Invest Today, Prosper Tomorrow

Since 1836, Texas has stood as an icon of the American dream.

From humble beginnings, we built a state with the firm belief that every Texan might rise as high and as far as their spirit, hard work, and talent might carry them. For many Texans today, however, the American dream is distant.

On Wednesday, January 31, we released a report called Texas on the Brink: How Texas Ranks Among the 50 States. Leadership means dealing with the facts today to inspire all of us to make a difference tomorrow. Texas on the Brink shows the hard facts about where Texas is today.

With a $14.3 billion surplus in the Texas Legislature, Gov. Perry recently said, "…we have taken the Texas economy to one of the best, if not the best, in the country." But the real question to ask is, for whom?

Through the early 2000s, Texas had the greatest income inequality in the nation between the top fifth and the middle fifth of the population. During the same period, the gap between the richest 20 percent of families and the poorest 20 percent was second in the entire country, behind only New York. Today, the poorest 20 percent of Texas families pay more than three times their share of earnings in taxes as the wealthy. Even though Texas has the second largest economy in the nation, 45 percent of families in Texas earn poverty-level wages. According to the US Census, Hidalgo County (Texas) is the poorest county in the United States, followed by Cameron County (Texas), Bronx County (New York) and El Paso County (Texas). El Paso is also the 10th poorest large city in the United States.

What that means is the last decade has been very good for the very top of the income scale, but middle and working class Texans are not keeping up. As average wages continue to stagnate after three decades and inflation increases the cost of living, Texas are working longer hours and spending less time with their families.

For the median family, real annual incomes have declined from $47,599 in 2000 to $46,326 in 2005, a drop of 2.7%. For working-age families — those headed by adults younger than 65 — the decline has been even steeper. For these families, median annual incomes have declined from $55,284 in 2000 to $52,287 in 2006, a drop of 5.4%. Property taxes, health care costs, gasoline, insurance, and college costs are driving a wedge for most families between the family budget and the family dream.

Let's take a look at the real Texas. We rank first nationally in percentage of uninsured children and 49th in percentage of children with immunizations. Fewer Texans get post-high school degrees than any other state. In a world where what you earn depends on what you learn, our graduates are 48th in average SAT scores. Texas is fifth in the rate of women with cervical cancer, first in the percentage of sub-prime, high-interest mortgage loans, and last in the quality of our air.

In higher education, the portion of young adults attaining a college degree is well below the national average, according to the Governor's Business Council. In Texas, 29% of 25 to 34 year olds have a college degree, compared to 52% in Canada. In fact, our state's 25 to 34 year olds are the least educated group of Texans in two decades, less educated than 35 to 44 year olds who are, in turn, less educated than 45 to 54 year olds. In other words, for the first time in history, young adults in Texas are less educated than the two generations before them.

These are the sober facts of what has happened after a decade of leadership dedicated to tax cuts, not educating children. In fact, Steve Murdoch, Texas' official demographer, states, "If we don't change Texas' future through improving and increasing education, we will have a Texas in 2040 that is poorer and less competitive than it is today." He continues, "In 2000 constant dollars, the average Texas household in 2040 — if you don't change anything — will be $6,500 poorer than the average household in 2000 was."

In El Paso, Yolie Garcia, a mother of three, is struggling without insurance for her children. Her income from a local call center disqualifies her children from Medicaid and CHIP coverage, so she pays out-of-pocket for the cardiologist her second-youngest child visits every month.

To cover costs, she visits payday lenders for high-interest loans. "It's digging up one hole to cover another one," she says. "I just want the best for my kids."

In Austin, Kelly Chapa, the mother of a hearing-impaired three year old, is working on a B.A. in Education from the University of Texas. To make ends meet, she works part-time as a rehabilitation technician — yet neither she or her son have health insurance. "Logan has been without health insurance since August 2006. I recently asked for a heftier amount of financial aid (school loans) to pay off medical bills," explained Chapa.

"And how do I expect to pay for the loan? Well, my motto has been ‘worry about it later.’ Loans can wait, my family cannot."

As Texas leaders force Texas families into making unconscionable choices, often the choice between health care and crushing debt, the state itself has made its own choice — a calculated decision to forget about its own citizens.

In 2003, lawmakers were asked to solve the state's revenue problems as they debated how to budget a $10 billion shortfall. Texas' leadership responded by cutting critical education, health services and other programs that were already severely underfunded. As a result of these ill-advised cuts, policies have become even more harsh, and the casualties resulting from this include more than 200,000 children who have been kicked off the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), or worse, driven from the program by the incompetence of the privatized provider.

In our government, budgets reflect our values. Texas' budget is a statement of our moral choices. Our vision should be broad-based and forward-looking toward our long-term prosperity. Let us not forget that the business of Texas is Texans.

If we invest in our greatest resource, our children, Texas will be the state of the future. So, with a $14.3 billion surplus, where do we invest?

First, let's honor our commitment to lower property taxes. Too much family income goes to pay a rising tax for which there is no rising paycheck. Next, let's put every Texas child who qualifies into the CHIP and Medicaid programs. With a few changes to our CHIP funding, we can cover all these Texas children. In public education, let's fully fund the growth in Texas and educate the 70,000 new students who will come into our public schools in the next year.

Finally, let's restore funding to Texas colleges and tuition funds, so more of our best and brightest can get a college degree. In 2005, Texas provided $140 million less in state financial aid than the other five largest states — California, New York, Florida, Illinois and Pennsylvania. Today, in 2007, Texas provides $186.1 million less.

Six years ago, Texas higher education officials embarked on "Closing the Gap" to enroll more minorities, especially Hispanic students. But the gap is not closing. Texas ranks 41st in the nation in the rate of college enrollment. Only 26 percent of Texans aged 25-65 have earned a bachelor's degree or higher.

The number of Hispanic college students has fallen 20,000 short of the state's goal. Unless the trend changes, the state will fall 100,000 Hispanic students short of their goal by 2010, and our state will fall further behind our competitors in producing graduates needed to fuel the 21st century economy.

The choice is ours. Unless more of us rise to let our voices be heard, leaders in Austin plan to bank $3 billion of the surplus for tax cuts in 2010; 95% of those cuts will go to those who make over $85,000 a year.

In the words of Martin Luther King Jr., "The time is always right to do what is right." Let us resolve now to right the wrongs of recent years, and invest in young Texans today to guarantee the prosperity of all Texans tomorrow.