Texas Progressive Alliance Roundup - February 28, 2011

The Texas Progressive Alliance would like to thank the Academy for this week's blog roundup.

Off the Kuff published an interview with Chris Barbic, founder and CEO of the YES Prep charter schools, which included a discussion of what the looming budget cuts will do to charter schools.

Doing My Part For The Left is having a greeting card event. Refinish69 thinks it is time to Send Republican Senators and Representatives a Greeting Card to thank them for the work they are doing.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson points out that the he GOP's wish is coming true - the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, Plutocracy, or the 30 year class war on working and middle class Americans.

Nat-Wu analyzes the Tucson shootings and the guns on campus bill before the Texas legislature.

From Bay Area Houston: "Teabaggers are the most dangerous, ignorant, disrespectful bunch of people on the planet."

No one fails quite like Mucous.

The Texas Cloverleaf speaks out against concealed firearms on Texas campuses.

Public Citizen's TexasVox asks who the real sacred cows are in the Texas and Federal budget, replying that the obvious answer are the corporate welfare queens making profits off fossil fuel subsidies.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme calls out the Dallas Morning News for siding with the Koch brothers against hard working people.

Lightseeker over at TexasKaos thinks he knows what game the Republicans are playing at and what the Democrats are trying in reply. Check out Shock and Awe and The Democratic Strategy Going Forward.

Redistricting endangers several Texas House representatives, Democratic as well as Republican. The mapmakers may need long knives instead of sharpened pencils (since we can all do maps online now). PDiddie at Brains and Eggs summarizes the opening of "negotiations".

Neil at Texas Liberal discussed the fact that he will soon be taking an airplane trip.

Week in Charts

Winners Take All

via Mother Jones

The Gender Pay Gap by Industry

via Economix

“Overall, women who worked full-time in wage and salary jobs had median weekly earnings of $657 in 2009. That’s 80 percent of what their male counterparts earned. But as you can see from the chart above, there’s a lot of variation depending on the industry.”

The Relationship Between Union Membership and State Budget Deficits

via The Monkey Cage

“I wanted to look at the relationship between unions and deficits more systematically. Like McCartin I used the CBPP data on budget deficits, although I focused not on the projected

2012 deficits but on the 2011 deficits (see Table 4 of the report). I do not know of readily available data on public-sector collective bargaining or on public-sector union strength, so I used the percent of employed people who are members of unions (from this BLS report)…There is not much of a systematic relationship. The fit line bumps and wiggles but is essentially

flat. The bivariate correlation is 0.19, with a p-value of 0.21. Based on these measures, states with larger unionized workforces do not have larger budget deficits.”

The Great Slump Revisited

via Free Exchange

“Barry Eichengreen has shown that the earlier a country left gold, the sooner its economy recovered. Had Germany left gold earlier, world history might look a lot different. The parallel

with the Great Recession is again clear. Rich world policymakers were pointing their fingers at China even as their own monetary policy stances were too tight. Real interest rates soared in the early stages of the steep 2008 downturn. That wasn't China's fault. It was the failure of the major rich world central banks to react to rapidly falling expectations with overwhelming monetary force. If Chinese policy is deflationary in an environment of falling expectations, then one can either complain about Chinese policy or prevent expectations from falling.”

Realism on Defense Spending


via Paul Krugman

“Yes, there’s a lot of wasteful defense spending — in fact, it’s almost surely the most waste-ridden part of the federal budget, because politicians are afraid to say no to anything for fear of being called unpatriotic. And even aside from the question of the Bush wars, it has long been clear that we’re still spending a lot to head off threats that haven’t existed since the fall of the Soviet Union…But if we’re talking about fiscal issues, you have to bear the arithmetic in mind. We’re not living in the 1950s, when defense was half the federal budget. Even a drastic cut in military spending wouldn’t release enough money to offset more than a small fraction of the projected rise in health care costs.”

Paul Collier on Ways to Improve the Lives of the Bottom Billion

Around the world right now, one billion people are trapped in poor or failing countries. How can we help them? Economist Paul Collier lays out a bold, compassionate plan for closing the gap between rich and poor.

Week in Headlines

Texas News
Texas Education Agency Lays Off Workers

Texas Politics
Ethics Bill Takes Aim at Double-Dipping in Texas

National News
US Fourth-Quarter Growth Cut To 2.8 Percent

National Politics
House Republicans to Seek Deep Cuts in New Bill

Foreign Policy
Pakistan Hit by Deadly Drone Strike

War & Peace
New Blackwater Trial to Begin Next Week

Domestic Policy
Federal Agencies Preparing for Shutdown

Economics
US Economy Trades High-Paying Jobs For Low-Paying Positions

Environment
Gulf Spill's Effects 'May Not be Seen for a Decade

Health Care
Advancing Eating Disorders as a Public Health Concern

Science & Technology
Shuttle Discovery Soars Into Space One Last Time

Civil Rights
Bill to Reduce Wrong Convictions Passes Committee

Labor Rights
Indiana Workers Protest Labor Bill

Immigrant Rights
Hundreds of Texans Protest Proposed Immigration Bills

Reproductive Rights
Virginia Abortion Clinics to Face Tough Rules

GLBT Issues
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Remains in Effect Months After Passage of Law to End It

Race & Racism
Blacks, Hispanics Hold Few Investments

From the Blogs
Eye on Williamson:
Budget Reality Sinking In for Texas GOP

Half Empty:
Education Layoffs Begin at the Texas Education Agency

Mapping Texas Economic Measures

National Public Radio has an interesting interactive map that details three different economic measures down to the county. When looking at the map on the national level a few different patterns emerge. The unemployment rate is much higher on the west coast, with a few notable exceptions in southern pockets of the country. The foreclosure rate is much higher in the southwest and west coast, with the notable exceptions of Michigan and Florida. The median household income is much higher on both the west and east coast, and it is much lower throughout the south.

Below are maps showing how Brazos County compares to the rest of the state in these different economic measures. The unemployment rate in Brazos County is about average compared to other counties in the state. While there are a significant amount of counties that do not have foreclosure rate date available, it does appear that Brazos County was not hit nearly as hard as most of the other counties in the state. Brazos County is in the second lowest 20% of median household income, however, it must be taken into consideration that the nearly 50,000 college students drive that number down.

Local News: College Station City Council to Consider Mobile Food Vendors Ordinance

College Station to Weigh Fate of Vendors
By Matthew Watkins

From the Bryan-College Station Eagle

College Station business owners are divided over a proposed ordinance that would allow mobile food carts to operate year-round inside the city limits.

The City Council will consider changing the rules that govern the carts at its Thursday meeting. Currently, mobile food vendors can only stay open for 21 days a year.

Reaction to the idea has been strongest around Northgate, where most people expect the carts will want to operate. Some business owners have worried that the rule change would bring unwanted competition. Others are pleased with the idea and think it will be an improvement for the area.

Robert Rose, owner of Cycles Etc., said he worries that the carts would be harmful to established restaurants on Northgate. Business in the area fluctuates with the seasons, he said. It's strong when Texas A&M is in session and slower during the summer and other times that school is out.

