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[Texas] Texas' finances not as rosy as they seemed

tessaesque said:
You can call it whatever you want, but the state has a legitmate interest in (1) holding citizens to the letter of the law (a law which states you must carry proof of insurance) and (2) holding citizens to schedules as assigned by the court. That $75 was the fee for court processing and the time spent because your friend didn't meet the requirements of the law. The other charge was because he made an "honest mistake" that negatively affected operations for the court.
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I would say it positively "affected the operations for the court", they made out like bandits.

Wrong is wrong. The nazis had laws, too. Doesn't make them right.

If he were being called in to court for violent criminal offense and "honestly misread" the date then there would have been much stiffer consequences, so really, he should count himself lucky.
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He's LUCKY he wasn't called in for a violent criminal offense when all he did was leave his insurance card at home?? There's something wrong here.

My $350 fine on a warrant for "Violation of City Ordinance" was based on ignorance and a stupid chain of events. But I paid it, because there was a violation of law involved. If you screw up there are reprecussions. That's how the world should work.
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No, that's how totalitarianism works.
 
Loose Feather said:
Texas has to pay for education and health for all illegals. They are employed at below minimum wage. Then they send the money to their homeland. They plant bugs in offices of the govt and go through files in courtrooms. My fav scam was when this couple got millions for one being sexually harassed at work. They knew each other for years and thats the only way for quick cash. Priceless.
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Please enlighten us how people who are employed for less than minimum wage and send their money back to their homeland can afford surveillance devices.
 
stelz said:
It's not just bs traffic violations. You can end up paying fines like that here if your teenager skips school or gets caught someplace with a cigarette, if your dog gets out of the yard for five minutes, any little excuse they can find to extort people. If a few dandelions come up after a rain you get a letter from the city saying you have a week to cut your grass or they'll send somebody to cut it and charge you ten times the normal rate to do it. They don't care who can't afford to pay, that's the main ones they ticket. They never mess with the wealthy people, just the working class and minorities. A rich man can go speeding down the street snot-slinging drunk and they won't even pull him over.
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Which is a significant betrayal of alleged Republican values. Basically what you are describing is the use of the state's surveillance to prosecute minor (if actual) crimes to generate income in the absence of the will to levy taxes. By considering all who commit infractions hardened criminals worthy of huge fines and using the state's framework to prosecute for income, out goes the limited government in our lives notion so praised by Republicans.
 
Texas may not have state taxes, but they sure in hell tax you hard on property tax. I can't believe how much I pay in taxes. Plus they are going up on toll road fees as well.
 
megaprogman said:
Texas budget: A less rosy picture emerges of Texas' fiscal management - latimes.com



And there we have it folks. Investing in infrastructure, like education, the health of your citizenry, etc does make a lot of difference in determining whether a business will move to your state and help your local economy. It is quite obvious that the Texas model is both wrong and harmful and the results are no better than that of California's.
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This is really telling. I have friend in Texas and he thinks his state is the ****. He also hates on CA big time... seeing him react to news like this will be funny.
 
Loose Feather said:
Texas is a mess. Americans have to learn spanish if they want a job. They should recede from America because they sure arent a part of it.
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Recede from America... do you expect to do that by sending another hurricane?
 
Councilman said:
Never try too compare California with Texas becuse right now Texas wind hands down.

In 2010 alone 153 businesses have moved out of California to Texas from the first of the year through August.

The liberals in California are killing the State with taxes and regulations. They killed the schools years ago take it from number 1 in education to 49 ahead of only Mississippi, and that is sad.

Texas id good fo employee because the is no income taxes.

I liked Texas when I lived there. It was a shock to go to Oregon from Texas because the taxes in OR. suck.
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Did you not read the article? That number is inflated and a myth... btw, I didn't know raising taxes damaged the quality of education
 
Removable Mind said:
Don't be fooled by the "lack of appearance" of not having to pay as much tax as other places. Texas has a lot of ways to tax people incorporated in goods, services, and civil fees.

Civil fees such as a traffic ticket are crazy. My neighbor got ticketed for not having liability card when pulled over. All law enforcement agents now has a system that allows them to see if a car is insured over their car computers. My neighbor was insured...but just no card. He was still ticketed even though he explained that he had insurance and the officer saw that on his computer. There's absolutely no reason to do that.

My neighbor misread the month on the date for appearing in court. The ticket would have been wiped off and a $75.00 fine imposed instead of the usual $250.00 fine. But now he had a "failure to appear" and they issued a warrant. When he went to court he was told that because of not appearing, the cost would be $500.00 for failure to appear and the normal fine is doubled. So now the ticket was $1000.00.

The Texas Dept of Motor Vehicles also makes a person pay an ongoing fine for "3 years" mutually exclusive that of a municipal ticket for no drivers license, no insurance, and DUI's. DUI's can cost $2500.00 more than whatever the municipal cost were. Oh, they also have a point system for those who get more than 2 or 3 tickets for moving violations, which fines are imposed by the DMV paid out for 3 years.

If you don't pay the DMV...they suspend your drivers license until you do.

If you come back to Texas and visit. Don't get a traffic ticket.

The list goes on. Believe me...Texas legislators are money hungry just like every place else.
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So if you get a traffic ticket, you have to keep paying fees for three years? How much does a total traffic ticket end up being? How much are those yearly fees about?

