The Republican "Economic Miracle" In Texas

Texas was supposed to be the show state for Republican economic policies. For years now, the Republicans have controlled the governor's office, the state legislature, all statewide elected offices, and all state agencies. They have been able to fully implement the trickle-down economic policies of the Republican party, and it has been good for the corporations and the rich people.

But it hasn't been so good for ordinary Texans. Wages are low, unions are weak, and most jobs come without benefits. And that's for the lucky people who are working. The unemployment rate is 8.1% and climbing (and that doesn't count those who've given up finding work or are working part-time because no full-time work can be found). In addition, more than 26% of the state's population has no health insurance, and about 30% of students drop out before finishing high school (and the legislature wants to make huge cuts to Medicaid, children's insurance and education).

But even that doesn't paint the full dismal picture of the Republican-created economy. The U.S. Department of Agriculture releases statistics on its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) -- formerly known as the Food Stamp Program. As you can see from the picture above, Texas does a very poor job of getting SNAP benefits to the people who qualify for them. In fact, the state ranks 44th among all states with only 55% of eligible people actually receiving any SNAP benefits.

And how many Texans are poor enough to receive SNAP benefits? That would be (in 2008 -- the last numbers available) about 4,344,000 people, or more than 18% of the state's population in that year. Of those people with a full-time job in 2008, about 2,403,000 of them still qualified for SNAP benefits. That's right, over 2.4 million people with jobs are still living in poverty. And this was 2008 -- things have gotten worse since then.

Obviously, the record profits being enjoyed by the rich and the corporations is not "trickling down" to anyone. It's just going into their bank accounts. The Republican economic miracle in Texas turns out to not be so miraculous. On the contrary, it's been a dismal failure.