Taxing companies on their payroll is an income tax. You may like new taxes but I don't like them. If someone can figure out a way to get around them so much the better, taxes are wrong and making new ones isn't the answer.
How about old Perry get to work on figuring out why HHS budgets have gone up at the cost to other programs such as roads and take care of business rather than providing insurance.
You think that Perry is a fine fiscal conservative ask him to submit a budget that's 7% less than the one he submitted. That would take care of all new taxes and allow a property tax decrease on top of that. You don't think that the bloated Texas government can't live on 7% less must be new to the state. Or want a state income tax.
You want to know about the state budget? Read the 1,100 page appropriations bill and we can have a conversation about the need for new taxes and playing shell games.
Oh, and as for caps I was around with the first sales tax went into effect and sold to the sheeple with the understanding that the 1% sales tax would never go up. Yeah, sure, I trust them like I trust a used car salesmen (with apologies to used car salesmen).
the cap you are refering to is the revenue cap, which perry was for. he also pushed a 3% appraisal cap, which requires a constitutional amendment. that's both good and bad -- good, because it makes it next to impossible to change, and bad for thee same reason, since almost all the dems voted against it, along with several of the moderate republicans.
perry was never for the payroll tax. that was the option being pushed by the house leadership. if you recall, perry came out against the payroll tax in the very first special session, which doomed it. he has never advocated for a payroll tax. i recall he called it a job killer.
the hhs budget has gone up in texas and every other growing state in the union for two major reasons: 1. population growth, which forces you to increase spending on those eligible for the entitlement, 2. increased federal matching funds tied to the increasing population.
keep in mind, general revenue only makes up about half the money in our state budget. the bulk of the rest of the money is federal dollars. so 7% of general revenue for the biennium is about $5 billion. i think if you did the research you'd find that the budget perry subitted to the legislature was at least 7% less than what they passed.
and remember, when this state was in deficit, we made huge reductions -- the first reduction in general revenue since the 1940s.