Mobile food carts would have an unfair advantage in dealing with those cycles, Rose said. In slow times, the carts could close or move to another location. Brick and mortar restaurants don't have that luxury and still must pay rent and other expenses, he said.

"I think the bottom line would be such that some of the [established restaurants] might decide to relocate elsewhere because it just becomes a question eventually of 'Can we do better here?' or going somewhere else in College Station or outside College Station," he said.

Rose said he was alarmed when he first heard that the ordinance might be changed. He said he printed flyers and distributed them to other Northgate businesses.

"They were generally either surprised or grim about it," he said. "I did not have anyone tell me they did not think it was a problem."

But Sara Lyford, owner of Notes-n-Quotes, said she supports the idea.

"I just think that sort of thing adds a lot of character to a city and it seems like this is something that College Station could use," she said. "College Station is heavy on big box stores and chain stores and it would be nice to add a little more local flavor. It would encourage pedestrian traffic."

She said she was approached by a construction worker who worked on an on-campus project across the street from her store and was interested in opening a hot dog stand on her property.

"He had unfortunately gotten already gotten his cart and I said, 'Yeah it would be great and it would add a lot to the area'," Lyford said. "The city didn't allow that."

She said she then contacted the city, noting that she had been denied an opportunity to collect rent to supplement her income.

"It's interesting to me how many rules and regulations the city of College Station has and how many restrictions on small business for a community that I feel like should probably support the idea of less government is better government," Lyford said.

City staff has consulted with restaurant groups and the Northgate Business Association while drafting the new ordinance. One provision added was that food carts could only operate if their food was prepared in an existing "brick and mortar" restaurant in Brazos County.

Currently, one such food stand operates in College Station. Chef Tai's has been allowed to sell food prepared by Veritas Wine and Bistro during lunch hours in recent months with the understanding that the city is considering a law change. Madden's Casual Gourmet in Bryan has also purchased a food truck and plans to begin serving lunch across Bryan-College Station in the coming days.

Another provision would require that the vendor be no less than 300 feet from an established restaurant, or no more than 100 feet in the more densely populated Northgate area.

Rose said he appreciates the "brick and mortar" provision in the ordinance and its effort to protect established businesses, but he said it doesn't change the opinion of the carts.

"When someone establishes a brick and mortar location, they are aware of what potential spaces around them a competitor might come into and that is a calculated risk," he said. "And then you have a vendor pop up almost out of nowhere and it is almost like someone dropped a building out of the sky. In a way, it is an unfair surprise."

Published on Thursday, February 24, 2011

Local News: Bryan City Council Moves to Install Smart Meters

Smart Meters Should Net Bryan, Residents Savings
By Matthew Watkins

From the Bryan-College Station Eagle

Bryan residents' power and water usage will soon be monitored by "smart meters" after the City Council on Tuesday approved plans to buy and install new devices for all homes that purchase municipal utilities.

The meters will allow customers to better understand and react to how they use utilities, city staff said. And the devices should eventually save money by eliminating the need for meter readers and allowing the city to adjust rates based on demand, officials said.

Use of the smart devices is spreading across Texas at the encouragement of the Legislature. But there has been pushback in some cities over concerns that the readers are inaccurate, violate privacy or place too much of an initial cost on the customer. The resistance is most fierce in California, where some Tea Party supporters and liberal groups have reportedly opposed the technology.

The city has been working for more than two years to bring the meters to town. Bryan Texas Utilities General Manager Dan Wilkerson said on Tuesday that studies have shown them to be 100 percent accurate.

"A lot of people have asked questions, but I would not say we have had the same concerns shown," he said in an interview, adding that industrial customers have been using the meters since 2001.

Councilman Mike Southerland said he heard from some constituents concerned that the meters cost too much. But he joined the council in unanimously supporting the plan, saying that those costs will eventually be recouped.

"I think we have to do it," he said.

Bryan will purchase the meters from Sensus USA Inc. for about $11 million. Wilkerson predicted that the devices will provide savings that will allow the city to recoup its expenses and begin turning a profit after about seven years.

BTU will take out debt to pay about $7 million of the costs, with the city water department using cash reserves to cover the rest. Both departments said there would be no rate increases to cover the costs.

The savings will come in multiple ways, Wilkerson said. The meters will broadcast their readings to the city, eliminating the need for meter readers to enter families' property and making it easier for BTU to track and respond to outages.

"We will know before a customer does that their lights are out," Wilkerson said.

The city can also remotely turn the meters on and off, instead of sending a worker to a house every time a new renter or homeowner wants to connect or disconnect the power.

And, finally, the smart meters will allow the city to change its power rates during real time in response to shortages or changes in demand.

City staff said the devices could also be useful for conservation. Users could track their power usage online and reduce consumption if it gets too high, they said. And the meters could connect to thermostats, which would allow BTU to reach an agreement with the customer to turn off the heat or air conditioner if the home is using too much power.

In other action Tuesday, the council heard a presentation on the possibility of implementing train quiet zones in downtown Bryan.

About 24 trains pass through downtown on two lines each day. In order to implement quiet zones, the city would be required to improve safety railroad crossings with medians, said Dale Picha, director of traffic and transportation, and City Engineer Paul Kaspar.

That would be prohibitively expensive on the line that runs north and south through downtown, staff said. But the line that runs east and west, which is closer to the LaSalle Hotel, would be more feasible.

The cost of upgrading the crossings would depend on how many improvements the council approved. The proposal that city staff plans to recommend would cost about $165,000.

Published on Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Real Legacy of Reaganomics

Hindsight is twenty-twenty; unless you’re an economist. Arthur Laffer, member of the Economic Policy Advisory Board during the Reagan Administration, recently wrote an editorial on the 100th anniversary of Reagan’s birth that that looked back on the administration with rose colored glasses. The policies of the Reagan Administration, Laffer claims, were responsible

lowering the “misery index,” and for creating unprecedented job growth. Laffer lays claim that the Reagan Revolution lead to economic prosperity not only during the 1980’s but well into the 1990’s.

Reaganomics to Laffer was moving America “toward lower, flatter tax rates, sound money, freer trade and less regulation.” These policies, Laffer claims, lead to the creation of those jobs and a stronger economy. What policies did Reaganomics include? Reducing the top income tax rate to 50% from 70% and the lowest rate to 11% from 14%; reducing the number of pages in the Federal Register to less than 48,000 in 1986 from over 80,000 in 1980. What does Laffer claim are the results from the birth of Reaganomics. “From December 1982 to June 1990, Reaganomics created over 21 million jobs—more jobs than have been added since.” But what was the real affect of Reaganomics?

First of all, Laffer’s job numbers are based on not-seasonally adjusted employment, and December of 1982 happened to be the low point of employment during the Reagan Administration. By Laffer’s math, about 120 million jobs in June of 1990 is over 21 million more than 98 million jobs in December of 1982. Of course when you look at the seasonal adjusted numbers, 118 million in June of 1990 jobs is under 20 million more jobs than 99 million in December of 1982. But, that is really just a technicality. But the claim that this was “more jobs than have been added since” isn’t true. The Clinton Administration created 22.7 million jobs, after raising the top margin tax rate from 31% to 39.6%.

