[CowboyJay]

Bill Bennett should have run the numbers before he opened his trap. Texans are on the hook for more public debt per person than even California. Texas' budget looks OK this year because they cooked the books by delaying the payout date of several billion by a single day which just means it will have to be accounted for in the next budget. Perry left a fiscal timebomb ticking for the next governor that will go off in 2013.

Perry's desperate to get out of Austin before everyone catches on.

[mikedfox]

Yes, that huge public debt number is just what the media will want you to look at.

Of course, considering the rapid growth rate in Texas, and a huge need for infrastructure to support it (in advance of any tax revenue generated), it might be understandable.

I have my problems with Governor GoodHair, but the high spending on infrastructure isn’t one of them. Every government overspends, but between trying to accomodate the illegals (which we aren’t allowed to send home) and the Yankees (which we aren’t allowed to send home) :) , there’s an enormous pressure for new spending. Some of it is not justified, but a lot of it is necessary in the short term.

[RINOs suck]

Texans are on the hook for more public debt per person than even California.

Last I heard Texas had balanced the budget with about six billion left in its "rainy day" fund.