And that ****ing sucks btw... I'll never live there. I speed too much.
 
obvious Child said:
Which is a significant betrayal of alleged Republican values. Basically what you are describing is the use of the state's surveillance to prosecute minor (if actual) crimes to generate income in the absence of the will to levy taxes. By considering all who commit infractions hardened criminals worthy of huge fines and using the state's framework to prosecute for income, out goes the limited government in our lives notion so praised by Republicans.
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I thought the same thing, but on the other hand, they are not punishing production and success, which is what they usually cry about... They are punishing bad citizens. It doesn't matter if the guy had insurance, he didn't carry proof, and that's the law. It doesn't matter if your innocent little dog ran out the door, he was running lose, and you deserve a fine. I can see how they'd turn into matter of free will and authoritative constructs, not production and success. Yes, it's still ****ed up and it's big government, but the GOP and tea party really don't mind big government. If they did, and if they valued the constitution as much as they say, they'd have the balls to discuss the Patriot Act and wiretapping it's citizens.
 
rcart76 said:
Texas may not have state taxes, but they sure in hell tax you hard on property tax. I can't believe how much I pay in taxes. Plus they are going up on toll road fees as well.
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I worked with a cpa from texas, and she said the same thing all the time.
 
SheWolf said:
This is really telling. I have friend in Texas and he thinks his state is the ****. He also hates on CA big time... seeing him react to news like this will be funny.
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maybe because it's false? We have a constitutional amendment that the budget HAS to be balanced. there is however, no amendment banning deficits. The state may have overspent this cycle, as a result of misreading projections last cycle, but that only means we have to cut back expenses. Democrats like to tell us we are in a ****hole...guess what? we're not.
 
DarkWizard12 said:
maybe because it's false? We have a constitutional amendment that the budget HAS to be balanced. there is however, no amendment banning deficits. The state may have overspent this cycle, as a result of misreading projections last cycle, but that only means we have to cut back expenses. Democrats like to tell us we are in a ****hole...guess what? we're not.
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Balanced budget is just a trigger word, so of course running a deficit is not banned... I have never seen a balance sheet with no liabilities, debts, or expenses. If you have none of that, then what do you expect state auditors to balance the assets against? Literally place them on scales and make sure one half weights the same as the other half?
 
winston53660 said:
Before I got sick I paid over 6k in property taxes.
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That about right. A few months ago they were talking about going up on it again to help with the deficit. From my point of view moving from Los Angeles, the only thing that Texas has over Cali is better looking houses per dollar.
 
rcart76 said:
That about right. A few months ago they were talking about going up on it again to help with the deficit. From my point of view moving from Los Angeles, the only thing that Texas has over Cali is better looking houses per dollar.
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Newport Beach has some nice places but they are so much smaller.
 
I'm not a native Texan, but i'm a Texas resident now... i moved to Texas about a year and a half ago, settling down on a small ranch north of Austin.
i'm also a homeowner in California, Nevada, Minnesota, and Colombia...

Texas ain't perfect by any means, but it's a damn sight better than Cali in every category important to me...
when my daughters graduate from college in Cali, i'll sever all ties to that state (except for the odd vacation to Laguna beach)
 
So what are the issues important to you, Thrilla? Affordable (semi-realistic) housing prices and what?
 
nota bene said:
So what are the issues important to you, Thrilla? Affordable (semi-realistic) housing prices and what?
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well, housing prices is on the list ( land prices more than housing), but I lean towards favoring intangibles more than anything else nowadays.
my financial situation, thankfully, allows me not to worry about tax rates and prices as much i did in my younger days ( i'm not happy with the way deregulation is pulled off pertaining to utilities here though)
I'm enamored by what i can only call "hospitality" in Texas...in addition, there seems to be a greater sense of community here ( even though i live out in the sticks).

growing up in the 50's and 60's, i've noticed that "community" has sort of become some abstract idea as of late.... but i get a different vibe here.
after going decades without really "knowing" my neighbors , it's welcoming to have neighbors that go out of their way to interact with each other and being involved in one another lives.
I mean, hell, i was invited to at least 8 or 9 4th of July parties ( and multiple festivities since then)... all by folks whom I had only met a time or 2... it's seemed very natural for them to do so, and it was very, very cool.
that kinda stuff doesn't happen out west like it does here... around here seems to be a natural high-trust society/community

in comparison with Cali, it's mostly things of the sort i explained here.. and with Cali's severely overbearing state government.
I understand that governments , everywhere, are growing and becoming more intrusive... but i don't get the same vibe in Texas as i do in Cali.
some things are worse ( public intoxication laws for example), but most are much, much better.

I don't know how to explain it adequately, but i feel like i've stepped back into the late 50's pertaining to interpersonal relations, community relations, etc.. all while retaining the modern economy.

religion is a bit more prevalent here than other places i've been, but it's not of the " in your face" variety that I was expecting.. in fact, i think i receive less " in your face" proselytizing than i have in more liberal/secular areas i've been.... there is a lot of " mind your own bees wax" going on around here, in this regard.


one thing i do miss about the west though... the fresh produce.
i know Texas has plenty of fresh produce... but the quality is better in Cali and Nevada.. and i have no idea why.
 
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