Blog Post 5: Out of ideas? Try the Texas state budget on for size this Halloween

The commentary I chose to critique is titled "Out of ideas? Try the Texas state budget on for size this Halloween" written by Texas Senator Eddie Lucio Jr.  I found this commentary on www.statesman.com.  Sen. Lucio caught my attention by comparing the Texas state budget as this year's Halloween costume by stating "Like any good Halloween costume, the 2012-13 budget is scary--but essentially fake." I continued to read his short but to the point commentary in which Sen. Lucio mentions that "The budget is scary because it contains nearly $1 billion in cuts to higher education, $4 billion in cuts to public education, and more than $6 billion in reduced funding to Health and Human Services."


The school districts will lose $500 in funding per student which will result in more layoffs while the universities have had their budgets for the Texas grant scholarships cut by the equivalent of 30,000 students statewide. 


Sen. Lucio states that "The budget is essentially fake because of the way it is funded." His example is the state government's "effort" to reduce spending on Medicaid.  The state's leadership underestimated how much money the program would cost over the next two years.  They were off by more than $4 billion dollars!  Additionally, the budget defers payments to schools from this biennium to the next which means that when the legislature reconvenes in 2013, lawmakers will have a multi-billion dollar IOU to take care of before they can begin to write the 2014-15 budget.


Sen. Lucio continues to say that Texas' state budget should be based on sound financial principles, caring for the vulnerable and investing in our future.  He states that the combination of gimmicks and cuts means that the current budget is more trick than treat. 


I have to agree with Sen. Lucio argument.  The state has cut more than $6 billion in education which does not seem like a sound financial investment.  The leadership in Texas government should be focused on the people they serve which is all of us.  We all want better public education and cutting funds from this sector is unacceptable.  The budget cuts from education has forced many layoffs which does nothing but hurt the situation more.  Texas government should invest in the future of their citizens and the first step in doing so is providing children of a quality education. I also agreed with Sen. Lucio's comment in which he stated that the best thing we could do now is to vote.  That is the only way we can start to make a change.  It isn't going to be a quick and easy change but we have to start somewhere.  Voting, even though I have not voted ever in my life, seems like the only move we can make to start changing the current situation.  

Blog Stage 4: Critique of a Texas Blog

The Texas blog I chose to critique is Mean Rachel.  The blog is written by a native Austinite and Democratic activist Rachel Farris.  According to Ferris' profile, it is "a progressive blog that follows politics, the legislature and how they both are affected by social media."  Ferris' profile also states that "she covered the 2008 Democratic National Convention with The Texas Observer team and has spoken about social media and communications at the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs, Texas State University's "Mass Communication Week" and St. Edward's University...as well as writing for the Huffington Post."

The commentary from Mean Rachel's blog that I chose was titled "What a Rick Perry Presidency Would Look Like for Women" posted on August 17, 2011.  Ferris compares the Governor of Texas Rick Perry as a "cassette player" or an "AOL subscription" stating that these are things "that has seemingly always been around, but has long since lost its purpose."  This statement sets the tone for Ferris' commentary because it is blatently obvious that she does not agree with Perry's mandates or laws that concerns women's health.

Ferris imagines a world where Rick Perry becomes the president of the United States of America and how that would affect women of all ages that live in the United States.  Ferris states that the first thing President Perry would do is create the Department Of Interior Contraception, which Ferris refers to as "DIC."  Ferris states that "DIC would oversee approved contraceptive devices...the top item on the list...abstinence."  Ferris criticizes Perry's abstinence-only mandate stating that Texas has the 3rd highest teen birth rate in the country and that teens in Texas are actually having more sex after going through an abstinence-only program.  Ferris then goes on to say that the recent law that requires health insurance companies to cover birth control will no doubt be rolled back by President Perry.

Ferris then brings to light the outcome of women who choose not to abstain from sex highlighting the pilot program that Perry has started here in Texas. "The state now requires mandatory transvaginal sonograms for women who are 8 to 10 weeks pregnant and seeking abortions."  Ferris then offers a possible solution for all the "cute babies that women will get to have"- home school.  Ferris states that Texas ranks first in the nation in adults without high school diplomas.  The future of children in America, under President Perry, doesn't look so bright when it comes to health insurance and potential jobs. Why?  Ferris states that "Texas also ranks first in the nation in the percentage of children without health insurance and, in 2010, Texas tied with Mississippi for the highest percentage of workers employed in minimum-wage jobs."  But Ferris has more to say, the best statement in my opinion, "No wonder Governor Perry wants Texas to secede. It'd sure make Texas look less stupid."

