Jul
24
Written by:
Andy Hogue
7/24/2009 3:08 PM
The Texas Public Policy Foundation hosted an 81st Legislative Session recap luncheon July 14 featuring members of its subsidiary conservative advocacy and study groups. Speakers included: Talmadge Heflin, director of the Center for Fiscal Policy; Kathleen Hartnett White, director of the Anne and Tobin Armstrong Center for Energy and the Environment; Arlene Wohlgemuth, of the center for Health Care Policy; and Bill Peacock, director of the Center for Economic Freedom.
“We don’t have a tax problem. We have a spending problem,” Heflin, a former state representative from Harris County, said, addressing economic growth in Texas. “... We hope to see significant work on transparency. We think the power of the citizen is if you know what’s going on, you can help restrict and restrain spending.”
Heflin said tightening spending and keeping an eye on spending practices is a way to keep tax increases and new tax methods from arising.
"The good news was we got through the session with no tax increases, and I know there was a lot of talk about needing to increase transportation taxes," Heflin said. "And we believe we'll be working on for the next session on ending the diversions that are taking place with transportation money -- over a billion and a half dollars worth -- that should be stopped before new taxes are brought in."
Wohlgemuth, a former House member from Arlington, addressed President Obama's government health care plan, calling it a threat to personal liberties.
"I don't believe it's about health care at all. It’s about taking over one-sixth of our nation's economy," Wohlgemuth said. "Health care will actually suffer from their reforms. Every thing that has been proposed by this administration has been tried and has failed.”
She proposed "patient-centered" reforms as an alternative to Obama's plan, and said health savings accounts should be encouraged. She added that the president's plan would result in a third of Americans remaining non-insured.
Peacock hailed the creation of jobs in Texas as an indicator that conservative, limited government solutions work, contrasting the situation here with that of California, as an example.
"More jobs were created here in Texas last year than in all other states combined. We're now the leading state when it comes to being the home of Fortune 500 companies. That hasn't happened by accident, and if we're going to maintain our economic leadership, we're going to have to continue our march toward economic freedom in Texas," he said.
White said while a slew of environmental bills came out of the Legislature this session, all were in response to federal dictates, and none were state-only.
"It's worth noting that maybe two-thirds or more of all the environmental regulations out there are from the federal government -- they're not state-driven," White said. "... I was surprised this session at the number of environmental bills ... I counted over 120 in air, water, waste, and in some unrelated areas. That was far more than I've ever seen before. Most of those had to do with air quality, and something new was for the first time Texas had a good number of bills with global warming mandates in them ... measuring carbon footprints, [and regarding] cap and trade programs ..."