GOP's "Texas Miracle" Is Hurting Children

The Republican Party has long touted its economic policy of "trickle down" economics -- the idea that if we remove taxes and regulations from the rich and corporations and let them amass enormous amounts of money, they will let much of that money trickle back down to the rest of America. All one has to do is look at the massive and growing gap in income and wealth between the richest Americans and the rest of America to know this is ridiculous, but the Republicans persist in pushing the failed theory.

And here in Texas, the Republicans have had the opportunity to fully put those policies into practice. Texas has been ruled by Republicans for quite a while now, and they have been able to institute a pro-corporation, pro-rich people agenda. State laws have kept unions very weak and few exist with any power. There is no income or corporate tax, and the state is almost completely funded by the regressive sales tax -- which eats up a far larger portion of working and middle class earners than it does the rich. In addition, corporations get tax breaks and monetary rewards for promising new jobs and no punishment when those jobs don't materialize.

There is no state minimum wage and no requirement for businesses to provide health care to their employees. This has resulted in over 26% of Texas citizens being without health insurance (the highest percentage of any state) and an ever-widening gap between the workers and the rich. State workers are paid poorly, and the state's schools are funded less on a per student basis than any other state. And it's not just the schools -- health and human services funding lags far behind most other states (even states much poorer than Texas).

In other words, the Republicans have been able to do whatever they wanted in Texas. And it is not working. The state has a rising unemployment figure (over 8%) and a $27 billion dollar shortfall for the next biennial budget. The economy is just not working like the Republicans promised it would. And while all working Texans are hurting, the state's children are definitely being adversely affected.

The nonpartisan group, Texans Care for Children, has issued a report showing the trouble that Texas children are in. Compared to the average American child, Texas children are:
* 35% more likely to grow up poor.
* 28% more likely to be obese.
* 16% more likely to drop out of school.
* 51% more likely to be born to a teen mother.
* 93% more likely not to have health care access.
* 33% more likely not to receive mental health care services.
* 83% more likely to be born to a mother that received late or no prenatal care.

That is the current situation in Texas -- the situation that would continue to exist if all the funding remained at current levels for the next biennium. But that's not going to happen. As I said, the state has at least a $27 billion shortfall for the next biennium if they keep funding at current levels. And the state Republican leadership has decided to make up the entire budget deficit with cuts to state services -- most in the areas of education and health & human services. Cuts in these two areas would put Texas children in even more trouble.

This doesn't have to happen. A saner and more humane state government would use the $9 billion in the state's rainy day fund (and it is raining -- hard) combined with a broadening of the sales tax base (and maybe even instituting an income tax for those making over a quarter-million dollars). These measures would allow the state to maintain current funding levels or limit the cuts to very small ones.

But that is not how Republican economic policy works. They would much rather punish children than tax their rich buddies. The Senate is recommending a 15.4% budget cut of services, and the House is recommending an even more draconian cut of 16.6%. So they'll be tossing Texas children under the bus (and damaging the future of the state). That's how they roll -- mean-spirited and hard-hearted.