Re: The Eighteen Billion Dollar Man

As many of us have come to discover, Texas is in a bit of a budget crisis. This budget cycle Texans will suffer the brunt of an $18 billion dollar shortfall. Texas Monthly's Paul Burka has been following Texas budget since 1985. In his article, The Eighteen Billion Dollar Man, Burka proposes a few sensible budget cuts:

The Railroad Commission of Texas. The Railroad Commission of Texas has been around since the late 1800's. When oil became the primary economic focus of Texans, there became no need for a commission regulating fair freight rates for agricultural distribution. The proposed disposal of The Railroad Commission would free up $129,390,742 of state General Revenue (GR).

The Texas Department of Agriculture. The Texas Department of Agriculture is another obsolete department, Burka argues. Created in 1941, a time of agricultural expansion due to a booming cotton industry, the Dept. of Agriculture was necessary. After Texas urbanization, however, it seems silly to spend an annual $156,236,530 keeping subcommittees like The Food and Fibers Commission alive.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas. The PUC was originally established to regulate electric and telephone rates. When electricity became deregulated, however, the PUC essentially became obsolete, only really functioning to regulate the telephone industry. They PUC's annual expenditures near a soaring $279,434,097 of GR, Burka says. It doesn't seem worth it.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. To keep things simple, the TCEQ will never be able to live up to the Fed's EPA standards. Burka dryly reminds us that "The feds have taken over, so [we should] let them pay the tab." And just to remind us all, the tab is the long haul winner racking up a whopping annual $885,830,681 GR expenditures.

My Thoughts: I'm going to make a generalization here, so pardon me if I offend in saying I believe most of our class is comprised of students still entering the workforce for a long road. I think it is very important to realize the gross amount of tax dollars being frivolously spent on obsolete agencies. Where are those coming from, if not our pockets for the next 20 years? I would remind us all that we are nearing a gubernatorial election and we should each consider the economic policy of all candidates very seriously.

I will acknowledge the other issue. The extinction of such agencies will mean an even deeper hole for the unemployment rate. What is there to do about that? I'm not sure, but I hope to read some suggestions as we near election time.