Mike Shedlock breaks it down in data of a lot of states – a sample:
Texas
Texas Sales Tax Collections
January 2010 State Sales Tax Collections To General Revenue
State sales tax net collections deposited to general revenue totaled $1,655.3 million in January 2010. Compared with the $1,928.3 million collected in January 2009, this represents a decrease of 14.2 percent.
December 2009 State Sales Tax Collections To General Revenue
State sales tax net collections deposited to general revenue totaled $1,653.1 million in December 2009. Compared with the $1,869.4 million collected in December 2008, this represents a decrease of 11.6 percent.
November 2009 State Sales Tax Collections To General Revenue
State sales tax net collections deposited to general revenue totaled $1,696.9 million in November 2009. Compared with the $1,983.1 million collected in November 2008, this represents a decrease of 14.4 percent.
Down, down, down they go – and Texas, keep in mind, is actually one of our healthier States. Out here in Nevada, we’ve had double-digit declines in sales tax revenue for months on end. Thus we have a nearly $900 million dollar budget shortfall our pinheads in Carson City are currently trying to deal with (for what I think of their efforts, go here).
In the linked article, you’ll find that there are some government statistics allegedly showing a rise in retail sales. This is because of things like the government counting same-store sales year over year…but if a company closes out half its stores, the closed half aren’t counted and given the lower number of stores, it is natural that the survivors would show an increase, even though total sales are down. It should also be noted that even the current figures for sales tax receipts are inflated because a lot of States and localities jacked up sales tax rates in 2009 – including out here in Nevada, going along with that bit of brilliant liberal economics which says the thing to do in a down economy is tax it more.
Other than government spending, there is nothing increasing in our economy. In spite of liberal fairy tales to the contrary, the spending FDR did in the 1930’s did not cure the Depression and, actually, made it longer and deeper. We’re trying to borrow, print and spend our way out of this when the only way to get out is to work our way out – we’re repeating the mistakes of the past, and we’re going to reap the same reward.
Smoke and mirrors, boys and girls, that is all we’ve got in the economy.
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