Many Texans have shown their favor in regressive taxes which means the less money you make, the more you pay in taxes. This, obviously, favors the rich and is extremely daunting for the poor as shown in the textbook which states “under the current tax structure, the poorest 20 percent of Texans pay more than three times as much of their income for taxes as the wealthiest 20 percent. The sales tax, which the Texas government depends on very seriously, is one of the highest in the nation and most important in state revenue. More specifically, real estate taxes are relied heavily upon among local governments. While Texas is among state leaders in it’s responsiveness to economy shifts, it is very clear how heavily it relies on sales tax revenue. In fact, “the part of the economy generating the greatest amount of revenue frequently pays the least amount in taxes,” ironically enough. Under Texas’s regressive tax, those whose income is below $29,223 pay 14.6% of their household income in taxes, those whose income is between $29,223 and $52,960 pay 8%, those between $52,960 and $80,882 pay 6.8%, those between $80,882 and $126,460 pay 6%, and those earning more than $126,460 pay a mere 3.6% in taxes.

Institutions of higher education are experiencing an influx in students attending school while receiving less and less funding from the state. Initiatives such as the Closing the Gaps initiative attempt to increase funds for colleges and universities. Funding for Community Colleges is based on the number of hours teachers and students are spent in contact with one another. One major challenge that comes with this is the fact that many community colleges offer courses online (such as this one). These institutions also use property tax revenues, tuition, fees, gifts, and state and federal grants for finances. Four-year universities gain funds from appropriations from the General Revenue Fund along with fees outside of tuition. The decline in support from the state causes these universities to quickly increase tuition rates. Rates had been raise approximately 90% from 2003 to 2011. Student Ryan Payne described his perception of universities as them becoming five-star resorts rather than a place to live as he watched tuition fees rise each year, more and more of his friends becoming less able to afford their education. He testified to the House of Higher Education Committee in support of a tuition regulation bill that did not end up passing. Ryan encourages all students to get involved in this debate.