The Texas situation is very interesting. And the Republicans couldn't have gotten their supermajority at a better time. Now they're either going to have to make draconian cuts that are going to have very real adverse effects on the dumbshits that voted them into office, or just admit that they've been lying all along about not raising taxes.
Right now, the proposed budget (HB 1), will effectively end Medicaid in Texas if most predictions are correct. Already half of Texas docs won't take Mediaid. And now the numbskulls are going to cut reimbursement rates by another 10%. (And that's not even to mention that it doesn't include funding for population growth or for increased costs or utilization rates.)
http://www.texastribune.org/texas-ta...sweeping-cuts/
I hope all the poor who are forced to go to ER's for their medical care go to the ER's of for profit hospitals. But then again, many for profits hospitals will probably just close their ER's to avoid that problem. So the legislature will just past the buck to the Counties, and to non-profit hospitals who will in turn pass the buck on the the insurance companies (who will pass the buck on to those of us who pay premiums). And of course Texas will end up with even more people uninsured, despite already leading the nation in that category.
And the cuts to public education are staggering. $9.8 billion or 14% in cuts. One estimate I saw indicated that there would be 100,000 layoffs in education if the budget was cut $5M. So I guess we're looking at 200,000 off if the current numbers hold.
http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/burkablog/?p=8964
Of course the urban rich don't care, but the rich Republicans in rural areas are going to be appalled at this because there are no private schools to send their kids to. Not to mention the batshit crazy poor who vote for Republicans. Texas education is already in a funding crisis since Texas has the lowest tax rates of any State and the lowest per capita spending of any State. (And of course the results to go with it: 47th out of 50 States in SAT scores, for example.)
But these education and health care cuts I think can cost the Republicans their majority here. Texas isn't a real rich State and the Republicans can't win unless poor people vote for them. And I just can't see that they will stand for this. I think it will be the event that finally gets the run of the mill Republican voter to wake up and smell the coffee. But if not, they'll live in the sort of society that they deserve.
