Stage 8: Comment on the state of Texas Government

In her article “The State of Texas and Local Government”, Breona comments about the current economic conditions in Texas which we have spent a great deal learning and writing about this summer. She points out that Texas is no exception to the economic suffering the country has faced, and cites the billions in budget deficit while proposing to raise revenue in the correct areas rather than continuing to cut spending. She closes by emphasizing the impact that the budget cuts will have on healthcare and the education system and stresses the personal levels at which Texans will be affected.

I completely agree with Breona about these issues, and would even say she is perhaps giving Rick Perry too much credit for seemingly keeping Texas immune to the recession. I never bought the so called “Texas Miracle” because the facts and statistics prove that Texas truly is in no better condition than any other state. Texas has the 23rd lowest unemployment rate at 9%, is the leader in proportion of residents making minimum wage, and has more uninsured people than any state. Are these things we should really be proud of? I think not. Furthermore, while the rest of the country seems to be on the mend having an average of 5% increase in weekly wage since 2007, Texas seems to regress after deciding on these current budget cuts and having an increase in wages of only .6% since 2007. Because of this, I am unsure what makes Breona believe Texas has “thrived” with job opportunities, 37% of which were minimum wage jobs that were in the small job spike Perry often brags of.

Like Breona, I think raising revenue in the right areas is the way to get us out of this hole. The state cannot afford budget cuts due to the already high unemployment numbers and continued shortcomings of the Texas school systems. I completely believe that residents would rather pay a bit more in taxes to see things fixed rather than save a few bucks to watch the situation worsen. In terms of those “right” areas to raise revenue, I have always thought a tax on carbon emissions and chemical waste would be a fabulous method to raise the state’s revenue while giving the environment a chance to heal itself. We have a plethora of rich oil companies polluting the environment that could easily afford to give a little back to the government for the damages they make.

Either way, if there’s one thing I’ve learned this semester, it is that Texas is in ok shape, but far from perfect. And most importantly it seems to be on a downward slope after recent executive decisions regarding these budget cuts. Texas is a fabulous place to live, but it needs to make a 180 degree turn if it wants to maintain what its residents speak so proudly of.

Stage 7: A Miraculously Bogus Miracle

The Governor’s plans to run for president in the next election are undoubtedly one of the prime headlines in Texas politics these days. Speculation of his campaign has lead people to believe he will run with the highly publicized “Texas Miracle” as his pitch and how Texas managed to escape the recession as the rest of the country suffered. But wait a minute, can we really look right now at the condition of our state compared to the rest of the country and call it a miracle? In my opinion, heck no.

All it takes is just a walk up and down the drag here in Austin to get a taste of the poverty that persists in this state. Contrary to national belief, the economy is doing very poorly here as proven by a plethora of statistics. Texas’s current unemployment rate is about 9% which puts it in the middle of the pack with only 23 states having a lower rate. And while the rest of the country’s rates are decreasing, Texas’s continues to go up. Texas remains the leader with the greatest proportion and number of residents making minimum wage, and of that small spike in job growth that Perry often brags of, 37% of those jobs are at minimum wage or below. Not to mention that any of the roughly 1 in 10 people unemployed in Texas would call it their own “miracle” just to get one of those jobs. To put things in even better perspective, over the last 4 years weekly wages have increased by only .6% in Texas whereas they have increased 10% in California and over 5% nationally.

The numbers themselves prove that Texas is no exception to the tough times the country is facing. And while the rest of the country is on the mend, Texas seems to continue to regress. The billions of dollars in the recent budget deficit, which is expected to reach 27 billion in the upcoming year, will only increase unemployment rates with unavoidable layoffs. Having the highest proportion of uninsured people in the country at 25%, Texas will only increase this lead as Perry attempts to rid medicare by privatizing it.

Sure, the Governor seems like a nice guy with a good voice and all and probably good intentions, but any of the thousands of people that line up each evening at homeless shelters will tell you that the “progress” he has made for Texas in the last decade is bogus. The people of the United States deserve the know the truth about this presidential candidate’s miraculous claims before decide who to support. And unfortunately for Perry, besides this phony “Texas Miracle”, I don’t see much going in his favor.

