Robin Hood Revenue Service

It seems like most everyone is talking about the expected cuts in government funding of public schools and saying that we should not cut the funding, but not many are giving suggestions on how we could prevent that from happening.  With this coming budget deficit there aren't too many options afforded to the government and even less money to go around.  Obviously no one wants their programs cut and the lobbyists are hounding the current legislatures to gain support for their programs.

The current Robin Hood plan spreads the school financing throughout the property-wealthy school districts and the property-poor school districts in order to keep school financing equitable.  Megan Fisher believes that "we are already supplying our state with the necessary funds for a "better" educational system", while M.Sandoval believes "Texas should adopt a personal income tax".  For most Texans the mere mention of a personal income tax incites anger and opposition and is a subject that would most likely destroy the career of any politician, but maybe it is about time to take a look at this option, especially for those who are demanding that public school funding not be cut.  The only viable way I see to prevent cuts in public school financing is the increase revenue and the current Robin Hood plan has funded a large part public school finances, but public schools are still under funded.  Megan thinks that the current plan provides enough funds for a "better" education system, but I contend that the property values across Texas have dropped therefore reducing the amount of property tax across the table to fund our school systems.  As far as "better" goes, I think a bit more research and comparison needs to be done on your part.  The Robin Hood system in Texas tries to finance schools in Texas equally, but the education is nowhere near equal from district to district.  We Texans pride ourselves on southern hospitality, but when it comes to helping the less fortunate why are we getting stingy over a few more dollars out of each of our pockets?

Accountability

After reading the responses to my post, Ultimate Justice, I was struck with this really weird feeling inside of me.... I think it's called caring.  I have to admit that I had written that post with the sole intention of attaining a good grade and didn't really care about the topic.  I haven't really cared much about the government in the past, mostly due to our butting heads and their constant need to keep telling me I'm wrong, but hey, that's a whole other post I might have to take up some other time.  So after reading the responses and then reading my post again I realized that after typing up what I thought sounded good, I forgot to give my honest opinion and argument.

My stance on the death penalty in Texas is complicated to say the least.  I believe the justice system in Texas is flawed with prosecutors who care about nothing but convictions regardless of innocence and higher than thou judges who condemn innocent men to death row due to their race, social status, and their incompetent lawyers.  With that being said I don't oppose the death penalty for those who are truly guilty, the problem is that we are sending innocent people to prison and death row.  Do we justify the death of those innocent people because the majority of the people on death row or in prison for extended lengths of time deserve to be there?  Sure there's due process and appeals for them to prove their innocence, but what happens when those people who are sworn to uphold the laws of Texas simply fail to do their jobs?  Where is the accountability?

The accountability of those attorneys and judges is under the jurisdiction of The State Bar of Texas.  According to The State Commission On Judicial Conduct, "the most severe disciplinary action available to the Commission is a public censure", a public denunciation of the judge's conduct.  Mistakes are bound to happen, but when the people who are sworn to protect and serve the public knowingly deprive a human being of their rights and freedoms, something more needs to happen besides a "public censure".  Exonerated prisoners in Texas currently receive $80,000 for every year spent in prison.  That amount seems large at first, but you can't put a price on the loss of freedom or amount for the cost it will take to rebuild the rest of your life.  The Innocence Project Of Texas currently works to exonerate those men and women who were wrongly convicted, but is there something we can do to prevent the future conviction of innocent Texans? Should the police officers, lawyers, or judge's who knowingly put innocent people behind bars or on death row be sentenced to prison time themselves?  Should the compensation to exonerated prisoners come out of their pockets solely?  I don't have the answers, but common sense tells me that something needs to change... someone needs to be held accountable.

Be the boss!

An original editorial entitled Election Time Is Upon Us- Know Your Propositions was recently posted on the Texas' Messes blog.  The editorial is not only informative and convincing, but it shows why blogs are such an important source of information now days.  The large portion of the population only follows mainstream media, which do not cover stories such as this one.  With all the fuss lately about government corruption and the need for change, this article is exactly what I've been looking for.  Instead of just complaining about a problem, Alice tells us what we can do to fix the problem.  She gives us a solution if we care to listen.

