Texas has decided to use taxes collected on oil production to set up a government department to improve water infrastructure: build reservoirs, dig pipelines, set up treatment plants, and so on.
an unusual move in a state where fiscal conservatives usually push to streamline government and limit spending.
Yeah. Oops, there's a drought. Not that it wasn't predictable, of course, it's happened a half dozen times in the past century, but hey, why plan ahead? Suddenly, as reservoirs drop to a six month supply or less, it's a big problem.
The drought is now more than two years long, shows no signs of letting up, so hey! Let's do something!
In 2011, the last time the Legislature convened for one of its biennial sessions, Representative Allan Ritter, a Republican and the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, was unsuccessful in getting lawmakers to approve legislation imposing an annual fee on water users like homeowners and businesses to help finance projects in the state water plan.
But on Thursday, Mr. Ritter proposed bills that would draw $2 billion from the state’s emergency Rainy Day Fund to establish a water infrastructure bank that would lend money for the projects. This time, his proposals received support from Republican leaders and groups that are often on the opposite sides of issues
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/us/texas-drought-pushes-lawmakers-to-focus-on-water-in-new-session.html
Dear Texas: Don't worry. I'm sure the free market will be glad to bring in bottled water at usurious prices, in the meantime "sip", don't "chug." And let us know how this new experimental "government" thing works out, OK?
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