Thus, a Cap is Busted

I've noticed there's a great deal of cap-busting being undertaken by our Legislature as of late, and the language chosen by the opposition is interesting. Saying that the House Appropriations committee spent last Thursday busting a cap is fun, but it doesn't fully explain the trouble with what they're doing.

Rep. Jim Dunnam wrote a letter in which he is critical of the legislature's move to circumvent the state spending limit. He used the following language to open his letter (via Quorum Report):

"I am dismayed that the legislature busted the state spending cap today without any public input."

In this case, busting has a negative connotation. It seems like a violent or even petulant act. Traditionally, "bust" doesn't mean something good. It means you just lost at blackjack. When you painted "[Somewhere] or Bust!" on your wagon and set off west, if you got to Bust instead of [Somewhere], you were probably dead. If something is a bust, it is useless, or a failure.

There was a slight departure from this in the 80's and 90's. Young MC implored you to Bust a Move, and you probably did. The Ghostbusters were tearing up the town with hilarity and proton accelerators. Ray Parker, Jr. confided that Busting made him feel good. However, I assert that the current busting underway in the state capitol is good for no one, not even Ray Parker, Jr.

The problem that Rep. Dunnam outlines in his letter, and the fundamental absurdity behind the decision to find a way around the spending limit, is that there's no budget yet. No one knows what's going to be in it or how much money will be allocated for which projects. The cap has been circumvented in an effort to guarantee that the school property tax cuts will still be possible while providing for programs and services that even Texas legislators are likely loathe to cut.

So, the move was inappropriate: how can busting the cap be justified without a budget, or even a clear schedule of spending priorities? The linguistic choice of "busted" to describe the action is smart, and the capitol press corps is running with it at full speed. "Busting" is negative, the action is negative, and with public opinion of legislative money management in Texas already at an ebb tide, smart message choices will continue to work towards making the failures of the state GOP leadership obvious to the electorate.