Their misplaced priorities save a buck today and cost taxpayers even more tomorrow.

According to news reports, the infrared security system at the Governor’s Mansion may have been broken for two months before the fire. Or maybe the DPS troopers assigned to guard duty had simply been led to believe it was broken, like nearly half of the surveillance cameras were. The troopers complained about the lack of a backup security plan and proposed posting additional guards on the grounds until the surveillance technology could be repaired. Their bosses rejected the idea, citing the cost of overtime pay for the officers.

No one wants to admit this penny-wise policy was handed down from on high by Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, and House Speaker Tom Craddick. But this much is certain — what might have cost taxpayers a few thousand dollars in extra pay for troopers may now cost taxpayers $100 million or more to rebuild the landmark. Not to mention the $1.8 million in taxpayer money that had already been spent on the renovation project that was underway before the fire.

All of which is symptomatic of the rush to deregulate government’s responsibilities in recent years, which has left far more than the Governor’s Mansion vulnerable. Texas families and small businesses are getting squeezed by hands-off policies that:

* pushed public schools to the brink of bankruptcy
* stripped thousands of eligible children of their health insurance while forfeiting federal funds that went instead to other states
* doubled the cost of college tuition, pushing higher education out of the reach of many middle-class families
* led to an infamous veto of community college funding
* sent utility rates soaring an average of 56 percent between 2000 and 2007
* forced Texas homeowners to pay more than twice the national average to protect their homes and settle for less coverage
* unfettered the juvenile justice system from any meaningful oversight

Nearly three years after Hurricane Rita, about one dozen of the many thousands of taxpaying citizens victimized by the storm have received the aid they applied for. But a private firm whose lobbyist used to be the Governor’s chief of staff was given a multi-million-dollar contract to conduct the relief effort — if and when there ever is one.

“Too little, too late” state policies imposed by political leaders in Austin inevitably lead to “even less, even later” results for the taxpayers who foot the bills and expect vital services to be safeguarded.

Like the inability to get aid to the victims of Hurricane Rita nearly three years later. Like underfunding public schools while pushing plan to funnel tax dollars into private-school voucher schemes support by campaign contributors. Like making children’s health care less accessible, not more, and college harder to afford, not easier. Like looking the other way as powerful power companies increase electricity costs while Big Insurance takes state regulators to court to prevent them from stopping unwarranted rate hikes. Like the two years during which political leadership tried to keep the lid on brewing troubles in the Texas Youth Commission until they erupted into violence.

Whoever damaged the Governor’s Mansion should be caught and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. But the crisis of leadership that left a historic building unprotected will only be fixed when taxpaying voters insist that their public officials stop starving public services.

But the saddest legacy of the saddest presidency may turn out to be the decline in homeownership, which fell to its lowest point in 20 years even as the White House crowed about “the ownership society”- its initiative to give millions of minority and lower-income families a chance to buy their first home.

According to a New York Times report this weekend, foreclosures and the mortgage crisis have the new renters “struggling to get into decent apartments as vacancies decline, rents rise and other renters increasingly stay put.”

Or as a 68-year-old retiree thinking about her dream home says in the story: ““I pray a lot and hope to heck we’ll win the Lotto.”

At least she doesn’t have to worry about the costs of making her home “visitable!”

June 20, 2008:
The Associated Press reports: “Texas unemployment rate rose to 4.5 percent last month as job growth slowed, mirroring a nationwide weakening in the job market during May, state officials said Friday.”

The approved ordinance was more realistic, requiring design modifications to make any first-floor bathroom in a new single-family home or duplex suitable for future conversion to wheelchair use.

Losers in the visitability scuffle may include spokesmen for the most radical flanks of the disabled community, who pushed for mandating all new homebuyers to bear the cost of expensive modifications that would make their properties wheelchair accessible regardless of homebuyers’ needs. The original proposal was seen by some as a test case that could be spread to other cities if successful here.

Winners may turn out to be city council members with future political aspirations who would almost certainly have faced a public backlash against limiting consumer choice and further meddling with private property rights if the original version of the ordinance had passed. Also coming out on top were affordable housing advocates such as Habitat for Humanity, as well as local homebuilders, who offered sober compromises to the original proposal.

Observers said another winner is the idea that important public policies should be openly debated, not rushed through at the last minute without proper input from everyone who could be affected.

Further undermining the pollster’s case is his misstatement of the margin of error in a different survey in a Corpus Christi state House race. That survey’s margin of error should be 4.1 percent for a 560 sample size, not the 4.7 percent claimed on the firm’s website and in a news release.

Texas Poll Watch is run by a political consultant who was embroiled in controversy when he was accused of faking signatures on a Hays County petition. This week, the firm is touting a telephone survey conducted in House District 32 that finds the Democratic incumbent trailing a Republican challenger in a race considered one of the top legislative contests this cycle.

The pollster didn’t disclose what percent of the sample came from each county and how that matches projected turnout, what percent is male or female against projected turnout, what percent is Hispanic or non-Hispanic (particularly important in a race between a Hispanic and an Anglo), and what percent of the respondents identify themselves as Democratic, Republican, or Independent. Such details are critical for the media and voters to determine the legitimacy of polls at a time when low-cost interactive phone technology puts “polling” within reach of almost anyone regardless of their training.

Also suspect, is the newest poll revealing that Bush’s approval rating is higher than both cheese and television.

It seems to us, that at the very least the name of the ordinance should be changed. Why is it called “Visitability” when she is asking for thermostats and light switches to be lowered?

Fair Warning: If you change the temperature on my AC you won’t be invited back!

The StartleGram now has the story…

Galindo is a Republican — or at least that’s what Morrison claims when she and her team aren’t too busy working for ex-Republican and brand-new Democrat Karen Huber in her race for Travis County Commissioner against incumbent Gerald Daughtery, who really is a Republican.

Morrison is a hypocrite — or at least that’s what Galindo says when he and his team aren’t too busy accusing her of supporting ordinances that may or may not even exist.

Turnout was 2.4 percent during early vote. Apparently, not even illegals are enthusiastic about these two candidates.

Houston energy czar Dan Duncan has given more than $75,000 just this year to a long list of allies of House Speaker Tom Craddick, from Aaron Peña to Bill Zedler, along with groups that support the Speaker’s favorites. In recent years, Duncan has also given tens of thousands of dollars to Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, and Attorney General Greg Abbott, as well as Craddick.

At issue is a 2002 hunting trip to Siberia. The Justice Department says the Virginia travel agent bribed Russian officials to let Duncan and others shoot moose and sheep from a helicopter, arguing that importing wildlife knowingly bagged in violation of another country’s laws is a no-no here, too. The defense claims the hunters were merely taking advantage of an “economic or humanitarian exemption” that allows for shooting from above “because it’s free meat.”

Republicans in the SD 17 race are expected to include Austen Furse, a Houston financial services adviser, and Gary Polland, the former chairman of the Harris County Republican Party, who is being promoted by state senator Dan Patrick on his rightwing radio show.