Alice explains that Proposition 10 is a proposition that is only beneficial to elected officials.  If passed it will allow elected officials to stay in their current positions while still being able to run for another elected position, all the while still being able to collect a paycheck from their current position.  I wonder how my current employer would feel about me sending resumes and going to interviews on their dime.  Politicians have already given themselves outlandish retirement packages and health benefits that differ from the public.  They gave themselves these benefits through propositions such as Proposition 10 that were not given any attention and passed without the care of the population.  It seems to me that our elected officials have forgotten who they work for.  We can no longer let politicians confuse us with their political jargon and their obvious attempts to hide propositions such as this from the public eye.

Politicians have intentionally made the process more difficult and confusing so that they are able to pass their agendas and keep the opposition low.  It is time we take action and the first step is to beccome a conscious population who is politically aware and willing to take control of OUR government.  I couldn't say it any better than Alice when she tells us that "Being an elected official is not a right- it is a privelege!"

Ultimate Justice

With Rick Perry’s run for presidency it’s no surprise that his policies as governor of Texas would be attacked and scrutinized.  The latest topic has been the issue of capital punishment in Texas and Rick Perry smashing the record for the most executions all time, a record which was previously held by our all beloved George W. Bush.  Hell, in Texas I believe that’s a cause for celebration!  We even lead the nation in the most executions of all time!  When we say “Don’t mess with Texas” we damn well mean it.

One would reckon that with Texas having the highest execution rate in the nation, we would have the lowest murder rate as well, but one would reckon wrong!  According to Death Penalty Info, the murder rate in Texas actually increased from 2002 to 2003. It turns out that capital punishment isn’t much of a deterrent, but we will continue to “kill em all, and let God sort it out”!  Not only is capital punishment not a deterrent it is actually 4 times more expensive to execute a person than to give them life.  If that’s not enough for you, how about the fact that the death penalty is condemned by the European Union and the World Court. 

It seems that while everyone else in the world is becoming more morally aware and civilized, we are applauding the fact that we execute more prisoners than any other state.  I’m willing to bet we probably execute more prisoners than some other countries that still use capital punishment.  Capital punishment is an outdated unmoral punishment that we need to rise above from and join the rest of civilized society.  Rick Perry is not the one to blame for the continued excessive use of capital punishment.  It is the majority of Texans who vote for the Judges who have the toughest record on crime.  These elected officials are only following the will of the population who voted them in.  We as a people need to open our hearts to rehabilitation instead of condemnation.  As Nobel Peace Prize winner, Desmond Tutu quoted, "To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, not justice."

Rachel vs Rick

Rachel Farris who writes for the Huffington post also writes a blog entitled Mean Rachel. Her most recent editorial from August 17^th, “What a Rick Perry Presidency Would Look Like for Women”, addresses Rick Perry’s record on womens rights and paints a picture of how America will be if Rick Perry runs America as he has Texas. The editorial is primarily directed to women, liberals, and those who oppose Rick Perry, but it is also a good read for those voters who are on the fence.

“Mean Rachel” suggests that Rick Perry intrudes on womens health rights with the bill that made transvaginal sonograms mandatory for women who are 8-10 weeks pregnant and who are seeking abortions. She explains that Rick Perry preaches abstinence only and gives consequences to Rick Perry’s actions that make it harder for women to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Rick Perry has been the governor of Texas for over 10 years and in that time Texas has ranked among the bottom in health issues. It is only natural to assume that if the health record of Texas has been so bad, America will become the same under the presidency of Rick Perry. Rachel supports her claims with much evidence and well thought logic.

Evidence shows that Texas has the 3^rd highest teen birth rate in America and that teens are actually having more sex after completing abstinence-only programs. For those girls and women who do get pregnant and seek abortions, Rick Perry tries to guilt them into going through with the pregnancy by making it a requirement for doctors to describe the fetus and play audio of the heartbeat prior to the abortion procedure. If Rick Perry has his way, it will lead to an increase of children not only born into broken homes, but a broken system in Texas that lacks the responsibility of taking care of it’s youth. Rachel backs this theory up by presenting the fact that Texas ranks 1^st in the nation in adults without High School diplomas as well as 1^st in the nation in percentage of children without health insurance. She shows us that our youth in Texas are already born into a system of poor education and health and that if he is elected to the presidency, then the rest of America will follow.

