Federal dysfunction in Congress is on full display while Texas businesses figuratively burn to the ground and the Texas economy grinds to a halt. But there is one way that Texas can step up and mitigate this disaster – Let Texans keep their money.
Right now, the United States Congress is showing just how disunited this union actually is. They are sacrificing the economic stability of Texans to score political points on one another. It is, in a word, disgusting.
While Governor Greg Abbott is issuing executive orders at an unprecedented pace, he has an opportunity to stand with the people of Texas, consumers and business owners, and remind the world that Texas is a “free and independent State” by issuing one more executive order.
Abbott should immediately issue an executive order stating that all federal tax payments will be remitted to the State of Texas and be immediately rebated. The effect of this is that the money that would normally flow to the overbloated and inefficient bureaucracy in Washington, would stay in the pockets of those who need it the most right now. It could be the difference in keeping Texans employed and in their homes or out-of-work and in the streets. This would let Texans keep their money out of the hands of federal bureaucrats that are hell-bent on taking their cut, playing games with the money, and then tossing crumbs back to us at a snail’s pace.
Some will say that he doesn’t have the power to do this. But as we have seen with his executive orders, he is willing to color outside the lines if it suits him during this declared emergency. Sure the federal government will complain. So what? Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have made their political careers on standing up to Washington. Here is their chance to prove that their defense of Texans against the federal government is legitimate and not simply political rhetoric.
If the federal government cannot and will not do the right thing at a time like this, it’s time that our elected officials, especially Greg Abbott, put Texans ahead of the intractable federal bureaucrats.
