I find it amusing that you described Austin, the one big area of Texas that leans dramatically against the rest of the state, as the most liveable and put toget

I find it amusing that you described Austin, the one big area of Texas that leans dramatically against the rest of the state, as the most liveable and put together. Kind of proves my point relative to the Legislature at large. For what it's worth, Texas has never had a $25bln surplus. In the 2011 biennium, the budget had to cover a $27bln shortfall. (Note that all Texas budgets are written to cover two years, as the Legislature meets for 140 days on every odd-numbered year.) This biennium's budget will start out with approximately $8bln in unspent revenue (mostly left over from dramatic cuts made in the 2011 two-year budget) and starting out with $5.3bln in "unpaid bills" around the Women's Health Insurance Program and natural disaster spending. (http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/texas-legislature/headlines/20130101-expected-surplus-wont-lessen-2013-texas-budget-fight.ece http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/texas-legislature/he...)