What is the legacy of Reaganomics? It was a massive redistribution of wealth upwards, and the use of the government to intervene in the market when it benefited corporate America. There was no trickle down, and there was no free market. The top 1% has seen their income rise dramatically, while the rest of America has seen their income flat line. According to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the top 1% of wage earners have seen their after tax income increase 281% since 1979 while middle fifth and the bottom fifth have seen their income increase by just 25% and 16%. So, the real legacy of Reaganomics is that we have changed from democracy to a plutocracy.

Local News: Texas A&M President Lobbies 82nd Texas Legislature

Loftin Petitions on Behalf of A&M
By Trevor Stevens

From the Texas A&M University Battalion

The 82nd Legislature is in session assessing and deciding solutions to the many challenges facing Texas, namely the general revenue shortage resulting in budget cuts for numerous state agencies, such as higher education. President R. Bowen Loftin petitioned the Senate Financial Committee on behalf of Texas A&M Wednesday.

"Our message to the legislature is that Texas A&M is efficient, effective and a great value; and we have a significant impact on the state of Texas," Loftin said.

According to Comptroller Susan Combs, the general revenue, which is expected to peak at $77.3 billion after a $4.3 billion deficit and an $800 million transfer to the Rainy Day Fund, will result in $72.2 billion in funds for the legislature. In 2009, the legislature passed a general revenue budget of $87 billion. Therefore, the state will have a shortage of at least $15 billion to maintain current expenditures.

Higher education receives about 12 percent of the state's budget. Texas A&M will have an additional biennial budget reduction of $53.1 million in House Bill 1 and $34.8 million in Senate Bill 1. As a result of less funding to the University and programs such as Texas Grant, students could have less financial aid available to them in upcoming years.

"Proposals that have been laid out include elimination for at least two years of the initial funding in the Texas Grant Program and initial funding in the Top 10 Percent Scholarship Program," said Delisa Falks, executive director of scholarships and financial aid.

To relieve some of the financial burden on the state, legislators are considering shifting public education and community college funding to local entities and changing the Texas Grant eligibility standards. Texas Grant is the state's primary financial aid program, targeting lower income families.

"[Less funding to financial aid programs] will likely decrease the opportunity of higher education for first generation college students, and others will not be able to graduate on time because they will have to work to pay for school. For me, without financial aid, I would not be at A&M, unless I worked all the time," said D.J. Skilton, a sophomore political science major.

To increase financial efficiency, A&M was directed to reduce the state budget 10 percent prior to this legislative session, after a 5 percent reduction last year.

"A reduction of this magnitude will impact students in many ways. We may have larger classes, fewer sections offered and fewer services and activities available to our students," Loftin said.

Class structure would only be one of several changes in response to the state-mandated budget cuts. To help save money, Texas A&M and the University of Texas offered buyouts to 135 tenured professors. Increased tuition is another possible effect of the state's financial predicament.

"[However,] our Board of Regents indicated last summer they are not in favor of University wide tuition increase for students next fall. Instead of responding to the state's budget situation by placing the financial burden solely on the backs of our students, we are looking at ways to increase efficiencies and make strategic budget reductions," Loftin said.

Beginning last fall, A&M partnered with the University of Texas in an effort called Together for Texas, promoting the value of the state's two existing tier-one research institutions. Combined, the two universities educate 20 percent of all students enrolled in higher education in the state of Texas (100,000 students), grant more than 22,000 degrees each year, and account for the large majority of the state's research productivity.

"All in all, for every dollar the state invests in Texas A&M or UT, we return $18 to the state's economy," Loftin said.

Published on Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Income Inequality and the Middle Class

Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times Op-Ed columnist Paul Krugman discusses the history of the American "middle class," and argues that growing income inequality may threaten its existence.

Texas Progressive Alliance Roundup - February 21, 2011

The Texas Progressive Alliance stands in solidarity with the people of Wisconsin as they bring you this week's blog roundup.

Off the Kuff examines the Perry/Combs slap fight over Amazon's decision to leave Texas rather than pay taxes.

Letters From Texas reports on a note a pregnant woman sent to Texas state Senator Leticia Van de Putte, as the Senate prepared to pass the sonogram bill, and as the woman prepared to leave for the hospital to deliver her baby. Surprise #1: the woman is against the bill. Surprise #2: so is her father. Surprise #3: her father is another Texas state Senator.

This week the Legislative Study Group released an updated version of the "Texas on the Brink", Eye On Williamson had this to say about how for Texas to get off the brink, we must fight for the impossible.

A gaggle of Houston bloggateers met with Metro's CEO and board members and discussed the many changes the transit authority has completed in the past year. PDiddie from Brains and Eggs was there and filed a report.

Libby Shaw explains what the Texas GOP means by shrinking government over at TexasKaos. Give a read to Texas GOP "To Shrink Government to fit inside a Woman's Uterus".

Neil at Texas Liberal looked at some early campaign advertising by incumbent Houston Mayor Annise Parker and considered if Mayor Parker's record matched her claims.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wonders why republicans dislike women so much.

This week at McBlogger, your punishment is your reward!

Recall Questions

Since the initiation of a campaign to recall five of the seven College Station City Council members, questions have been raise about who is behind the recall campaign and what their motivations might be. Unfortunately, there are far more questions than answers.

There has been a substantial amount of speculation about whether or not Councilmember Jana McMillan has played any role in the recall effort. When asked by a reporter for the Bryan-College Station Eagle about her knowledge the recall effort, McMillan gave a nonspecific answer. Then she admitted in an email to that reporter that she had “heard about the possibility of recall before I read it in the papers.” The Eagle reported that McMillan issued a press release announcing that she has signed three of the five petitions to recall council members. In an editorial published by the Eagle McMillan claiming to not be involved directly in the effort: “I have not actively sought to remove my colleagues… I have not led nor participated in the recall efforts.”

In the center of the recall campaign is Timothy Delasandro, who founded the group SaveWellborn.org and who is the treasurer of the organization. Delasandro has been an outspoken political voice in the last few years the Bryan-College Station area. Last year he ran an unsuccessful campaign in the Republican primary for Texas Congressional District 17. Then after withdrawing his candidacy for city council during a special election, he led the opposition to a proposed transportation user fee that was voted down during the special election. It is unclear what kind of relationship exist between Delasandro and McMillan, other than that they are both involved in local conservative politics and have both been actively involved in the local Tea Party.

According to campaign finance records filed with the City of College Station the main contributor to SaveWellborn.org is Delasandro. All of the money contributed by Delasandro was used on advertising expenditures; including $600 paid to Bryan Broadcasting for radio advertising, $321 paid to Facebook for advertising, and $37.95 paid to Yahoo! for advertising. However, there was an in-kind contribution (a contribution that is not made in cash donation but rather in exchange for a service or materials). Body Built, the company also known as ErgoGenesis that is based in Navasota, was listed as donating $300 worth of office furniture as an in-kind contribution. What is interesting about this particular piece of information is that the CEO of Body Built is Mark McMillan, the husband of Councilmember Jana McMillan. Is Councilmember McMillan not involved in the recall effort as she claims?

