Government

2306 – Texas Government

CHAPTER 1 – The Social and Economic Environment of Texas Politics

· What is a political culture? A broad pattern of ideas, beliefs, and values about citizens and government held by a population.

· 52% of registered voters in Texas are conservative.

· What is conservative?

· Means you want less government and less government social programs and support more traditional values and lifestyles.

· 22% of registered voters in Texas are liberal.

· What is liberal?

· Means you favor more government programs and more government social programs, economically you favor taking more taxes from people that have more money and giving more money to people that need it in social programs.

· Texas is a more conservative state than America as a whole – why do you think that is?

· Roots of Texas Culture

· Texas became an independent republic in 1836.

· Our state population has grown dramatically since then and in the 1970s immigration began to play a major role in that increase.

· Immigration

· An issue we will discuss all semester.

· What do you think about immigration?

· If you are an unauthorized immigrant you still have access to:

· The Right to Sue.

· The Right to be Sued.

· The Right Against Unlawful Searches and Seizures.

· The Right to Defend yourself against removal from the US.

· You cannot be denied healthcare based on your status.

· You cannot be denied an education based on your status – K-12.

· Many people believe Texas has benefitted from the large influx of immigrants – why?

· As a result Texas consumers have benefitted from some lower prices for products.

· GREAT TEST QUESTION:

· New immigrants have kept labor pool in Texas large – steady stream of new people looking for work.

· Many businesses can increase profits by producing more but can also keep labor costs down.

The Political Culture of Texas

Political Culture:

· The shared set of views, attitudes, beliefs, and customs of a people as to how their government should organized and run.

· Political Culture of a state helps us define how its citizens feel about the role of government, relationship of government to its citizens, relationship of state government to federal and who should govern.

· Three major political sub-cultures have been identified:

· The Individualistic Subculture

· A view that government should interfere as little as possible in the private activities of its citizens while ensuring that adequate public facilities and a favorable business culture are available to permit individuals to pursue their self-interests.

· The Moralistic Subculture

· A view that government’s primary responsibility is to promote the public welfare and that government should actively use its authority and power to improve the social and economic well-being of its citizens.

· The Traditionalistic Subculture

· A view that political power should be concentrated in the hands of a few elite citizens who belong to established families or influential social groups.

Texas Cultural Regions and The Texas Economy

· Gross State Product = the total value of all goods and services produced within a particular state - an indicator of the state’s economic health.

· Texas has a dynamic economy – but it is not immune from the ups and downs of the United States economy.

· Texans have to think about ways to make sure their economy thrives because we have a large number of people joining our state and immigrating here and Texas needs to be able to meet these growing demands on its services.

· The ability of Texas lawmakers to deal with the state’s rapidly growing population and the needs of those people is directly affected by the strength of our economy.

· When the economy is growing – revenue to Texas increases and lawmakers can give more services to more Texans.

· When the economy is struggling – revenue to Texas declines and Texas lawmakers have to raise taxes or cut some services which impacts our growing population.

· The Texas Economies of Yesteryear

· Past economy in Texas was focused around COTTON, CATTLE, and OIL.

· Why is it hard to have your economy based around commodities – why do you not want your economy to be commodity driven?

· Texas used to produce these “raw materials” and export them to other markets for sale – so the state does not reap any of the added value that Texas sold materials would gain on the world markets.

· If you have a commodity based economy then you are at the mercy of the prices set for your goods on the world market – so your state is vulnerable to others.

· You are at the mercy of the weather with cotton and cattle.

· Texas is Considered to Have a More Diverse Economy Today

· The total GSP (Gross State Product) exceeded $1.8 billion in 2014 – this is how you measure the economic health of a state – think of it like that. According to the Texas Comptroller’s 2013 estimates – IF Texas were a nation then it would rank 12th in the world.

· Since the 1980s Texas has diversified into other markets beyond the commodities market.

· Now only ¼ of the GSP is made up from these commodity goods.

· Now Texas has a large energy industry, high-technology development and manufacturing and international trade – these put Texas on the international market map.

· By the 1990s Texas was third (behind California and New York) in the number of private corporations that are headquartered in a US state.

· Texas now has more high-tech jobs than California.

· The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) – signed by the United States in 1994 reduced tariffs on products between Canada, Mexico and the United States –and in 2002 all tariffs were eliminated between these countries. Texas exports over $84 million in goods and services each year.

· Maquiladoras – Assembly plants on the Mexican side of the Texas/Mexico boarder where American-made product components are assembled in Mexico by lower paid Mexican workers before being imported back into the United States for distribution and sale.

· WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS?

