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Several decades ago, conservatives got together and figured that their message was not resonating with Americans. For almost a decade they work hard at honing their message. They decided not to get bogged down in complicated explanations and really streamline their message to only a few pithy statements. The government is too big. Taxes are too high. Military spending is always okay. In a nutshell that has been their mantra. The true genius of the conservative agenda has been the bait and switch. Rick Perry is a master at this. Several years ago he convinced Texans that businesses need to pay more. They need to carry their fair share. We all know that Republicans hate taxes. We all know that Republicans love big business. Therefore, this did not make sense. The devil is in the details.
In Texas there’s no income tax. So, Texans pay extremely high property taxes in order to make up for this deficit. Property owners were screaming for some relief. Rick Perry saw an opportunity. He told property owners that he’s going to give them some relief by enacting a marginal tax on businesses. As it turned out, this tax would not even come close to closing the gap from the reduction in taxes on property. Therefore, a budget crisis is created. Republicans look at budget crises as opportunities to cut government services. This is exactly what Rick Perry did. You can read more about Rick Perry’s despicable bait and switch here.
