A news story yesterday revealed that my esteemed opponent in the upcoming race for Texas State House of Representatives is headed down to Austin to drum up his support for the school finance bill that will be the subject of the sixth special session of the state House and Senate to discuss this very issue. He's trying to be the knight in shining armour, declaring that he will cut property taxes to fund the schools, because the issue revolves around property taxes, state law, and a Texas Supreme Court decision that the current method of funding is unConstitutional.

Let's ignore for a second that every one of these special sessions is taking up more and more of the taxpayer's dime, money that could and should be more reasonably appropriated for other expenses rather than giving our legislators extra income over and above their salaries (making my platform position of sequestering lawmakers without extra pay to solve budgetary issues look more attractive), and let's look at what's actually being done.

For starters, Representative Chisum voted AGAINST a proposed increase in the Texas Homestead exemption (in Texas, your primary residence is exempt from certain taxes up to an established dollar amount), on the grounds that too many people within his district would be exempted from those taxes because of the low dollar value of their homes. But going further, his property tax "cut" is not a cut at all, because he intends to INCREASE property taxes on businesses.

While this may not affect people in Houston or Austin as badly, it is potential DEATH to the Texas Panhandle. You see, we have few businesses to begin with, which is the very reason property values ARE so low. We have individuals and organizations trying to attract businesses to our area, and a significant increase in taxes is not the way to do it. While an area such as Houston or Austin can have its businesses absorb the increase with lesser effect, an area like the Texas Panhandle cannot.

I long for a day when our politicians see the answer is not to SHIFT taxes, but to CUT them. Giving people more control over the fruits of their labor will increase our gross domestic product, lower unemployment and raise the standard of living. It will also attract businesses to know they are coming to a climate that does NOT favor heavier taxation. Shifting taxes will only encourage the companies to move an additional thousand miles SOUTH of the US-Mexico border.