· Texas touts itself as a great place to do business and as pro-business:

· State has no personal income tax

· State has no corporate income tax (does have a corporate franchise tax but no corporate income tax)

· Absence of strong labor unions

· Texas and some cities have been willing to grant tax abatements to business who come to Texas – that means businesses can potentially get deferred or waived taxes or other material benefits for locating to Texas.

· One thing Texas needs to focus on = making sure its job pool is educated and ready to accept the jobs that are coming this way. Jobs in service, trade, and high-tech companies require educated people to work in them.

· Nationally 25% of people are college graduates and in Texas that is 23%.

· Economic Inequality in Texas

· The Texas economy is growing at a faster rate than the national economy but not every Texas is benefiting from this.

· The median income in Texas is $41,645 - $3K below national average.

· 16% of Texans live below the poverty line and the national average is 12.7% so Texas has a higher than national rate of poverty.

· Poverty level is based on number of people in your family – in 2015 a one person family is at approximately $10,800 per year for one person and for eight people is at approximately $37,630.

· The poverty in Texas is concentrated in the southern part of the state.

· Example: Cameron Park outside of Brownsville is one of 1,800 colonias – subdivisions that have developed along the Texas-Mexico border that lack basic services like water, electricity, sewer. Cameron Park has 6,000 residents who build their homes one room at a time.

· Teachers’ Salaries

· According to the 2004 Census Texas ranks 31st in public school salaries for teachers.

· As of 2014 Texas now ranks 29th in the United States in terms of teacher salaries – average in Texas is $47,000.

· Highest paid teachers are in California at $63,000.

· This can be surprising when you think about the fact that Texas has the second largest economy in terms of GSP.

· In 2012, Texas grossed more than $264.7 billion a year in exports—more than exports of California ($161.9 billion) and New York ($81.4 billion) combined.

· As a sovereign country (2014), Texas would be the 12th largest economy in the world by GDP.

The Different Areas of Texas

· Think about the different areas in Texas and what is important to the people that live in each area based on their economy – someone who represents Dallas, Texas in the Texas legislature may have to be a totally different agenda than someone who represents Pampa, Texas in the Texas legislature.

· East Texas – economically challenged

· Social and cultural extension of the “Old South” – still very rural and considered to be a very segregated society.

· Economically disadvantaged area.

· The Gulf Coast - petrochemicals

· Now the wealth of this area is based in the petrochemical industry.

· As a result of this you see a more international business scene there than in places like East Texas – people from Latin America, Africa, Europe, and Asia are attracted to The Gulf Coast because they are a big power player in the petrochemical area.

· More diverse population than other areas of Texas as a result of their economy.

· West Texas – framing, cattle (smells like poop when you drive through!)

· Lots of farming and as a result you have a large number of immigrants – primarily Latinos – in this area.

· Socially and politically conservative for the most part.

· Religion in this area is majority Baptist fundamentalism.

· Primarily an agricultural economy.

· North Texas – banking and commercial center

· Banking and commercial center in Texas.

· Dominated by the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

· Diverse population because of the economy there – lots of people from other states have moved and move to North Texas for the banking, commercial, and insurance industries that thrive there.

· Central Texas / Hill Country – Silicon Valley / Austin

· Center of this area is Austin – one of the fastest growing areas in the nation.

· Silicon Valley – there was an economic “crash” in the high-tech area after 2000 but high-tech industries in that area still make a major contribution.

· City of Austin is considered very liberal and stands out as liberal in a highly conservative state.

· South Texas – Border Towns

· The Texas Border and Border towns.

· Mexican Political Subculture in Texas:

· The Hispanic culture population is growing throughout Texas but has traditionally been concentrated in South Texas.

· Patron Politics: the legacy of Patron Politics gives South Texas its own political style. Word patron = sponsor / owner of the hacienda or ranch. In remote frontiers the patron was the political sponsor for his employees and family.

· Patron Politics = a traditionalistic border culture where political outcomes are controlled by a patron / sponsor.

Who We Are: The Changing Demographic Profile of Texas

· Five Largest States and Estimated Populations

· California = 37 million

· Texas = 26 million (GOOD MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION)

· New York = 19 million

· Florida = 19 million

· Illinois = 12 million

· Texas population is expected to exceed 33 million by the year 2030.

· The United States Census Bureau noted that we added 4 million to people to Texas between 2000 and 2010.

· 86% of Texans live in urban areas.

· 60% of our population lives in Tarrant, Dallas, Bexar, Travis and Harris Counties (called “The Texas Triangle”)

· Since 2000, Texas population has grown at twice the national average (average rate of growth for states is 6.4% and Texas growing at rate of 12.7%).

