Think what you want about Fox.
Texas budget gap:
this think tank pegs it at 16 billion:
THE BOTTOM LINE: The General Revenue cost of
maintaining the current level of state services in 2004-2005 is
thus $69.7 billion—$15.6 billion more than the amount of
General Revenue estimated to be available.* This $15.6 billion
is the shortfall amount that more realistically measures the
challenge ahead and what it would cost merely to “tread water”
in state services. (And it is worth citing at least a few examples
of what “treading water” means: more than 60,000 Texans on
waiting lists for community care services; more than 52,000
children on waiting lists for low-income child care subsidies.) It
is impossible to eliminate a shortfall of this enormous
magnitude by reducing waste and increasing efficiency. It is
also impossible to close this gap through spending cuts alone,
without causing unacceptable pain for all Texans. Additional
state revenue is needed. For some potential sources, see the
Texas Revenue Primer at
http://www.cppp.org/products/reports/rev-primer.pdf