Empower Texans

Town hall’s in turmoil, neighbors coming to blows, protesters shouting down the authority, organized opposition standing defiant against the machine… Sounds like the “Liberals” are at it again… But wait! No! Are those Republicans? Fiscally conservative activist? Huh? Is that real? Are you serious?
YES!!! They are serious!
Is it all Rush Limbaugh and Tea Parties? Could be, but not all. There are some out there who are so mystified by the radical shift in quick legislation that Obamacare died during halftime while our reps were making their cases at home. Yes, sometimes the Washington inside-the-belt professional politicians still listen to their constituents – sometimes.
So, here is my question… who or what can we do at a state level to make sure that what we want is actually done? Obviously, universal public optioned healthcare is not what we want. There are several polls – leftie and rightie – that say that we do not want government mandated healthcare for everyone. As you can see by the media covered town halls in turmoil, we are making a stand.
But what about our views, our beliefs, our principles… how can we convey to our representative state government what we desire for them to do for us?
There are groups, organizations, PACs, centers, policy driven institutions that we can support. Support by your pocket book, your voice, your influence, your activity in your immediate community.
This article is the first in a series on state level organizations that all of us could support if our views, beliefs, and/or principles align what I will say is that this publication will make endorsements of candidates at the city, county, and state levels using information from some of the organizations The Texan profiles. This is something The Texan did not do in our first year.
The first organization featured is EMPOWER TEXANS. EMPOWER TEXANS’ mission statement says that EMPOWER TEXANS exists to create and sustain a system of strong fiscal stewardship within all levels of Texas government, ensuring the greatest amounts of economic and personal liberty, and promoting public policies that provide individuals with the freedom to use their strengths and talents in pursuit of greater opportunities.
EMPOWER TEXANS is headed by Michael Quinn Sullivan and drives most of EMPOWER TEXANS’ stance on specific bills. He is very enthusiastic and articulate about EMPOWER TEXANS’ position on our state’s spending. I sat down with him at his office in Austin. I liked him instantly. Every sixth or seventh word had a tinge of twang that comes from his Texas roots. He is tall and stays in shape by running five miles almost everyday.
On the EMPOWER TEXANS’ website, the Fort Worth Star Telegram said Sullivan “slays taxpayer dragons in Austin… When the heat is on in Austin, Michael Quinn Sullivan knows how to make it even hotter.” Sullivan is a former newspaper reporter, Capitol Hill staffer and think tank vice president.
My conversation with Sullivan started with a few questions on terminology. From reading the EMPOWER TEXANS’ website, the word conservative is numerous when describing fiscally responsible representatives. Sullivan told me in very plain English that EMPOWER TEXANS is for any representative that spends our money efficiently, whether they are considered conservative, liberal, Democrat, Republican, Green, blue or red.
During the first five minutes of our conversation, we talked about economics and he mentioned the words… Ludwig Von Mises. From reading a few of my articles in prior Texan issues, you will know that I am a big Mises fan. I believe Austrian economics is the best philosophy for economics and cash flow. So I knew from the get go, Mr. Sullivan would be “preaching to the choir” so to speak as we talked about his organization.
Efficiency was talked about in-depth with respect to flow of money from taxpayers to government and back. “Only government dollars should be spent on what government can do”, Sullivan answered as I asked what government should be doing with our money.
He has great ideas that make sense to me, but others with a different philosophy would disagree. Sullivan mentioned the “yellow pages test”. If there is a business in the yellow pages then there should not be another government entity created to compete with that business. He used copy and print services as an example.
Continued on page ??
“The state does not need to put in their own print and copy department when there is a business that it can flow tax dollars to”, Sullivan exclaimed. He, once again, hit a high note with me on the flow of tax dollars instead of the capturing of tax dollars.
Continuing on with what seemed like a brainstorming session for fixing the inefficiencies of government, Sullivan evangelized on interstate healthcare markets, reforming educational geography limits, consumption based tax systems and Social Security phase out plans.
With my ever optimistic view, I asked what or how we could start to build a better, more efficient government structure. He responded with, “the healthiest thing to happen to Texas”. In 2003, the state budget had a $10,000,000,000 (that’s a lot of zeros) shortfall. Instead of increasing the budget, which would have increased our taxes, the state decided to zero out the budget. With this strategy, every state run entity had to show cause why they should be funded. In other words, prove that they were worthy of our tax dollars.
One program Sullivan mentioned was a program on space flight development. Space flight development in the state owned air space. Yes, space flight. Needless to say that program did not continue on in its entirety. The state found the much needed $10 billion.
One thing that makes EMPOWER TEXANS unique is the Fiscal Responsibility Index. This listing of representatives from their respected districts, both from the House and Senate, uses certain bills introduced in the State Legislature as benchmarks to grade our representatives. Rusk County representatives Chuck Hopson (D) and Kevin Eltife (R) scored 45% and 37% respectfully. The index is weighted according to bills EMPOWER TEXANS is either for or against. You can see a list of how your representative voted and scored at www.EMPOWERTEXANS.com.
As you will see from the bills listed on EMPOWER TEXANS’ website used for benchmarking, most deal with some sort of spending program or reforming of an existing spending program. The index does not rate any of our representatives on the state budget.
Another idea Sullivan mentioned was building a matrix to measure how much “good the public was getting out of our tax dollars.” With some programs, especially education, more money is not the answer. “Throwing more money at it does not work”, Sullivan says. This strategy has been proven inefficient time and time again and the only group that suffers the most is our children. EMPOWER TEXANS is all about efficiency and flow of tax dollars to the most appropriate programs for the greater good.
For more information about how you can become part of EMPOWER TEXANS, log on to www.EMPOWERTEXANS.com or call Michael Quinn Sullivan at 512.236.0201. EMPOWER TEXANS has over 400 active donors and boasts a 60,000 membership on their website. Michael Quinn Sullivan does not directly influence our representatives; he influences the people of Texas to influence their respected representatives. According to the website, Sullivan spends most of his time traveling from Beaumont to El Paso, McAllen to Dalhart speaking to political organizations, civic clubs, neighborhood groups and in educational forums about the important policy reforms needed in Texas.
There is no cost thanks to their generous donors; EMPOWER TEXANS’ desire is to get more Texans engaged in the political and policy process. Sullivan’s speeches are tailored to the groups he is addressing, based on their interests. EMPOWER TEXANS’ primary focus is on fiscal conservativism, but will discuss a broad range of issues of both policy and political interest.