What financial involvement has Citizens for Wellborn had in the recall election effort? During an interview on 89.1FM KEOS, Delasandro stated that people that offered to make donations were “directed to the Citizens for Wellborn.” Also during that interview, Delasandro stated that SaveWellborn.org worked “in conjunction with Citizens for Wellborn” and that “Citizens for Wellborn paid for quite a bit of the advertising.” During the campaign to collect signatures for the petitions, one of the locations that were advertised as a place to sign the petition was at an office space at Park Place Plaza at 2501 Texas Avenue. It is unclear as to who provided the office space, but it would certainly constitute an in-kind contribution. In an article in the Eagle, a photo was published of Citizen for Wellborn President Jane Cohen outside that office space. How much have the Citizens for Wellborn contributed to the recall effort?

The Citizens for Wellborn have not filed any financial disclosures with the City of College Station, and the Texas Ethics Commission does not have any records of the group filing as a political action committee. They have not published a list of donors or any other financial records on the group’s web site. This seems a bit ironic from an organization whose members have spent the past year constantly criticizing the city of College Station for lack of transparency and not public disclosing enough records. Will the Citizens for Wellborn public disclose who is financially supporting their organization?

There are far more unanswered questions than there are answers. While Delasandro appears to be the driving force behind the recall campaign, what other individuals or organizations have been involved? Who paid for the office space that was used to collect signatures during the petition drive to initiate the recall? If Councilmember McMillan is not involved in the recall effort, then why did her husband’s company contribute an in-kind donation to SaveWellborn.org? According to the minutes of a College Station City Council Special Meeting with the Wellborn Community Leadership, three different groups approached Jane Cohen about recall elections. Who were those groups? Will any of these questions be answered?

Tonight on Biased Transmission

Tonight on Biased Transmission our studio guest Dr. Rola el-Husseini, Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the Bush School of Government at Texas A&M University. Out topics of conversation will include what is the future of Democracy in the Middle East? What is the role of the United States? Did Obama ‘lose’ Egypt or can we thank Bush for fanning the flames of Freedom? What about Israel and Iran?

Listen to Biased Transmission every Wednesday from 6-7pm on the Brazos Valley’s only community radio station, 89.1FM KEOS. Tune in to hear Teddy, Michael, Danny, and Sam discuss the issues and interview guest. Every week Biased Transmission discusses dangerous ideas for dangerous times.

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On College Station, Wellborn, Annexation and Recall Politics

Annexation

Over the last year, I have watched a debate take place between the City of College Station and the community of Wellborn. My opinion on the issues surrounding this debate has changed with the evolution of the debate. I have found myself in equal measures disappointed with the manner in which the College Station City Council has handled the issue, as well as with the manner in which the Citizens for Wellborn have argued their position. It seems as those both sides have been so absolutionist in their particular positions that they have been unable or unwilling to reach some kind of compromise with each other. There are any number of solutions that would require both sides of the debate to compromise, but because of the actions of both sides it seems that any compromise solution is out of reach. It is with this in mind that I have decided to share my position on this issue, and also on the issue of the recall campaign.

I am against the annexation of Wellborn by College Station. While the argument against annexation made by the Citizens for Wellborn has focused on their property rights and their right to self determination, that is not the main reason for my position. But I will address this argument later. The main reason I am against the annexation of Wellborn by College Station is because I believe that it is simply bad public policy. Over the last several decades College Station has aggressively expanded through annexation to accommodate the demand for further development. This expansion seems to have been much more about accommodating developers than it has been about what is best for the long term interest of the city and residents of College Station. Expanding too far too quickly stretches core services, which leads to higher cost. This also leads to suburban sprawl, which leads to problems such as higher per-capita use of energy, land, and water; low diversity of housing and business types; and inflated costs for public services.

If College Station were to annex the community of Wellborn, it will likely cost College Station taxpayers more to provide services to (regardless of any internal numbers the city may claim) than the area will bring in through in ad valorem tax revenue for years. The Bryan-College Station Eagle reported that a report was presented to the College Station Planning and Zoning Commission that estimated that College Station would receive $297,000 each year in new revenue from sales tax, property tax and utility payment, and that the cost of extending services to the new citizens would be about $157,000 a year which would lead to a $140,000 profit. However, the city staff even acknowledged that the estimate was unfinished and annexation could cost more than the report indicated. Mike McCleary, a Justice of the Peace for Brazos County Precinct 1, noted in an interview with KBTX Channel 3 that in studying the cost to College Station of annexation that “the figures I'm coming up with are going to be close to $14 million and if you amortize that over ten years you're looking at $1.5 million a year, not $157,000.”

The arguments of the Council members that support the annexation of Wellborn by the City of College Station seem to be based more on hypothetical situations than they do on public policy realities. There seems to be an assumption that if College Station does not annex Wellborn that the residents will incorporate. While an outspoken group of residents has professed the desire to incorporate, it is unclear (despite their claims of speaking for the entirety of the community) that if given the opportunity the whole of the residents of Wellborn would vote to incorporate. There is also the argument used by Council members in support of annexation that if Wellborn does incorporate that it will lead to conflicts with College Station that would add an extra burden to the City of College Station. Yet, that burden exists between the City of College and the City of Bryan, and while the cities have had their conflicts they have worked together remarkably well. Why would this goal not be achievable with a much small city of Wellborn?

Something that is often assumed by those that support annexation is the inevitability of growth. It is assumed that College Station will continue growing further south, and that developers will continue to build more and more subdivisions. It is as if there are those that have completely ignored any lessons from the financial crisis and the housing bubble. Not to mention the fact that growth for the sake of growth is not a sound public policy for the City of College Station to follow. Former Mayor Ben White noted during a debate with current Mayor Nancy Berry, that a consultant had presented the City Council with a report that College Station could grow to a population of 125,000 without annexing another acre of land.

As to the argument made by the Citizens for Wellborn that this is about their property rights and their right to self determination, they are in a sense correct. However, their rights are not being infringed upon by the College Station City Council, who, whether you agree or disagree with the Council’s approach to public policy, is following current law. If the residents of Wellborn property rights and their right to self determination is being violated, then it is being violate by Texas state law. The laws governing extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) where designed to prevent an unincorporated area with no sense of community form forming a municipal government to thwart the aims of a larger nearby municipality.

The Citizens for Wellborn should have taken a much longer view of their situation, and should have began the process years ago to begin lobbying for real ETJ reform in the state legislature. While comprehensive ETJ reform would likely be fought against by the powerful Texas Municipal League, it would garner support from legislatures from rural districts and if approached right could garner support from other lawmakers. Instead, the Citizens for Wellborn and their supporters have pinned their hopes on House Bill 107 that was filed by Representative Fred Brown, and has yet to be even referred to a committee. This bill would require an election before certain municipalities are allowed to annex adjacent territory, and if the election fails the municipality has to wait five years before it annexes the territory. This basically means that if a community is unable to protect itself through incorporation, for example if it happens to be in the ETJ territory of another city, that that city could annex the community five years later despite the election. If passed without amendment in committee or on the floor, this piece of legislation is rather toothless when it comes to preventing annexation.

