Past mistakes should set standard
Congress needs to look at how Bush handled finances in Texas

By Brandon Ortiz

As if there weren’t enough reasons to oppose President George W. Bush’s tax cut already, Tuesday presented another reason why Congress should not pass George’s risky scheme.

That reason to oppose the tax cut happened right here in the Lone Star State.

The state House Public Education Committee listened to testimony on a handful of bills designed to offer pre-kindergarten or kindergarten to more children. According to an article published Tuesday in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, one of the bills would require districts to provide pre-kindergarten to all 4-year-old children. The bill would also require mandatory kindergarten for all 5-year-old children. Another bill would make it easier for low-income families to put their children in pre-kindergarten.

These can hardly be called excessive governmental programs. Quite the contrary. These are bills that need to be passed to improve education in this state.

Too bad they probably won’t pass. The culprit: not enough money.

Bush’s 1999 tax cut has drained Texas of money and has put legislators in a real budget crunch. The state is facing a possible deficit, which is prohibited by the state constitution. That means legislators have to raise taxes or cut spending, or both, to avoid this.

It also means that good legislation, like the ones discussed Tuesday, could go unfunded. This is unfortunate.

It is universally accepted that the earlier children start learning, the better. Numerous studies have shown that early childhood education gives children a better chance to succeed in the future. No one in Austin is denying this.

But nobody is funding efforts to do anything about it either.

If they hadn’t along with Bush’s 1999 tax cut, legislators would be in a position to do something.

Bush liked to say as governor that he wanted Texas to show the nation how to use a surplus. Hopefully this isn’t what he had in mind. Bush said there would be more than enough money for Texas to cut taxes and meet its funding needs. Barely two years later, Bush is already wrong.

Texas may not be able to show us how to handle a surplus, but it can at least show us how not to handle a surplus. Bush went on a tax cutting spree before taking care of pressing needs the state faced. The environment here is a wreck, health care is in shambles and the education system is not near as good as everyone thinks it is. Bush had the golden opportunity to do something about it.

Instead of taking care of these problems, Bush cut taxes for his wealthy buddies.

Texas had its dessert before dinner and has a major tummy ache as a result.

The federal government is faced with rosy projections of skyrocketing budget surpluses as far as the eye can see. It is also faced with many problems. We have a golden opportunity to alleviate these problems and even pay down the national debt. Once again, Bush wants to cut taxes first and worry about the rest later. Bush said there is enough money to go around, just like he did in Texas.

Hopefully Congress won’t let Bush be wrong a second time.

Brandon Ortiz is a freshman news-editorial journalism major from Fort Worth.
He can be reached at (b.p.ortiz@student.tcu.edu).

Editorial policy: The content of the Opinion page does not necessarily represent the views of Texas Christian University. Unsigned editorials represent the view of the TCU Daily Skiff editorial board. Signed letters, columns and cartoons represent the opinion of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board.

Letters to the editor: The Skiff welcomes letters to the editor for publication. Letters must be typed, double-spaced, signed and limited to 250 words. To submit a letter, bring it to the Skiff, Moudy 291S; mail it to TCU Box 298050; e-mail it to skiffletters@tcu.edu or fax it to 257-7133. Letters must include the author’s classification, major and phone number. The Skiff reserves the right to edit or reject letters for style, taste and size restrictions.