Rachel reinforces my previous belief on women’s right and the freedom of choice, but helps me to understand the argument more clearly and present facts that I previously did not know. For one, she shows that there are consequences to the governments intrusion of womens rights and secondly that the government should think of these consequences before making decisions instead of backing up their support of an issue “based on their own personal life”.

Uncovering Perry's ill state

Barbara Shelly, a columnist for the Kansas City Star, recently wrote a commentary about Rick Perry’s opposition to health care reform and the state of Texas’ current health care in comparison to that of Mitt Romney’s Massachusetts. The commentary first appeared in the Kansas City Star, but can also be found in the Austin American Statesman under the title “Uncovering Perry’s ill state”. The commentary is a response to Rick Perry’s recent description of the Massachusetts health care system as “the model for socialized medicine” and aligns itself with opponents of Rick Perry. Barbara Shelly tries to discredit Rick Perry by giving facts about the health care system in Texas, which Rick Perry is currently the Governor of, but gives pro’s and con’s about Massachusetts current health care plan as well in the attempt to appear objective.

The argument is that Governor Rick Perry has no business attacking the health care system of Massachusetts when his state has the highest percentage of population that is uninsured in the nation. The assumption is that Rick Perry is against any health care reform and does not care to improve the health care of his own state. It is no secret that Texas ranks near the bottom in health care in the nation and Barbara Shelly takes advantage of this by giving percentages of children who go without annual checkups as well as the opinion of Dr C. Bruce Balone III, president of the Texas Medical Association who states that “Texas just hasn't proven it can run a health care system”. She goes on to paint Massachusetts in a much better light given that they are one of the healthiest states in the nation and have high percentage rates of children who receive immunizations and pregnant women who receive prenatal care. The commentary does admit that the cost of health care in Massachusetts is “undeniably expensive”, but argues that insurance premiums have fallen by 40 percent.

The commentary concludes that you would be better off being sick in Massachusetts where insurance is mandated rather than being sick in Texas and left to die if caught without insurance. Barbara Shelly clearly believes that the government should make insurance mandatory and that people will be healthier if they were forced to have insurance. The real political argument is not who’s health care system is better or not, but should government have the right to mandate private insurance to the entire population. While the commentary does a good job of giving facts about the two states health care systems, which make the health care system in Massachusetts sound convincing, it leaves out the fact that the majority of Texans do not want to be forced by the government to have insurance. It is no question that the health care system in Texas needs improvements, but the fact is that Texans embrace limited government and the power to choose. The question is will the rest of America agree with Rick Perry’s opposition to mandated insurance.

E-Verify and it's effects on Texas.

I recently read an immigration article in the Texas Tribune about E-Verify and U.S. Representative, Lamar Smith’s fight to require it nationwide. E-Verify is an electronic employment verification program used by business owners to verify the legal status of potential employees. It has drawn much opposition as well as support in its push through the House Judiciary Committee as the bill, HR 2885, also known as "The Legal Workforce Act".

The supporters as well as opponents of "The Legal Workforce Act" both have valid arguments, but the issue brings up much more discussion of immigration reform in the state of Texas. The requirement of E-Verify would ensure that employers in the state of Texas are following federal laws and would protect the employer against false information, but what would become of the millions of illegal workers in Texas who would no longer be able to find legitimate work? Would the countless legal citizens and residents of Texas who are currently unemployed step up to take these new open jobs that would be abandoned by the 7 million unauthorized workers?

The article is most interesting because it’s not just the simple pro’s and con’s of the E-Verify program, but how this simple program will bring about complicated issues and problems to tackle if it is required nationwide. It is a must read, because regardless of which stance you take on the issue, it will effect every one of us one way or another.