I definitely agree with Ferris in which she used actual data to support her claims.  I believe when it comes to a woman's reproductive system, or overall health for that matter, it should be her choice and her's only to make.  I don't believe a man should be able to make that choice for her, let alone establish laws that affect women's health.  Not everyone has the same belief as Perry when it comes to women's health and his beliefs should not be forced on anyone.  I remember on local news when parents were outraged that the HPV vaccination became mandatory for young girls under the executive order from Governor Rick Perry.  If Perry would become the next president of the United States, more than likely he will enact more laws that will infringe on women's health choices.

Blog Stage 3- Green: Tuition law helps Texas economy

Considering that my last blog post was about the challenges that the state of Texas has in helping under-prepared students graduate from college I thought choosing this particular commentary to review would be a great fit.  Not only did the commentary titled "Green: Tuition law helps Texas economy" tie in with my last blog post but it is also relevant with our upcoming participation topic regarding an immigration law in Texas.

The commentary was written by Joshua Green who is a national correspondent at Bloomberg Businessweek in which his column appears in The Boston Globe.  This particular commentary appeared on statesman.com and the title itself caught my attention. As I began to read Green's commentary, I noticed that his intended audience was probably anyone who watched last week's Republican debate, but more so geared towards conservatives.

Green states last month, Texas Gov. Rick Perry shot to the front of the pack when he joined the Republican presidential field, but his disastrous performance in last week's debate might propel him toward the rear and could eventually drive him out of the race, if he can't find a way to recover from it. Green goes on to say that Perry was challenged about signing a 2001 law that allows children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state college tuition rates if they've lived in Texas for three years and plan to become permanent residents.  Green believes that is a serious provocation to a Republican primary electorate that has grown steadily more nativist and less welcoming of minorities.

Green further states that Perry went beyond just defending the law to accuse his critics of lacking "heart" in which that statement is where Perry really got himself into trouble.  Green's views is that invoking compassion or social justice before conservative audiences that think nothing of booing a gay soldier in Iraq or cheering the prospect of the uninsured being left to die...is bound to cut into one's support.

Green suggest that Perry would have done better if he presented a different rationale for the law, namely that it helps the state economy.  Perry's campaign is, after all, premised on the idea that he is better qualified than any of his opponents to create jobs and grow the economy.

I found Joshua Green's commentary very insightful towards the current immigration/education standpoint.  I work closely with the Round Rock Financial Aid Office so I hear and see many students of different races and backgrounds upset about the recent financial aid cuts from the state.  Such programs include work-study, Texas Educational Opportunity Grant, B-On-Time, Top 10 Percent Scholarship, and The Tuition Equalization Grant just to name a few. There are quite a few people who are upset about the tuition law in Texas in regards to illegal immigrants, but reading Joshua Green's commentary provides a different, more positive view, on that particular law.

Blog Stage 2: State faces challenge in helping underprepared students graduate from college

I noticed this article on statesman.com and the photo associated with it is an ACC student hugging her instructor because this student is on track to graduate from ACC despite the fact that the student had to start with developmental courses.

The article titled "State faces challenge in helping underprepared students graduate from college" states that half of the state’s 473,487 community college freshman and a fifth of 103,900 public university freshman matriculating in the coming weeks will need developmental education and many of those students will never earn a certificate or a degree.

Raymund Paredes, the state’s higher education commissioner, had his agency, The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board compile records which showed that only 14 percent of community college students in developmental math courses go on to complete a college-level math course, while only about a third complete a college-level reading or writing course.

In Texas, about 30 percent of students who enroll full time at community college to pursue a certificate or a degree achieve that goal within six years while the six-year graduation rate for public university students is 56 percent. However, there is a problem that occurs earlier in the educational pipeline since 20 percent of Texans age 25 and older have not finished high school. This statistic is higher than in any other state according to a report by the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corp. The national average is 15 percent.

This article just goes to show that government and politicians should not cut funding from Texas education. The huge amount of layoffs from school teachers and budget cuts in education in the state of Texas will not help this situation at all. In fact it will worsen it. When our children attend elementary, middle and high school we expect that they are receiving a good education to where they can attend college and actually take college level courses. Newly graduated high school students should have the proper tools to be prepared to take and pass college level courses. The fact that half of the state’s community college freshman as well as a fifth of the state’s public university freshman entering this year will still need to take developmental courses says something about the lack of proper education in Texas. 

Blog Assignment 1

I don't have any political ideologies and there isn't a political party that I side with. To be honest, I'm taking this class to fulfill my 6 credit hour government requirement for Texas State. I took U.S. Government over the summer and learned a lot of interesting information that I actually enjoyed the class. So I have a feeling that I'll be learning a lot from this class as well.