HJR53.
State Rep. Carl Isett (R-Lubbock), who has been consistently championing spending limits since the 1990s, will have a strong tax limitation bill coming out in the next several days. And I’d be remiss not to mention the spending limit that has been proposed by Rep. Bill Callegari (R-Katy). At the same time, freshman representative Tan Parker (R-Plano) will be soon introducing his own package of taxpayer protection measures.
It’s refreshing to see legislative leaders like Paxton, Isett, Callegari and Parker (and their many cosponsors and allies) living up to their word, and putting the fiscal health of Texas taxpayers high on the legislative agenda.
And Finally…
President Dwight D. Eisenhower, born in Denison, Texas, once said, “History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.” Let's keep up the fight!
RECOMMENDED READING:
- Toll Roads Are A Key Part Of The Solution For Commuters
We recognize concern about long-term contracts that make money for private operators, and these deals deserve the tightest scrutiny. But don't confuse a new way to build roads with a bad way to build roads. We're on the right track.
INFORMATION:
Janelle Shepard, Executive Director
Texans for Texas, Inc., 815-A Brazos St #384, Austin, TX 78701-9996.
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