Before I conclude, I wanted to touch on the rhetoric which both sides have used in debating these issues (including the issue of the recall campaign that I will also be addressing). While it is understandable that emotion will color language and that it is often difficult to listen to our better angels, it is important to remember that the rhetoric used in presenting your argument also often determines how others will perceive the validity of that argument. While the College Station City Council has not explicitly used incendiary rhetoric or language, often the manner in which manner members of the Council have conducted themselves has appeared to be arrogant and dismissive of the concerns of the Citizens for Wellborn. Members and supports of the Citizens for Wellborn have used rhetoric that is inappropriate and examples that comparable to their particular perceived struggle. Dr. Gary Potter called the College Station City Council liars and elitist, Mary Ann Nagyvary compared the conflict to slavery and said that College Station was “rapping” Wellborn, and Timothy Delasandro compared the conflict to the Revolutionary War and to the revolutionary events in Egypt. Needless to say, the Citizens for Wellborn have legitimate concerns and they have not been enslaved by a repressive regime.

The annexation of the community of Wellborn should be opposed because it is bad public policy, and the situation that the community of Wellborn faces cannot be solved without comprehensive ETJ reform.

Recall

The issue of the annexation of Wellborn is in many ways not simple and clear cut, and that combined with the actions of both sides of the debate made it difficult for me to take a position. However, despite my differences with those on either side and my criticisms of what I believe is the substance of their arguments, I believe that for the most part they have authentic views that come from genuine beliefs in what is right for each of their communities. The campaign to recall five College Station City Council members however smells of political opportunism, and a cynical ploy to abuse the democratic process.

Those behind the recall campaign are using the possible annexation of Wellborn as a flash point to fight the same old political battles of the last few years. The proposed convention center, the proposed city hall expansion, the water feature, and the planting of trees are all on the list of complaints. Like critics of state and federal spending, the critics of College Station spending often focus on expenditures that when taken into context of the entire budget are relatively minor. The $233 million budget of College Station, which has increased by nearly $85 million since 2003, has since a tripling of the cost of public utilities in the last decade from $36 million in 2001 to nearly $100 million in 2011. The often complained about Parks & Recreation budget has remained at nearly the same as a percentage of the budget (3%) over the last decade. While critics have a right to be concern about the manner in which their tax dollars are being spent, non-existent convention centers and water features are not the reason for the increase in the size of the city budget.

Councilmember Jess Fields, one of the two council members not targeted for recall, said in an article in the Bryan-College Station Eagle that "I don't like that folks feel like they have to use a really big hammer to do something, that, frankly, we don't even know what the cost of it is yet. And we haven't even gone through the process. I'm a little disturbed by the decision, to be honest with you." Fields went on to say the recall of so many council members would hurt the city's ability to operate, including continuing with development options, ratifying zoning changes and approving any contracts for more than $50,000, which the city can't do without the council's approval. "I'm opposed to the annexation, but I just don't think this is the right way to go about it. If I were them I sure as heck wouldn't have done it."

During this entire ordeal, but throughout the conflict between College Station and Wellborn and the recall election campaign, I have constantly heard the claim from either side that they speak for the people. It has been my experience that whenever anyway says that they speak for the people, whether it be the people of Wellborn, the people of College Station, or the people of the United States, that the person making that statement is doing so without any real authority to speak for all of the people. The College Station City Council is the voice of the people, and those behind the recall campaign are simply attempting to replace the members of the council with those that they think would be favorable to their political positions. Should there be a recall election any time a group of citizens does not approve of the way a majority of the city council is voting?

The recall election should be opposed because it is not the appropriate response to the current situation, despite what those behind the recall campaign claim to be the voice of the people and whatever perceived injustices have taken place.

Texas Progressive Alliance Roundup - February 14, 2011

The Texas Progressive Alliance is slowly thawing out as it brings you this week's blog roundup.

This week on Left of College Station, Congressman Bill Flores gives talking point answers to softball questions. Also, a look at the Republican attack on birthright citizenship both nationally and in Texas, and how Republicans are undermining Texas’ economic future by cutting education funding today. Left of College Station also covers the week in headlines.

Off the Kuff reads an op-ed about how the budget should be balanced and detects a shift in where the center of the debate is.

TXsharon says, "So what," to another attempt by the Big Gas Mafia to avoid regulation of hydraulic fracturing.

Eye On Williamson points out that it's not what Gov. Rick Perry said in his "State of the State" address, but what he didn't say, Un-meaningful measures.

Lightseeker reports on the coming coverup of the multi-billion dollar shortfall in educational spending in The once and future lie: Schools are in financial trouble because they have too many paper pushers. Check it out out over at TexasKaos.

This week, McBlogger takes a look at some bipartisan craziness that's sure to clog up our courts forever.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants every parent to know Republicans hate teachers and public education.

Rick Perry spent time in California and Washington DC over the past week, returning to Texas briefly to give his "state of the state" address. Which revealed that he lives in a state of delusion. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs points out that the emperor is unclothed.

Bay Area Houston says Trusting Rick Perry with fiscal responsibility is like trusting a convicted child molester with the keys to a daycare.

Letters From Texas observes Republican priorities around the country and in Texas, and concludes that Republicans are at war with women.

Neil at Texas Liberal notes that having planned all the harm they can on health and education, Texas Republicans are now going after history and the arts. Neil also posted on comments made by Texas State Senator John Whitmire. Senator Whitmire made the astute point that average citizens themselves are going to have to organize and fight back if they want to stop the worst of what Republicans have planned for Texas.

TexasVox notes that TransCanada has already started condemning land in Montana for the Keystone XL pipeline to bring the world's dirtiest oil to Texas refineries: is Texas next?

Who Needs a Campaign Manager?

It’s that time of year again! Thought that after the midterm elections you would be spared for a while from political yard signs, phone calls from candidates, and other campaign activities? Well, the municipal elections are right around the corner, and if the last few months are any indication it should be pretty interesting.

The City of Bryan said in a press release that filing for the City of Bryan City Council election begins Monday, February 14 and ends Monday, March 14 at 5 p.m. Councilmember Single Member District Three and Councilmember Single Member District Four are up for election in 2011 for full three-year terms. In a press release the City of College Station announced that today (Saturday, February 12) is the first day to file for a place on the City of College Station/College Station ISD ballot for the May 14 election, and the filing period ends on Monday, March 14. Councilmember Places 1, 3 and 5 are up for general election, and special election also will occur to consider recalling the mayor and Places 4 and 6.

In College Station, Councilmember John Crompton is unable to run for reelection in Place 1 due to term limits, and Councilmember Dennis Maloney has said that he will not run for reelection to Place 2. Councilwoman Jana McMillan is already up for reelection after being in office for just four months, as she is serving out the remaining term in Place 5 of former Councilmember Larry Stewart who passed away last year. While I have heard rumors of who might be filing and who might not be filing, it is clear that this campaign is likely to be quite a contentious one. With the recall election hanging over everyone’s head it should be interesting to see how the politics play out.

