Houston . . . We Got A Problem!
Tax plan turns into strip club spat
Friday, 23 April 2004
HOUSTON, Texas (Reuters) -- What started as a proposal to reform school finance in Texas has turned into a fight over strip joints. Texas Gov. Rick Perry wants to tax the clubs to help pay for public schools, but fellow Republican Carole Keeton Strayhorn, the powerful state comptroller, thinks the state should shut them down.
Bush's successor vs. spokesman's mom
Texas Gov. Rick Perry wants a tax on strip clubs to help pay for public schools.
HOUSTON, Texas (Reuters) -- What started as a proposal to reform school finance in Texas has turned into a fight over strip joints.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry wants to tax the clubs to help pay for public schools, but fellow Republican Carole Keeton Strayhorn, the powerful state comptroller, thinks the state should shut them down.
Strayhorn has blasted the plan in what political experts say are likely the early shots of a possible gubernatorial campaign in 2006, when Perry's term expires.
The dispute also highlights a party split in President Bush's home state of Texas between Bush's gubernatorial successor and the mother of his White House spokesman Scott McClellan and his Medicare administrator Mark McClellan.
Perry called the state legislature into a monthlong special session Tuesday to consider his proposal to change the way Texas funds its public schools.
His plan would reduce property taxes and increase reliance on so-called "sin taxes" by charging a $5 tax to enter "adult entertainment" venues and adding a dollar to the price of cigarettes.
Perry said his proposal would maintain school funding while reducing the tax burden on homeowners.
"I don't want my five granddaughters growing up in a state where the governor says partnering with sexually oriented nightclubs is an acceptable way to finance their education," Strayhorn said this week.
In a statement Thursday, Strayhorn said "fatal flaws in the governor's original plan ... would saddle the state with a $10 billion deficit over the next five years."
On Wednesday, she attacked Perry for the strip club proposal and called for banning alcohol sales at such places to force them out of business.
"Today, this state says you can't drink and drive and you cannot walk into a convenience store with an alcoholic drink in your hand. Certainly we can say you can't get drunk while watching people take off their clothes in public to pay for education," Strayhorn said.
Perry accused Strayhorn of using "fuzzy math" and defended his proposed tax as a tax on "unhealthy" behavior.
"There are a lot of activities that are legal in the state of Texas that some individuals find to be distasteful and not appropriate," Perry told reporters.
He criticized Strayhorn for not offering her own plan for school finance reform.
She said her office was working on proposed legislation to stop alcohol sales at strip joints and warned she would have the final say in any dispute because, by state law, she must certify the worthiness of all budget-linked bills.
Re:Houston . . . We Got A Problem!
texas is the most fucked up states out of them all aint it????
Re:Houston . . . We Got A Problem!
Gee, and just in time for me to go on vacation down there. Lets hope this bullshit dies in committee. I'd better get that Arizona-New Mexico travel itinerary up and running as a plan B just in case.
Re:Houston . . . We Got A Problem!
Humm Mermaidnz, Texas is certanily like no other place but it's hardly fucked up. While I think the tax is kinda funny, I would much rather have that type of tax vs raising my property or the sales tax. All this tax will do is keep out the cheap folks who want to see topless/naked ladies for free.
As far as Texas
Gas is cheap, currently $1.60 a gallon
No State Personal Income tax
Cost of living is one of the lowest in the US
We have tons of land and it is not overpriced
You can buy a beach front house for 100k +
And Houston alone has 55 strip clubs, no telling how many the state has
What is there not to like, hehe?
Re:Houston . . . We Got A Problem!
This isn't the first state or city which has tried to enact an "adult entertainment tax" either. While this sort of thing sounds good in the speculative stage, and helps garner free publicity for conservative vs liberal policies and candidates in an election year, when it comes right town to it the odds of actually enacting such a tax are essentially zero.
Re:Houston . . . We Got A Problem!
lol, I'm in Houston now :)
The club was pretty slow last nite (glamour girls) but the guys there were spending money. Cant drive in this darn city! Nice people , but I'm ready to go.
Re:Houston . . . We Got A Problem!
Jen,
Are you going to be at any other clubs ? Glamour girls is not the best or hottest spot in Houston. I worked there a few nights with a girlfriend..I totally hated it
Re:Houston . . . We Got A Problem!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flounder link=board=27;threadid=8558;start=msg100571#msg100 571 date=1082739166
Humm Mermaidnz, Texas is certanily like no other place but it's hardly fucked up. While I think the tax is kinda funny, I would much rather have that type of tax vs raising my property or the sales tax. All this tax will do is keep out the cheap folks who want to see topless/naked ladies for free.
As far as Texas
Gas is cheap, currently $1.60 a gallon
No State Personal Income tax
Cost of living is one of the lowest in the US
We have tons of land and it is not overpriced
You can buy a beach front house for 100k +
And Houston alone has 55 strip clubs, no telling how many the state has
What is there not to like, hehe?
I agree Flounder..
I moved to Bay Area from Houston 2 years ago..
The gas is now at $2.50 a gallon
I pay state income tax
A shack cost $300,000+
Despite all that I love it here but, my heart belongs to Texas ;)
Re:Houston . . . We Got A Problem!
Jenn -
I was on the road for 6 years and Houstin and Dallas were the two worst cities to drive in.
Try Austin, much smaller but very hip and very fun -
m
Re:Houston . . . We Got A Problem!
Yea driving is bad, I will give you that, not much different that LA these days. Austin is having its problems with traffic also, ben white at 5pm, bleh.
Jenn as Farrah said you really should try a couple other places in town, try St. James, The Mens Club, Treasures. There are a bunch of others but these are all pretty up scale places with a lot of white collar businessmen.
Re:Houston . . . We Got A Problem!
Club owners have A lOT of money in Texas. They are not going to let that Strayhorn bitch put them out of business without a vicious fight.
Re:Houston . . . We Got A Problem!
I think a strip club tax is a great idea. Just think, once the government started to rely on that tax money rolling in, they'd never again try to shut one down, the government couldn't afford it.
Re:Houston . . . We Got A Problem!
Strayhorn's just playing politics, trying to pick a fight with Perry. No f'in way will they forbid topless clubs to sell liquor in Texas. They already make an incredible amount of money from the clubs as it is. Plus, would they really want to take away, what, 10,000 jobs?
Funnily enough, a reporter friend of mine called me to ask some questions on this topic a couple of days ago. I told him that as far as I was concerned, the clubs were already supporting education.
Re:Houston . . . We Got A Problem!
They've been making fun on the radio and in the news of Strayhorn and the proposal all week....it will die down soon I am sure......
Re:Houston . . . We Got A Problem!
The funniest part was when Strayhorn said that "...banning alcohol sales at such places [would] force them out of business."
That is funny as hell...the men go there for the naked women not the liqour. Take the liqour away, and the club will still be there. The guys'll probably like it more if it became a BYOB club, too.
Some women...geesh...sometimes I'm embarassed for them. LOL
Re:Houston . . . We Got A Problem!
Awww.,... shiiiiiiitttt... that sucks!