Sources:
http://texaskaos.com/diary/6972/rachel-maddow-debunks-rick-perrys-texas-miracle-myth
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/03/governor-perrys-texas-economy_n_917460.html

Stage 6: Comment on Education Cuts

In her post “Budget Cuts in Texas Public Education”, Caitlin Huber speaks out against the recently proposed education budget. She cites that education has already been suffering in our state compared to others and this budget will only continue to make things worse. She points out that entire school subjects are being completely cut from some schools resulting in an abundance of teacher lay offs. As a result, hope has dwindled for aspiring teachers like her who have begun to ditch their dreams and look for different careers. Finally, she proposes that reform was necessary rather than cuts in order to help the states education, along with a variety of suggestions.

I cannot be more sympathetic to Caitlin, as well as many of my other classmates who spoke out against the education cuts. I think it is horrible that students are losing life-enhancing opportunities in the classroom while teachers are being forced to rethink their lives. I was heartbroken to hear that UT recently cancelled the scuba diving program where I first got the chance to learn and experience one of my current favorite hobbies. Indeed, the economical and personal affects of these education cuts go very wide.

However, I will pose a question to Caitlin and my other classmates that share her view. Though the budget cuts are very tragic, are they not necessary? Texas, as well as the entire country, is fighting desperately to not dig themselves deeper into the hole of debt they are currently in. It seems to me that in order to preserve what’s left of the state’s economy, cuts needed to be made. Of course the tough part is deciding where to make these cuts. No matter which aspect of the state was going to suffer, people were bound to be pissed off. Say it was the law enforcement budget that was cut, people would lose jobs and others would be pissed off that crime would rise. Say it was the public transportation budget that was cut, people would lose jobs and others would be pissed that they cannot get to work. In this case, it happened to be education that was unlucky, and guess what?- People like Caitlin and I are pissed off. It goes to show how difficult it is to make up for past mistakes by getting out of debt. The unfortunate truth though is that there is really no other option.

Stage 5: Hope for the Democratic Party of Texas

Republicans rule the state of Texas, there is no doubt about that. For almost two decades, the Democratic Party has had to sit idly by while the dominating Republicans took control of the house, senate, and most of the state. Currently, about 80 percent of the Texas counties identify as “Strong Republican” while only about 10 percent lean democratic. The GOP holds 19 of the 31 seats in the state senate and 101 of the 150 seats in the house, not to mention the recently re-elected and longest running Texas Governor Rick Perry remains their fearless leader. Coming from a family of strong Democratic allegiance, my question is, does the Democratic Party have any hope to regain power and precedence in our state in the near future?

Unfortunately, my answer to this question will have to be no. From what I have learned so far this semester, the Democratic party is destined to stay in the shadows of the GOP due their currently lack of unity and infrastructure. For a party to maintain substantial effectiveness, they require a degree of complexity in the organization of the party, such as budget planning and a labor division as well as an ability to perform party building functions. This effectiveness is measured through fundraising capabilities and opinion polling results, and to the Democrats dismay, the popularity is not in their favor. This is not to say the Democrats are a “weak” party, but compared to the strength of the republicans, they will have to unite and make changes to be back on par. Unfortunately, their unity is looking bleak given the mass amount of internal debate and infighting between candidates for the primary election, such as the pointless lashings between candidates Juaquin Castro and Lloyd Doggett (see my previous post).

Undoubtedly, the Democrats have their eye on getting one of their own into the governors mansion soon in order to shift some power back to their side, yet even if they do get their act together and elect a solid candidate for Governor, they still face the army of residents that possess a republican party identification. I have little faith that Democrats can win an election unless a number of those counties shaded red start changing to blue, yet another thing which is unlikely to happen. Lets face it, things are actually “going well” in Texas under republican rule, especially compared to other states that have a much higher rate of unemployment and property prices. Unless things get worse in Texas, voting residents aren’t likely to change their allegiance, leaving the Democrats of out luck.

That’s not to say times wont worsen. The newly proposed state budget will leave a big impact on education, which has many residents in an uproar. Who knows, maybe Rick Perry will find himself caught in some kind of scandal. Either way, something will eventually need to occur to give Democrats the chance to re-achieve the power and dominance they once held in this state.

Stage 4: Democratic Primary Regression

In her blog Mean Rachel, Austin Democrat blogger Rachel Ferris recently posted “Why I’m Not Picking Sides in Doggett Versus Castro” which gives her opinion on the progress (or regress) of the upcoming Democratic primary election.  According to her perspective, though it is healthy for democrats to support and challenge various candidates within their party, the current democratic race is more of a “bloodbath” between candidates Lloyd Doggett and Juaquin Castro. Not only are each of their campaigns lashing out at each other, but Democratic residents are arguing over pointless issues regarding the two candidates such as which has congressional seniority and which is more progressive rather than focusing on what’s important. Resulting, she claims that due to this unnecessarily brutal primary, the Republicans will eventually win out by watching their opponents weaken themselves through infighting leading to the GOP taking the upper hand in the 2012 election. She urges Democrats to unite and rise above the primary battle and focus on the true issue they should be concerned with: winning in 2012. She even hints that the most convenient thing to help the Democrats would be for Castro to just step aside and let Doggett run unopposed to prepare better for the general election.

