Blog 8 Commentary

I agree with Mr. Garcia  I feel that Texas’ government officials have good intentions in how to run it, but some of the officials try to get their way in a bad way.  They do this by gerrymandering, and spending large amounts of money for campaigns with no follow through. We also give some amnesty to our lawmakers while the legislative is in session.  Even though we do give them a break, some take advantage of this and it does seem that we just don’t hold them to the same standards that we have to follow. Where does it say that our government officials can make up lines that give them the upper-hand in keeping opinions of certain people from being heard?  Well, during this class I never heard that this should be allowed.  I think that there is a way that districts can be divided up into a fair, and in an evenly distributed way. 

Texas is a great state and I couldn’t ever see myself living in another state here in America.  As the population increases from birthrates and out of state people moving here I think we will see a change in how candidates campaign.  We are currently a Republican state, but the Democrats are starting to be seen in the bigger cities and sooner than later the voices of the Democrats will spread and the younger people will begin to vote too.  Also, when we continue to have candidates not doing what they say they will do during their campaigns when they win, then this too will encourage a change in how we look at candidates.  I also agree that most people just look for familiar names and listen to commentaries of people and make their judgments on only those opinions.  Texas though does have a strong ambition to thrive and we will continue to do so and with the new session coming up I hope to see some new changes that are good.

  

Needed Changes For the New Budget

With the new session starting in January the Legislative Budget Board is meeting to figure out just how much Texas will grow over the next two years.  The estimated growth is between 11.68 percent and 15.71 percent which will then determine the spending cap. 

A spending cap is necessary because it helps keep lawmakers from spending more than is needed and prevents a deficit in the budget.  All though there is a budget, this cap doesn’t apply to all of the issues that occur during the legislative session.  Some items don’t fall under this cap and lawmakers use these loopholes to exceed the spending cap.   I agree with the conservative groups that want to put an end to these loopholes.  What is the point of putting a budget in place if it will be ignored? 

It looks like the one subject that has been repeatedly ignored and swept under the rug is the public schools.  I highly think that our public schools need some much needed attention, in the past few years Texas schools have shown a decline in academics.  Texas has one of the lowest SAT scores and if there is spending room it needs to be in the schools.  It seems that our lawmakers don’t think that the children in Texas need an education.  The schools have been ignored and suffered from budget cuts where teachers have lost jobs; it is time for a change and more money to go to them.  Our children are the future and I personally want them to grow to be competent and highly functional adults that can make a difference in our society.

So as Texas continues to grow the budget will too increase and with an economy that is booming that too will help give a surplus to budget.  Our lawmakers that we elected need to stay focused and keep to the budget that has been set, and stop looking for escape routes for exceeding the set budget.  They also need to prioritize to the needs of our state and get it back on track to being competitive in school rankings.