March 25, 2015 4:57 PM

Greenfield: Where is All the Money Going?

Our number cruncher Dr. Stuart Greenfield lays out the facts on how state dollars are being spent now

Now that we’ve taken a look at the increase in Texas state tax collections, I thought it would be helpful to follow up with an in-depth look at just how those funds are being allocated.

To briefly recap the tax collection numbers: The fiscal year-to-date (YTD, September - February) growth in total net state revenue is 7.2 percent, a rate substantially greater than the 4.6 percent increase forecasted in the most recent revenue estimate, published in January. Total state expenditures have increased at a somewhat greater rate (7.8 percent).

As shown in Table 1, two items, Public Assistance Payments (39.9 percent), and Public Education Payments (25.6 percent) accounted for almost 2/3rds of state expenditures. However, while the increase in Public Assistance Payments (PAP) was 13.6 percent, the increase in Public Education Payments was only 3.8 percent.

The full column from Dr. Stuart Greenfield is in the R&D Department.

By Stuart Greenfield, Ph.D.