In Bryan, Councilmember Chuck Konderla will be up for reelection in Single Member District 3 after serving the remained of the term vacated by then Councilmember Jason Bienski who was elected mayor. Konderla was endorsed by Left of College Station during last year’s municipal elections. Councilwoman Ann Horton is up fro reelection in Single Member District 4 after serving a full term. The politics of the Bryan municipal elections will be much different than those in College Station. While there will be serious issues debated and discussed among the candidates, in all likelihood the Bryan election will receive much less attention then the College Station election.

Local municipal elections are particularly interesting to watch, because typically so many of the things that infect our politics on a national and state level are muted. Money and campaign contributions can be important; the average candidate for city council raises somewhere around $3,000 to $5,000. However, municipal elections are usually won by the candidate that has the best strategy for communicated their message to likely voters; these campaigns can be won or loss by the ability to reach voters and then get those voters to the polls. Most municipal elections are non-partisan, and the most recent campaign where Councilwoman McMillan made her campaign blatantly partisan is the exception. With the so-called Tea Party taking a greater interest in local politics, it should be interesting to see if there is any more partisanship that invades the municipal elections.

So, who needs a campaign manager?

Josh Bivens on Failure by Design

EPI economist Josh Bivens discusses his new book, Failure By Design.

Week in Headlines

Texas News
Texas to Probe Rolling Blackouts

Texas Politics
Energy Committee Republicans’ Agenda Similar to Major Corporate Donor’s

National News
US Mends Frosty Relations With Al Jazeera

National Politics
Taxes (As A Percentage Of Economy) Drop To Lowest Level In 60 Years

International News
Mubarak Refuses to Step Down Despite Protest

Veterans Issues
Report Outlines Veterans Homelessness

Domestic Policy
FCC to Propose Expanding Broadband Service to Underserved Areas

Economics
US Manufacturing Still Tops China’s By Nearly 46%

Education
For-Profit Colleges Face Federal Crackdown

Health Care
Study Finds Breast Cancer Risk is Rising

Environment
New Zealand Scientists Record Biodiversity Breakdown

Climate Change
Amazon Drought Caused Huge Carbon Emissions

Science & Technology
Study Shows Extinction Domino Effect

Immigrant Rights
Push to Expand E-Verify Despite Criticism

Reproductive Rights
New Abortion Restrictions Possible in Several States

Women’s & Gender Issues
Sexual Violence Against Women in Haiti Increasing

GLBT Issues
Hawaii House Panel To Consider Gay Unions Bill

Race & Racism
Nearly Half of All Black College Students Have Never Had a Black Professor

From the Blogs
BlueBloggin:
The Winter of Our Political Discontent

Latina Lista:
Recession Has Expanded Racial Economic Gap

Collin County News:
A Strategy Of Giving Republicans Enough Rope?

Undermining Texas’ Economic Future to Cut Education Spending Now

Texas Republicans promised to address the $27 billion budget shortfall through budget cuts only, and without the use of the so-called Rainy Day Fund or without raising new revenue. Republican lawmakers have talking about spreading the pain and sharing the burden, but the truth is that the burden of the budget cuts (which were created by the way due to the policies of Texas Republicans over the last decade) is not being shared equally among all Texans. In fact Republicans are placing a significant burden on future Texans. Through deep cuts in education Republicans are placing the burden of their failed economic policies on the backs of future generations.

The Texas Independent reports that the House budget proposal would reduced public education funding by $3.1 billion (9.1%). This would also include a budget cut to the Foundation School Program which would be $9.8 billion below scheduled formula requirements after accounting for student population growth, and cutting other programs by two-thirds, including teacher incentive pay and pre-K grants, in addition to increasing the maximum student-teacher ratio in elementary schools. The Senate budget proposal would provide more funding for public education; $500 million more to the Permanent School Fund (leaving a shortfall of $9.3 billion), plus $400 million to help salvage funding for programs in areas including pre-K, high school completion and college readiness.

These budget cuts will put further strain on a Texas education system that has fallen behind the rest of the country over the last decade. The Dallas Morning News reported that National Education Association report found that Texas has dropped sharply below the national average in per-pupil spending in the last ten years. Texas could fall further below the average after sustaining as much as $5 billion in cuts to education during the budget process. During the last school year Texas spent $9,227 per student, which is $1,359 below the national average. Texas ranks 37th in spending per student, and ten years ago, Texas ranked 25th and was $281 below the national average. Not only does Texas spend less on students, but less on teachers. The NEA report found that Texas teachers rank 31st in the country with an average salary of $48,261, which is $7,000 less than the national average of $55,202 last year.

Deep cuts to education are not only short sighted, but they are bad for business. A strong public education system is the foundation for future economic growth and development. It doesn’t matter how low taxes are, or how few regulations there are. If Texas has a low tax burden and business friendly regulatory environment, but an uneducated workforce then it will undermine the future economic success of the state. Undermining the education system undermines the workforce which undermines the wage base which undermines the tax base with undermines the education system. Simply put economies with a significant supply of skilled labor, created through a public school education system, are able to capitalize through the development of more value-added high tech industries.

So why would Republican lawmakers in Austin promote policies that prevent future Texans from competing for quality jobs and undermine the Texas economy? Ideological rigidity and campaign rhetoric is at play, as Republicans promised Texans to address the budget shortfall without new taxes (that is without taxing the current generation of Texans). An inability to connect the dots is also at play, as lawmakers are unable or unwilling to grasp the fact that a strong public education system has a direct correlation to a strong economy. For the most part I think it is because 3rd graders do not have a lobby and do not donate to political campaigns. While teachers unions or other interest groups that support public education will lobby against deep cuts in education, Republicans have spent years undermining those groups. Let’s face it, if kids from public schools in Texas had the same influence on Governor Perry and Texas Republican lawmakers as big business and corporations then this would be a whole different conversation.

Howard Gardner on Digital Youth

Howard Gardner, the founder of multiple-intelligences theory discusses the challenges ethics and education face as digital media become more prevalent.

Local News: Veterinarians Lobby City of Bryan to Keep Relationship with Animal Shelter

Vets Push Bryan to Stay With Shelter
By Matthew Watkins

From the Bryan-College Station Eagle

Some local veterinarians are urging Bryan not to terminate its relationship with the Brazos Animal Shelter as the city mulls what to do with its stray animals.

Bryan has been searching for other options after the shelter increased its bill to the city by more than 100 percent last year. The city submitted a request for proposals from other groups that might do the job for less money and received one response -- from the Houston-area business Care Corp.

Officials have said that gives the city three options: to contract with Care Corp., continue its relationship with the Brazos Animal Shelter, which has partnered with the city since 1980, or run a shelter on its own.

A city board is reviewing those choices and plans to make a recommendation to the City Council early next week. A final decision is expected in March.

In the meantime, Deputy City Manager Hugh Walker said he has received phone calls from veterinarians concerned that hiring a private company may create new competition.

