Texas Penal Code § 31.03
(3) a Class A misdemeanor if the value of the property stolen is $750 or more but less than $2,500;
(4) a state jail felony if:
(A) the value of the property stolen is $2,500 or more but less than $30,000, or the property is less than 10 head of sheep, swine, or goats or any part thereof under the value of $30,000;
"There's a good chance you get shot to death" is probably a better deterrent than even a felony, though it's a little morally concerning.
As a semi-random example, $500 property crime was the threshold for justifiable homicide in Nevada (appears to be $1200 now + a $0 threshold for some classes of property). Criminals knew this and often carefully limited their activity to avoid this threshold, with odd property selection effects.
I guess it speaks to the success of right wing media in our society that well educated and well informed people get so badly taken in by them.
> ...unquestionably accept such a wild claim
For people who don't read or, apparently, Google for five seconds, verisimilitude and truth are the same thing. To be fair, that's true of everyone who doesn't read, not just libertarians.