TAX ANSWERS
The best part of this job is hearing what Texans from all over the state have to say. I want to thank the thousands of readers who took the time to clip out our annual surveys, filled them in and mailed their responses to my office. Your answers to my questions showed once again that Texans have excellent insights to offer regarding our country's most pressing issues.
I appreciate your local newspaper's generosity in publishing these questionnaires for me each year. Here are your responses to the first part of this year's three-part questionnaire.
The first question I asked was this: "Last year, Congress passed an ambitious tax relief bill that President Clinton vetoed. The legislation did away with the marriage tax penalty, repealed the death tax and cut rates across the board. It would have made it easier for working families to save all they need for their retirement years. What are your tax-cut priorities?"
I was not surprised that 42 percent of you said eliminating the marriage tax penalty was your highest tax-reform priority, followed by 35 percent of you whose first priority is an across-the-board tax cut, and 23 percent of you who want to see the death tax eliminated before other tax reform is undertaken.
The second question dealt with energy issues: "President-elect Bush has suggested that we allow offshore drilling and open up federal land in Alaska and the Rocky Mountains to new oil and gas production. This has the potential to greatly increase our domestically produced energy. Would you support this expanded production, with appropriate environmental controls, in order to reduce our dependence on imported energy sources? What are your energy priorities?"
Texans know a lot about the realities of the energy industry, with 44 percent of you voting in support of more off-shore drilling, 38 percent of you being in favor of opening up federal land in Alaska for drilling, and 16 percent of you favoring tax provisions that would encourage small producers to increase output from marginal wells; the remaining 12 percent did not indicate a preference.
The third question I asked you was this: "If our economy continues on its current track, the federal government will enjoy a budget surplus again this year. How would you use that surplus? Would you cut taxes, reduce the national debt, increase government spending, or a combination thereof?"
You answered this question with 37 percent of you favoring tax cuts as the first way to deal with a government surplus, followed by 27 percent of you favoring reducing the national debt more quickly, 22 percent voting to increase defense spending and 14 percent indicating they would use part of the surplus for Social Security reform.
The final question I asked in this first questionnaire was a fill-in-the-blanks query: "Congress has produced a balanced budget and cut federal spending sharply in many areas. But much work remains to be done. In what areas do you believe federal spending could be cut even more?"
Here is what some of you wrote in answer to that question:
From Helotes: "Privatize wherever feasible, decrease mail delivery to twice weekly, most of it is junk mail, anyway, and eliminate door-to-door service."
Bowie: "Do away with some of the ridiculous federally funded research on things like the mating habits of flies."
San Marcos: "Stop bailing out every industry that is going under. Let the shareholders do it."
Cedar Park: "Don't pay Congress when it's in recess."
Del Rio: "Special-interest groups that get federal funding shouldn't be allowed to use that money to lobby the government for even more money. This is not right. Let people who believe in such groups support them."
Winnsboro: "We should end welfare to other countries, no more foreign aid, and spend more money on American highways. They're way behind on maintenance and expansion."
Tulia: "Stopping Medicare fraud would save $2 million to $3 million a day. Stop minting 1-cent and 5-cent coins, and round off all purchases to 10 cents. That would save the Treasury some money."
Austin: "Thank you. You are saving money by not sending out an expensive mailing."
Borger: "Cut out all the arts funding except for the projects that educate kids."
Graham: "We could save money if we increased the home-health care programs. And no, I'm not in the business!!"
Houston: "Please, don't cut spending on environmental and wildlife programs."
Beaumont: "Look for ways to combine government programs so we aren't paying for all those different administrative costs and government salaries."
Leakey: "Put a two-year time limit on all social programs. Help people, but not forever."
Monahans: "The federal government keeps getting more involved in education, and pouring money into it, and the schools keep getting worse. Federal spending could be cut in this area."
San Antonio: "Congress still needs to take a closer look at military spending, and justify
every dollar. We need a strong military, and our boys should have the best equipment, but I think there is still a lot of waste, and companies take advantage of Uncle Sam."
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I will continue to work for substantive tax relief and eliminating the marriage tax penalty is at the top of my list of priorities. I also support the across-the-board tax-relief proposal President Bush is proposing. I am optimistic that Congress will pass significant tax reform this year.
April 12, 2001