Gov. Rick Perry delivered his State of the State address last Monday, making it clear to lawmakers and the public that he envisions a balanced budget that preserves essential services without requiring raising taxes, and that the final result of the budget crucible will be a streamlined state government and a Texas that continues to be a national economic leader.
"As leaders, we must continue to be fiscally responsible with taxpayer dollars and truly reform our approach to governance," Gov. Perry said. "Our discussions about streamlining state government must be followed by a willingness to act, including consolidating or suspending non-mission-critical entities until the economy improves."
Despite widespread fears among many, especially educators and HHS (health and human services) providers, that the state budget crisis will necessitate steep and painful cuts that aren’t likely to be reversed any time soon, Perry sounded an optimistic note about the state’s economic future.
"As this thing gets rolling, some folks are painting a pretty grim picture of our situation. So I think we need to balance their pessimism with some good news that continues to flow from our comparatively strong economy. Have the doomsayers forgotten that Texas added more jobs in 2010 than any other state? Last year the growth rate of Texas jobs was nearly double the growth rate of any other state."
