On May 20, Governor Abbott, Lt. Governor Patrick, and Speaker Bonnen issued a memo directing state agencies and institutions of higher education to identify strategies for immediately reducing their current budgets by five percent. In their memo, the leaders stated that immediate cuts are necessary to “prepare for the economic shock” of COVID-19 and the associated economic downturn. While they exempted several agencies and programs, such as the Department of State Health Services, the leadership also were clear that they expect to make more draconian cuts in next biennium’s budget.
Texans should be clear: budget cuts are not a foregone conclusion. Limiting access to lifesaving supports is not the only option. Strangling local governments is not an unfortunate necessity.
Budgets are lists of choices that illustrate values. In the current pandemic, millions of Texans have demonstrated beyond any shadow of a doubt where our values lie as a community: you have sacrificed your comfort, security, and stability to protect the lives of those more vulnerable. You have made tough choices because it was the right thing to do. You have pitched in for the good of your neighbors.
Lawmakers, like their fellow Texans, have lots of choices, and they should make the choices that reflect our values of community, integrity, and perseverance. Currently, Texas has more than $10 billion in its economic stabilization fund (the so-called “Rainy Day” fund) which exists specifically to prevent sudden, massive cuts to essential services. Our current revenue system includes outdated taxes, loopholes, and inequities—all of which are well-known to lawmakers and which you can read about in our friend Dick Lavine’s excellent blog.
In the coming weeks, you will hear and read a dozen variations on the theme “Spoiler Alert:” telling you that budget cuts are a certainty and there’s no point trying to stop them. Don’t accept that canard. No one knows how this story turns out. Your choices will help to determine the ending.
For the sake of vulnerable people; our children and their children; and the democracy we love: choose wisely.