· Why is Texas growing so fast? A lot has to do with immigration – mostly immigrants in Texas are from Mexico.

· In 2012 a study done by the New York Times found that 61% of Texans were born in Texas AND 17% of Texans were born outside of the United States – that is the highest that number has ever been.

· The Migration Policy Institute has looked at Census data from 2016:

· More than 4.2 million Texans were foreign-born.

· 72 percent were born in South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. About 2.5 million were born in Mexico and 175,000 were born in El Salvador.

· 19 percent were born in Asia. About 180,000 were born in India and 154,000 were born in Vietnam.

· 4 percent were born in Europe. About 46,000 were born in the United Kingdom.

· Nearly 4 percent were born in Africa. About 61,000 were born in Western Africa.

· The Texas population is growing older. Why is this significant? State officials will have to respond to issues impacting that age of people – i.e. health care for aging and long term residential and financial support for the elderly.

· Diversity in Texas

· Texas is 48.3% Anglo and diversity is on the rise.

· Before the 1970s the state population grew from within so diversity was not changed much.

· In the 1970s and 1980s there was an influx of people into Texas because there was a nationwide recession but Texas had booming oil industry so there were people moving here.

· The 1990s – largest increase in immigrant population in United States history – mostly from Mexico.

· Growing Hispanic Population in Texas

· Hispanic population accounts for 1/3 of the Texas population.

· In the next 30 years the Hispanic population is expected to be the largest ethnic group in Texas.

· One of the biggest issues facing the Hispanic population today = increasing their political clout and taking a more active role in politics. Why is this a hurdle?

· 39% of Hispanic children live below the poverty line.

· High school drop out rate for Hispanics is 33.5%.

· Hispanic home ownership lags behind Anglo home ownership by 29%.

· Hispanics make up 25% of all people in the US without health insurance.

· Only 56% of Hispanics are registered to vote and only half of those do vote.

· African Americans in Texas

· First African Americans in Texas were slaves who lived as captives of a traditionalistic subculture.

· Much of the history of African Americans in Texas has been dominated by oppression and exclusion.

· Civil Rights Movement in 1960s and 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act finally started the change in the political landscape for African Americans.

· The Declining African American Population in Texas

· The percentage of African Americans in Texas has been steadily declining for years.

· In 1900 African Americans made up 20% of all Texans.

· In 2007 African Americans were estimated to be only 11.6% of the Texas population.

· Some research notes that some people who believe they live in traditionally African American areas of the city feel the historic identity of their neighborhoods is being impacted by the influx of Hispanic immigrants.

· Women in Texas

· Women got the right to vote in 1920.

· Right to serve on juries in 1954.

· In 1972, Texas voters ratified the Equal Rights Amendment to the Texas Constitution.

· The Marital Property Act in 1967 advanced women’s equality as far as equal rights in banking, insurance, real estate, contracts, divorce, child custody.

· Is abortion legal in Texas? YES.

· Abortion was illegal in Texas until 1973 – Roe v. Wade in 1973 overturned statutes that criminalized abortion and established a limited, national right of privacy of women to terminate a pregnancy.

· Gays and Lesbians in Texas

· Lawrence v. Texas – United States Supreme Court Case

· In 2003, a Harris County sheriff’s deputy found two men having sex in a private residence.

· Men were arrested and convicted under the anti-sodomy statute in Texas.

· The case reached the United States Supreme Court.

· 6-3 majority – Court held that intimate consensual sexual contact was part of the liberty protected by the substantive due process laws under the 14th amendment to the US Constitution.

· This case invalidated anti-sodomy laws in 13 other states besides Texas and overturned the Bowers v. Hardwick decision the USSCT previously held about anti-sodomy.

· Current state of gays and lesbians in Texas:

· Is same sex marriage legal in Texas? YES.

· In 2005 76% majority amended the state constitution to ban both gay and lesbian marriages.

· Amendment also denied hospital visitation rights, community property rights, and survivors’ benefits for gay and lesbian couples.

· There was also no legal authority to make medical decisions for incapacitated loved ones because there is no legal relationship established.

· The United States Supreme Court addressed same sex marriage in a ruling on June 26, 2015 and made same sex marriage legal in every state in the United States – Obergefell v. Hodges

· Couples who filed the cases were from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee – the USSCT took all of the cases and consolidated them into two issues and answered the following:

· Does the United States Constitution require states to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples? YES.

· Does a state have to recognize a legal same sex marriage from another state? YES.

· An issue to be aware of in the United States – does a county clerk have to provide a marriage license to a same sex couple if that clerk has a religious objection to it?

Immigration

NOTE – you will have an immigration question on your test in multiple choice and short answer / essay.