The Brazos Animal Shelter currently provides spay and neutering services to people who adopt its animals. As a nonprofit agency, however, it's banned by law from providing other "wellness" services, such as heartworm testing and many vaccinations, unless the customer can't afford to pay for them elsewhere.

The law is designed to protect private companies, which must pay income taxes, from being undercut by the tax-exempt groups. But Care Corp is for-profit, city officials said, and wouldn't have to abide by that law.

"It would be like a new vet opening in town," Walker said.

Bryan's request for proposals made no reference to providing wellness services, and Walker said the city and Care Corp would have to decide during the negotiation process whether they would be provided. Care Corp currently operates the Montgomery County Animal Shelter and offers wellness services there, according to its website.

The issue is only one aspect of the broad support veterinarians have for the shelter, local doctors said.

"It is a concern but I don't think it is the biggest concern," said Dr. Katherine Wheeler, who practices at the Bryan Animal Clinic. "The biggest concern to me is that the city of Bryan seems unwilling to pony up for the actual costs to take care of local animals. I think [the shelter] has done a very good job. They are not perfect, but I do think they are trying hard to do a really good job."

Walker said the veterinarians' worries would be considered during the process. They are represented on the Bryan Animal Shelter Advisory Committee by Dr. James Baggs of the West Villa Maria Veterinary Clinic. Baggs said he'd withhold comment on the issue until the committee makes its recommendation.

If the city chooses Care Corp., the company will run its shelter on the land currently occupied by the Brazos Animal Shelter. Bryan owns that land and has notified the shelter that it plans to terminate its lease.

The Brazos Animal Shelter, meanwhile, has purchased new land on Leonard Road, where it plans to build a $5 million facility. If it is forced to move early, it will operate out of a metal building on the site until its permanent headquarters are complete.

Published on Thursday, February 10, 2011

Tonight on Biased Transmission

Tonight on Biased Transmission our studio guest are two Texas A&M professors with joint appointments in Communications and Women and Gender Studies --Tasha Dubriwny and Kristan Poirot. Tasha's research focuses on the intersection of feminism with women's health issues and with women in the political sphere. Kristan's research focuses on American feminist history, with an emphasis of rhetoric and women's public address. Included in our discussion will be abortion, the male-female wage gap, paying women to take care of children, welfare, paid leave for women and men after child birth, the bias of the media and politics in breast cancer, Elizabeth Edwards, and women and men in the STEM disciplines.

Listen to Biased Transmission every Wednesday from 6-7pm on the Brazos Valley’s only community radio station, 89.1FM KEOS. Tune in to hear Teddy, Michael, Danny, and Sam discuss the issues and interview guest. Every week Biased Transmission discusses dangerous ideas for dangerous times.

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Republican Attack on Birthright Citizenship

There are three ways to become a citizen of the United States. You can be a naturalized American citizen; where a foreign born individual meets several requirements and then is granted citizenship. If you are born outside of the United States but at least one of your parents is a United States citizen then you can become a citizen through Jus Sanguinis (Right of Blood). The most common way to become a United States citizen is through Jus Soli (Right of Birthplace), which was codified by the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. However, there is now a movement to repeal the 14th Amendment, and remove the right of individuals born within the United States borders to automatically become citizens.

During times of economic recession, it is often “the other” that is blamed for the hardships of the many. During the Great Recession “the other” has taken many different forms, but one of the most common is undocumented immigrants. A common refrain is that undocumented immigrants “take American jobs,” even though economic studies have shown that undocumented immigrants actually have a positive impact on the native workforce. Not to mention that American corporations have done far more damage to the American worker through outsourcing than undocumented workers ever could have done. The economic situation has lead to an atmosphere of hate, as the Southern Poverty Law Center has documented the rising tide of hate towards Latinos and the increasing activity of nativists lobbies and organizations.

Despite their reverence of the United States Constitution, which often times border on worship, prominent Republican leaders have called for the repeal of the 14th Amendment. Politico reported that Republican Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky and David Vitter of Louisiana proposed an amendment to the Constitution that would put new limits on citizenship guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. The proposal would remove Jus Soli from anyone who is born in the United States whose parents are not citizens, legal permanent resident or active duty military members. In a statement Vitter said that the number of undocumented immigrants entering the country is escalating because of “children of illegal aliens born in the U.S. are granted automatic citizenship,” and that “closing this loophole will not prevent them from becoming citizens, but will ensure that they have to go through the same process as anyone else who wants to become an American citizen.”

Senator Vitter is long on rhetoric but short on facts. Research shows that undocumented immigrants entering the United States has actually decreased, there is absolutely no proof of undocumented immigrants immigrating to the United States to give birth, or that removing Jus Soli would not do anything to decrease the number of undocumented immigrants in or migrating to the United States. Others have used similar rhetoric to attempt and marginalize the effect of the 14th Amendment. The “allegiance” red herring, misinterpreting the exception for foreign diplomats as an exception for all foreigners, and the ridiculous “consent” theory have all been used to attempt to reinterpret the 14th Amendment. Despite these attacks, the Supreme Court has made precedent setting ruling after ruling after ruling establishing a firm interpretation of the 14th Amendment.

This is not only taking place on the national stage, but lawmakers on the state level are also attacking the 14th Amendment. While unsurprisingly Arizona Republicans have introduced legislation to challenge Jus Soli, Texas lawmakers are also moving to challenge it as well. State Representative Leo Berman, a Republican from Tyler, has filed legislation to effectively create a second class status for child born of immigrants (undocumented or authorized) in Texas. House Bill 292 would require the local registrar to “issue a temporary report of alien birth” if the child is born to “a person who is not a citizen or national of the United States.” This is the same Leo Berman who supports an Arizona style anti-immigration bill, filed a bill to ban “religious or cultural law,” and filed a bill require presidential candidates to provide "the original birth certificate indicating that the person is a natural-born United States citizen" to the Texas secretary of state.” This is the same Leo Berman whose conspiracy theories was thoroughly debunked by Anderson Cooper during a cringe worthy interview on CNN.

After taking a look at this proposal the only conclusion that can be made is that this is pure politics. Republicans are simply using this as a wedge issue to pander to the far right conservative base. Any attempt to pass legislation on the stat level to undermine Jus Soli would be stricken down by the courts as unconstitutional. It would be a near impossible task to attempt to amend the Constitution, which would be required because any legislation passed by Congress would also be stricken down by the courts. Even if birthright citizenship were somehow repealed, it would create a logistical nightmare. The Texas Tribune reports that lawmakers have no idea how a repeal would affect immigration policy. In fact the Tribune reports that not only would it cause a mess, but it would cost billions of dollars.

This is about Republicans abandoning principles for politics. As Marshall Fitz from the Center for American Progress puts it, “Conservatives talk in soaring terms about freedom, but freedom emanates from American soil. No one chooses where she or he is born so our Constitution endows children born on our soil with an entitlement of their own, delinked from their family’s status or actions. We find it unthinkable as a nation to hold children responsible for their parents’ actions. Yet conservatives’ rush to eliminate birthright citizenship would do just that, and it puts them squarely outside the American tradition.”