I agree with Ferris’s argument. Though I know little of the details and issues concerning the Democratic primary, it seems very pointless for such infighting to progress when this should be a time of reconstruction and retaliation against the overpowering Republicans, both of which require a sense of unity. If what they truly want is a Democrat as Governor, the residents should let the campaigns do their own thing and give support to the winning candidate in order to strengthen their image and unity as a party. This post was undoubtedly written for Texas Democrats as the target audience given the nature of the argument and as a left leaning blog. The argument is very logical in my mind as given by my previous reasoning, and she offers evidence to strengthen her argument by citing examples of the more unimportant debates that democrats have chosen instead to concern themselves with. Finally, Ferris’s credibility seems quite strong given that her blog also contains links to her editorials on the Huffington Post and to articles that she has written for the Texas Observer and related news websites. 

Stage 3: Proposed Immigration Legislature

In an editorial written by an anonymous commentator for the Austin American Statesman, the commentary “Legislature Takes on Sticky Issue” talks about recent policy proposals regarding the immigration issue in Texas. According to the author, last month Governor Rick Perry declared an emergency item to legislature which would have prevented the creation of policies that would prohibit police from inquiring into suspects immigration status, or in simpler terms, to ensure that the police authorities would inquire about the immigration status of suspects. He then goes on to say how officers are already expected to inquire about such things and that suspected aliens are put on I.C.E hold before deportation status is determined. The author seems to believes that the media has made Travis county and the surroundings of other large cities in Texas appear as sanctuaries for immigrants, and that this proposal is an attempt by the Governor to aid in the effort against continued illegal immigration. However, the writer then points out that deportations are already at an all time high, and that no city council member in any mind would propose such a policy that would prevent officers from inquiring about immigration status. It is also noted that such a proposal from the Governor could encourage increased harassment and racial profiling given the state’s history.

From what I can tell, what the author is trying to say is that this proposed legislature by the governor will do no good as the best efforts by the police are currently being made to deal with illegal immigration, and that something other than increased police authority is required to make a substantial contribution to the immigration issue. Though the intended audience appears to by the residents of Travis County, and perhaps even the Texas legislature, the author provides little evidence to any of his claims. He offers no statistics that would lead anyone to believe that deportations are high, nor does he list any of the authorities current official responsibilities toward inquiring about immigration. This, along with the fact that the editorial appears to be anonymous, gives the author very little credibility.

Though the author’s argument is weak in my opinion (an opinion which is shared by many of the people who commented on this editorial) I still agree that this proposed legislature is bogus. What is the point of putting the time and effort into a policy that prevents the police from not doing their jobs, jobs which they have already proven to be doing very diligently, and concerning an issue which many Texans seem to be very passionate about? It seems to me that other policy changes would be more effective, such as tighter border security and more efficient and thorough immigration investigations once suspects have been identified. 

Stage 2: Perry's Education Policy

Education policy is a primary issue of concern in each state’s government, and in Texas, new education policy appears to be on the horizon. As Kate Alexander described is her article "Perry’s Education Record Distinctly Different from Bush’s", things are not looking bright for the future of Texas public education. In the days when G. W. Bush was governor, improving education was a first and foremost priority for him as seen by his efforts to implement “No Child Left Behind” and the drastic improvement in standardized test scores during his term. Though over the past decade, Texas scores have dropped dramatically and Texas is currently ranked last for percentage of resident over 25 with a diploma. This is seemingly due to Governor Perry’s lack of priority concerning these education issues. Though he has raised the accountability standards for public schools to meet, he has also allowed loopholes in the system to allow failing students to appear to be passing. All this does is inflate the scores, making texas appear stronger than it actually is. Perhaps most controversial is the new education budget which he recently signed which was drastically reduced from previous years. This new budget almost guarantees that schools will no longer have the basic funding to provide an education for each student that will prepare them for the work environment. Governor Perry’s education legacy is sure not to be a good one.

This article is worth reading because it gives a brief look toward the future of education in Texas and goes into detail about Governor Perry’s position on the issue. Furthermore, it traces the implementations of the different education policies over the past decade and their respective successes and failures.