Example – good test question – tell me two reasons people are FOR immigration and two people reasons are AGAINST immigration.

· The United States has about 11 million “unauthorized immigrants” (that is a term used by the Department of Homeland Security).

· Texas is estimated to have about 1.5 million.

· Why do people immigrate to the US?

· Work

· Escape political issues

· Safety

· To be with their families

· Better opportunities

· Immigration is a hot button topic – form an opinion on the issue.

· Unauthorized Immigrants are entitled to rights under the Constitution of the United States of America – therefore Texas has to comply with those rights:

· They can sue and be sued.

· Right against unreasonable searches and seizures.

· Right of healthcare – cannot deny someone healthcare because they have no insurance and cannot pay or because they are an unauthorized immigrant.

· Right to get an education – Plyer v. Doe – USSCT case – 1972.

· Where do the immigrants from Texas come from? 65% from Mexico.

· In the United States where do immigrants come from?

· These are the immigrants we can measure – so the ones who register and we know about!

· US Total immigrants = 10.8 million

· Texas total immigrants = 1.68 million

· Where do they come from?

· Mexico – 62% - 6 million

· El Salvador – 500,000

· Guatemala – 480,000

· Honduras – 320,000

· Philippines – 270,000

· India – 200,000

· Korea – 200,000

· Ecuador – 170,000

· Brazil – 150,000

· China – 120,000

· Is the cost of immigration too high?

· People anti-immigration cite the high costs of allowing these immigrants to be in Texas.

· They argue undocumented workers displace legal residents in the job market.

· Expenses associated with illegal immigrants: educating their children, criminal justice expenses, the costs of medical care.

· It is estimated that immigrants cost tax payers more than $4.7 billion annually for education, incarceration, and medical care.

· Do unauthorized immigrants pay more than they receive?

· Some illegal immigrants are paying taxes – social security, Medicare, sales tax, and property taxes.

· Many undocumented workers will get a falsified social security number and end up paying taxes as a result.

· Although it is estimated that illegal immigrants cost tax payers more than $4.7 billion – illegal immigrants are estimated to pay at least $1 billion in taxes.

· People for immigration say that the fact illegal immigrants are “taking the jobs” is a fiction – that unauthorized immigrants are taking jobs that no one else wants to do.

· Some studies show that the real competition for jobs that immigrants are doing are other immigrants.

· One study – done by Carole Strayhorn when she was Texas Comptroller – estimated that the unauthorized workers generated $1.58 billion in state revenues but only took $1.16 billion in state revenues.

· Should immigration be a FEDERAL ISSUE – or STATE ISSUE?

· The U.S. Constitution gives the national government the right to establish uniform laws concerning naturalization – which is the granting of citizenship to immigrants.

· US Federal law requires all people not US citizens over the age of 14 who remain in the US for longer than 30 days to register with the US government – and to have registration documents in their possession at all times. Violation of this is a federal misdemeanor crime.

· But what about laws of immigration – should states be allowed to set up their own laws re immigration that are tougher than the US laws?

· Think of US law as the floor you cannot go beneath – you must meet US law – but states can pass different laws so long as they don’t conflict with US law.

· The following states have passed their own laws against illegal immigration – Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina, and Utah.

· The United States Supreme Court found several provisions of the Arizona law to be unconstitutional – BUT USSCT did agree that local and state police can demand proof of legal status from people who are arrested.

· What did Arizona do that was so controversial?

· In Arizona they have to comply with the federal law on immigration – “the floor you cannot go beneath” but they went one step further……

· The Arizona Act made it a state misdemeanor crime for:

· an alien to be in Arizona without carrying the required documents,

· required that state law enforcement officers attempt to determine an individual's immigration status during a "lawful stop, detention or arrest", or during a "lawful contact" not specific to any activity when there is reasonable suspicion that the individual is an illegal immigrant.

· The law barred state or local officials or agencies from restricting enforcement of federal immigration laws – and

· imposed penalties on those sheltering, hiring and transporting unregistered aliens.

· Critics of the legislation said it encouraged racial profiling.

· Supporters say the law prohibited the use of race as the sole basis for investigating immigration status so it was not racial profiling.

· LAWSUIT IN USSCT: The United States Justice Department filed the case against Arizona in federal court in Arizona alleging the law usurped the federal government’s immigration laws and enforcement of immigration laws.

· Note there had been demonstrations and lots of uproar over the law in many states – not just Arizona.

· In June 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the case Arizona v. United States , upholding the provision requiring immigration status checks during law enforcement stops but striking down three other provisions as violations of the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution.

· Remember – if you are doing illegal activity they can check your status!