In looking over recently introduced
measures in the current session of the State Legislature, I have discovered
H.B. 1819. The bill was offered by Bryan’s state representative
Kyle Kacal. The bill provides a cause of action if
a homeowner harms or kills a goat. Although it seemed appropriate
from the representative from the area of Texas A&M, I am given to
wonder why the Legislature appears to have more concern for animals
than for many of the people of Texas.
Texas has more children without
adequate medical care than any other state in the union--more
children living in poverty than any other state in the union. And yet, Governor Rick Perry, our Senator John Cornyn and newly elected
Senator Ted Cruz held a joint press conference attempting to explain
why they would turn down a deal which would fully fund Medicaid expansion
for three years and pay 90% after that. Under Obama’s Affordable
Medicare Act, this deal would allow 1 million people in Texas to get
health insurance as well as create thousands of Texas jobs and provide
needed relief to local taxpayers and those of us who pay out of our
pockets when we go to the emergency room for treatment.
Not only
is our leaders’ refusal to accept the provisions of this Act harming
Texans in need of medical care, it is also a wrong-headed view of how
to save money. It seems some of our leaders only care that they
don’t get accused of increasing state or national taxes. This
claim is patently phony because currently the State Legislature is using
federal funds intended for indigent care at UT Medical Branch of Galveston
and UT Tyler to help balance their budget and avoid new taxes. The problem is, they are diverting funds intended for sick people to
other causes which seem less pressing.
Business leaders in Texas
and many health providers continue to urge Rick Perry and other state
leadership to accept the funds, the lack of which is causing a serious
strain on many local taxing units. A grand example of this is
the hospital district in Bexar County, San Antonio. Leaders say
turning down the federal funds being offered will cause a 20% increase
in the taxes needed to support the Bexar County Hospital District.
Our state leaders, who seem to
be in a race to see who can condemn the federal government the most,
appear to be as the Bible says, “Straining gnats and swallowing camels.”
Not a word has been said by any of these so-called leaders in the current
session of the Legislature about the $37 billion in give-aways in the form of corporate welfare.
Two flaming examples of how
we, the ordinary taxpayers, are being hosed by our leaders are, first,
the fact that country clubs pay a substantially lesser rate on their property
taxes because they claim to be “green belt” areas which supposedly
are great perks to the general public of Texas. If you believe
this, try taking a stroll or having a picnic one afternoon on the grounds
of the River Oaks Country Club which enjoys thousands of dollars worth
of tax benefits at your expense.
Or, second, how about the
fact that the State Legislature continues to fund multiple millions of dollars
in subsidies via tax breaks to poor old Shell Oil, British Petroleum
and others who are now making record profits? Supposedly, the
tax breaks were given several years ago to help prop up the flagging
drilling industry which is now going wide open and producing large fortunes
for the big oil companies.
It continues to boggle my mind
how fairly intelligent Texas voters will continue to condone leadership
which will slam the courthouse door on people seriously injured through
medical negligence, while at the same time, creating a new cause of
action for injured sheep and goats.
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