TribTalk | Perspectives on Texas

A publication of The Texas Tribune

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Government

We lawmakers didn’t do enough for average Texans

By Jason Villalba,

Sometimes I wonder if the august body of the Texas Legislature remains true to the Reagan ethos of servant leadership. Where is the humanity? Where is the compassion for the least among us? Can the blind ideology of libertarianism adequately address the pain and suffering of our fellow Texans? This session, it seems as though some members have chosen fealty to an unseen, nihilistic special interest over the lives of those who they were sent here to represent.

Politics

Bathroom bills in Texas reveal larger GOP tensions

By Lincoln Dow,

The Texas GOP's unlikely marriage of business-minded, free-market capitalists and socially conservative, often Christian traditionalists has survived and thrived because until recently, the two divisions have found little reason to clash with each other in the Legislature. This year, however, the infamous bathroom bill fight started to indicate growing strains in the GOP. If this keeps up, pro-business Republicans might soon find themselves forced out of the party.

Higher Education

College readiness drops back ten years in Texas

By Michael Marder,

Once students pass exams that place the college-ready flag next to their names in state computer systems, they are allowed to walk into any two-year Texas community college after graduation, or four-year college program into which they are accepted and start taking credit-bearing coursework towards degree or certificates. What happens if they don’t have that flag?

Economy

Say yes to communities, no to cuts

By Phyllis Snodgrass,

We understand the value in operating in a sustainable matter — it is a core principal of Austin Habitat for Humanity. We teach our partner families the importance of creating and maintaining budgets. We are supportive of the effort to do the same on a federal level — but cutting vitally important programs that support hard-working families and revitalize disenfranchised communities is not how we strengthen our nation. It’s quite the opposite: a surefire way to weaken it.

Economy

Discrimination has no place in Texas

By Tyson Tuttle,

Simply put, I believe bathroom legislation is bad for our employees and bad for business. It is a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. Rather than sending a message that Texas has a diverse and inclusive business environment, this type of legislation demonstrates that discrimination is welcome in our state. Texas should not follow the example of North Carolina, which has lost billions of dollars, thousands of jobs and devolved into political dysfunction as lawmakers pushed similar legislation.

Law and Order

The life of Sandra Bland embodied in legislation

By Fatima Mann,

This bill now has no recognition of non-jailable offenses or pre-textual stops — where a person stopped for one thing is detained, charged or arrested for another. This version of the bill did not represent the cause for organizing in the name of Sandra Bland. It does not reflect how Sandra Bland became #SandyStillSpeaks.

Politics

The right to vote is a fundamental political right

By Colin Allred,

Making it harder for young people and people of color to vote — constituencies that have trended towards the Democrats in recent years — is part of a larger strategy to consolidate power and disenfranchise those who would oppose Republicans. We’ve seen the results of that strategy right here in Texas.

Public Education

School finance is dead. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick administered the poison.

By Kristin Tassin,

House Bill 21 may not have been perfect, but it did provide significant additional funding to help schools through the next biennium until the system could, hopefully, be “upended”, as suggested by the state Supreme Court. But in the hands of the Senate and Lt. Gov. Patrick, it became nothing more than a vehicle for passing school vouchers, a major political item on Patrick’s “to do” list this session.

Energy

UT needs to cut the polluting

By David Matiella and Andrew Costigan,

Hundreds of companies lease land from UT to drill for oil and gas. Managed by University Lands — which has a similar arrangement with the Texas A&M System — these 2 million acres of UT lands are home to more than 9,000 oil and gas wells. This land, and the oil and gas that’s extracted from it, generates millions of dollars of revenue for the UT System. But in addition to revenue, oil and gas production also produces significant emissions of a powerful climate pollutant: methane.

Health

Don't increase the hassle factor of Medicaid medicines

By Dr. Robert Hogue,

Physicians and patients need a transparent process for determining which drugs are covered by the state’s Medicaid Vendor Drug program and ultimately, who is making the decision as to what is best for the patient. The health care community treating patients and the patients affected should be able to provide feedback on why certain medications should be accessible.

Economy

Reagan might oppose Trump's tax guidelines

By David Nelson,

Reinventing the wheel on tax reform can be avoided by President Trump if the same tax rates are applied to small business income, dividends, and capital gains. President Reagan and Congress already provided a good blueprint with the research, thought, and compromise that accompanied passage of the Tax Reform Act of 1986.

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