Amos Oz on Imagining the Other

Amos Oz is an Israeli writer, novelist, and journalist. He is also a professor of literature at Ben-Gurion University in Be'er Sheva. Since 1967, he has been a prominent advocate and major cultural voice of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Local News: Additional Funding to Help Low-Income Residents Pay Utility Bills

Additional Funding to Help Low-Income Residents Pay Utility Bills
Reporter: Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs

From KBTX Channel 3

Local residents facing both a major cold snap and rising utility bills could soon receive some extra help through $103.7 million in federal energy assistance funds released today by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA).

The funds are expected to help thousands of low income families pay their utility bills and save money for other necessities such as housing, food, and healthcare.

Assistance will be provided to eligible low income households through TDHCA's Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) and its network of 48 local service providers that collectively serve all 254 counties in the state.

Locally, TDHCA contracts with the Brazos Valley Community Action Agency to provide CEAP services in Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Leon, Madison, Robertson, Walker, Waller, and Washington counties. TDHCA has notified the agency that it is slated to receive $2.5 million in new utility assistance funds, bringing to $3.8 million the total amount of funding available to help area low income households meet their energy needs.

"Our energy assistance programs help tens of thousands of our state's neediest households every year, and these new funds will help even more families cope with expected increases in home energy costs throughout the coming months," said Michael Gerber, TDHCA Executive Director. "The Department is committed to continuing our strong relationship with our CEAP network and working to ensure the health and safety of Texas' most vulnerable residents." "We are very excited to know that we are receiving these additional CEAP funds," said Brazos Valley CAA Executive Director Karen Garber. "My staff and I know first-hand what a serious challenge it can be for many of our clients to pay their monthly utility bill and still meet their other needs, especially elderly persons and persons with disabilities. This funding will help us reach even more families in need."

In addition to TDHCA's annual allocation of utility assistance program funds, today's release also included an additional $2.5 million in emergency supplemental assistance funds. This brings to $155 million the total amount of CEAP funds available in the state.

The Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program helps eligible households meet their immediate energy needs while learning how to control future energy use through consumer education. In addition to direct financial assistance to help pay the family's highest utility bills, CEAP may also assist with the repair or replacement of inefficient heating and cooling systems, water heaters, and refrigerators. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is the funding source for CEAP. Eligible households must earn an income equal to or less than 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines to qualify for CEAP assistance. To put these income guidelines in context, this amount equals an annual income of $21,660 for an individual or $44,100 for a family of four.

For more information regarding utility assistance from TDHCA, call toll free at (877) 399-8939 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Callers will be directly connected with the local CEAP service provider serving their community. However, please use a land-based phone when dialing the toll free number; cell telephones will not make this automatic connection.

About The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs is the state agency responsible for affordable housing, community services, energy assistance, colonia housing programs, and disaster recovery housing programs. It currently administers over $3 billion through for-profit, nonprofit, and local government partnerships to deliver local housing and community-based opportunities and assistance to Texans in need.

The BVCAA Administrative Office is located at 1500 University Drive, Suite 100 in College Station.

Published on Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Congressman Flores Takes Softball Questions and Gives Talking Point Answers

Congressional District 17’s freshman Congressman Bill Flores spoke with Scott DeLucia on WTAW 1620AM last week. The softball question interview was full of Republican talking points and no real insights or solutions to current public policy problems. Flores said that Texas A&M is having a funding problem because “the state of Texas is having a funding problem is because we’ve got an economy in this country that is performing well below where it should be for this point in time in a typical recover.” Except that this is not a typical recovery because the recession was not a typical recession.

As analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows, the loss of jobs during the Great Recession was far greater than the recessions during 1981-82, 1990-91, or during the 2001 recession. The long term unemployed are also much more numerous than in any of those recessions. Simply stated, the United States economy has just gone through the deepest economic recession since the Great Depression.

So, what is Flores’ solution? More deregulation. The same type of deregulation that lead to the financial collapse, that in tern lead to the recession. By getting government “out of the way of the private sector” Flores believes that “all of a sudden we’ve cured the problem.” Then of course Texas will gain more tax revenues, and it will not matter that legislatures in Austin created a systemic budget shortfall through excessive tax cuts and shifting tax burdens.

During the interview DeLucia also brought up that so-called earmarks are effectively band from certain legislation in the Senate, and that Congressional Republicans band earmarks in the House of Representatives. DeLucia noted that if a Congressman wanted to secure funds for his district he could simply call the particular authority over the funding they “return your phone calls.” Flores said that while they return their phone calls he is not sure how “deep the influence goes.” Apparently he is unaware of the extensive so-called letter marking campaign that his Republican colleagues have taken part in as a way around the earmark ban.

Flores also stated that debate about whether the cuts proposed to the federal budget by Congressional Republicans are $100 billion or closer to $50 billion that it is simply semantics. “I don’t care” because “neither number is high enough.” The Congressman focused on the Republican Pledge to America that proposed rolling federal spending back to 2008 levels, the same pledge that if implemented would mean $11.1 trillion in deficits over the next 10 years. Of course, Flores also supported the extension of the Bush era tax cuts that will cause nearly a trillion dollars in budget deficits of the next ten years. It seems as though that Flores is joining his Republican colleagues in being more focused on political victories and on providing real policy solutions.

Texas Progressive Alliance Roundup - February 7, 2011

The Texas Progressive Alliance is hoping for a swift and player-friendly resolution to the NFL labor situation as it brings you this week's roundup.

Bay Area Houston submits a press release from Rick Perry: TX Gov Rick Perry puts the Chupacabra on emergency legislation.

Off the Kuff conducted an interview with Houston City Attorney David Feldman to discuss the upcoming Council redistricting process.

Harold at Letters From Texas poked fun at the Texas weather on both Wednesday and Friday.

While the Big Gas Mafia is pumping diesel fuel into the ground in the name of national security and energy independence, they have been quietly planning to ship a bunch of it to China. TXsharon wants you to think about who profits and who pays for this so-called "clean energy."

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes privatizing essential services promotes profits not the general welfare. The Corpus Christi Caller Times pretends (or not) to be all stupid about the rolling blackouts.

Texans came to the shivering realization last week that the energy capital of the world can't keep its lights on. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs provides the reveal.

How bad is the diaster that Perry wrought? Libby Shaw spells it out over at TexasKaos . See Governor Rick Perry Lays a $30 Billion Rotten Egg on Texas.

Public Citizen asked a series of questions over at TexasVox about our rolling blackouts: who's to blame? (hint: coal and natural gas) who saved our bacon? (hint: renewables) and who profited?

Eye On Williamson informs us that GOP Williamson County Congressman John Carter wants to increase the amount of mercury in our air, Rep. Carter wants to increase corporate profits by harming nature.

It's always good to know that someone is sticking up for the stupid and belligerently ignorant. McBlogger offers his thanks to Speaker Boehner for being that someone.

Neil at Texas Liberal wrote last week on the release---after many months---of the video tape of a number of Houston police officers beating up 15 year old Chad Holley. The public has a right to see this video. Houston's political leaders should be less concerned about Houston's image and the unlikely prospect of civil disorder, and more concerned with high rates of poverty in Houston that help drive young people to crime.