Texas’ attorney general ran ads here last month that encouraged “law-abiding New York gun owners looking for lower taxes and greater opportunity” to relocate to the Lone Star state.
Now Gov. Rick Perry has sweetened the pot: Faced with a budget “problem” New York would love to have — an expected $5.5 billion surplus — he’s looking to amend the Texas Constitution so he can refund the extra money to taxpayers.
Meanwhile, back here on the home front, New York’s governor hopes to amend his state constitution. But instead of returning money to the state’s heavily burdened taxpayers, Andrew Cuomo’s changes aim to squeeze millions more out of them.
Cuomo wants an amendment that would legalize casino gambling throughout New York. His proposal could be approved by voters as early as November. Cuomo hopes this will bring in new revenues that would help close budget deficits — which were pegged at $1.3 billion for the coming year.
Think about that: If Rick Perry has his way, Texans will decide whether they keep more of what they earn. If Andrew Cuomo has his way, New Yorkers will have new opportunities to lose their rent money.
New York has sky-high income and property taxes and is deep in the red. In sharp contrast, Texas doesn’t even have an income tax, and its government has more money than it can spend.
Texas wasn’t always booming. Just two years ago, Perry faced a $27 billion deficit — a figure larger than the total budgets of some 30 states. But thanks to spending cuts, he managed to make ends meet.
Today, Austin is back in the black and has a $12 billion rainy-day fund to boot. As Perry put it the other day, “Our bank balance is healthy, our economy is growing, our future is limitless.”
Would that a New York governor were in a position to say the same.
You don’t have to wear a 10-gallon hat to know that a state that taxes citizens lightly and makes it easy for folks to do business will prosper. Then again, comparing Albany to Austin, maybe New York could use a few cowboys.