The Norquist "Drown it in a Bathtub" Bill

A message from Glenn Smith:

Speaker Tom Craddick's office has tried to downplay the consequences of HB 2, backgrounding the press and others that the bill only makes it clear that the new business tax is intended to offset the cut in property taxes.

In fact, HB 2 would dedicate future growth in business tax revenue to further property tax reduction. It says: You can't use this money for our school children, our teachers, or any other urgent need faced by the state of Texas.

Grover Norquist, the ghost in the current legislative machine, says he wants to shrink spending -- on education, on health care, on everything -- to a size that can be drowned in a bathtub.

Let's remember a simple safety tip for parents: We should never abandon our children when they're in the bathtub.

Craddick and others argue that it's just a statute that could easily be repealed. Really? How many recent legislatures would have been able to overcome the business lobby, the Norquist abolish-all-taxes zealots, the right-wing leadership, and the pro-gambling lobby and vote TWICE to raise taxes: first to eliminate the dedication to property tax reduction, and then to broaden the base or raise the rate of the business tax?

But if Craddick and his team really mean it when they say it's just a statute that could be easily repealed, why do they want it so badly?