...Texas Government Essay #1 In many ways, I’ve neglected my responsibilities as a citizen of the State of Texas. Since moving to Texas in the Spring of 2011, I’ve been so engulfed in a growing family, school, and a demanding work schedule that I haven’t made any time to keep up with the ‘goings on’ in the City, State, or even most Federal matters. With that said, I did however browse through the Texas Legislatures Online (TLO) website and found an interesting bill that caught my eye. The bill involved our Veterans of World War II, and I couldn’t help but open it up for a read. HB 1514, “Relating to privileged parking for veterans of World War II.” (TLO), was first filed as a bill on February 19th, 2013 by Rep. Donna Howard. According to Ms. Howard, “HB 1514 is a way of giving back to those who served to protect our freedom during World War II". This bill was signed by the House with 9 Yeas / 0 Nays and the Senate with 4 Yeas / 0 Nays on May 20th, 2013. I did find some conflicting information the date this bill was actually signed by Governor Perry. TLO notes “June 14, 2013”, while the Governor official website shows he signed the bill on “May, 27th, 2013, Memorial Day”. Ultimately this bill went into effect on September 1st, 2013. I believe this bill shows that we still have the utmost respect for our Men and Women off the past and present armed forces. The fine folks that served in WWII and are still here to share their knowledge and experiences deserve every bit...
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...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...
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...Chapter 22 What If... Texas used private contractors to administer state government? 1) The present private-contractor system seems to work well for the state. Even at a federal level, private contractors are hired to perform functions for the government. Therefore Texas using contractors to administer government functions is not an uncommon practice. Contractors can be found providing services in the prison systems, records and database keeping and in security and protection duties. There is an oversight committee that monitors the contractor service to ensure they are complying with the contract, the laws, as well as with the constitution of the state and the nation. For example, the Texas department of Criminal Justice (tdcj.us) has an oversight committee known as the "Private Facility Contract Monitoring/Oversight Division". The oversight committee's task is to provide oversight and monitoring of contracts for privately operated secure facilities as well as community based facilities. Texas highway construction and maintenance is also under private contract as well as the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), social welfare and education services and so on. So as we can see private-contracting is a common practice and the state doesn’t have to pay for government employees to perform these functions. 2) I feel that government employee’s verses private contractors is a complicated debate that will probably never be resolved, and really depends on state and electoral...
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...Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians are maybe three of the most well-known, obvious political parties within Texas. Within the pages of their party sets of principles, we see that each possesses a way of thinking like no one else in the world, with specific viewpoints and ideas for changing government policy. The people of Texas face many challenges, two of the most interesting/most forceful issues being the serious problem in healthcare and in education. Not only are we insufficient in these areas as Texans, but also on the national level. The parties' way of thinking on these two major issues gives us understanding of the mind and plans, desires of each. "Of the people, by the people, and for the people" predicts the Texas Democratic...
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...Texas bloodshed on Texas soil, thousands of brave Texas soldiers fought in the name of Texas in the American Civil War, risking their lives to defend their beliefs.Texas fought till the end,yet couldn’t pull off a victory.This tragic , 4 year, war left a long lasting effect of defeat on Texas, as well as losing about 15,000 Texan lives, so why did they fight? Tension began when a white southerners by the name of John Brown, attempted a slave uprising by attacking a federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry. Many southerners felt fearful this was only the beginning of many to come slave revolts.When Abraham Lincoln was elected, the south were full of anger and concern causing them to want separation from the south.So why did Texas join the south and...
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...Shana Sanders English 1301 Making the cut When considering making a budget cut for the state why is that we go right to education. If we all know that education is one of the main factors to help better our society, why is it when we need to make cuts to help keep Texas running. This decision doesn’t make sense to the common person so why is it congress to agree so easily on these cuts. Texas is currently looking at a 27 billion short fall for the next two years, which means a 9.6 billion cut to public schools and 375,000 loosed jobs. What kind of an impact are these cuts going to have on the future of our children and society? If Texas is in the budget crisis it’s in now, how will it proceed to get any better if education is the first to be impacted? One of the first programs looking at cuts in education is the Pre-K program in Public schools. When one thinks of Pre-K, what one may consider is what kind of importance is this program provides for our children. When one thinks of what consist in the day of preschooler; typically one thinks of coloring and playing and maybe even snack. Really in reality the children in these programs are learning a lot from one another and their teachers. Most of the children in these types of programs are Hispanic (99%) and economically disadvantaged (86%), taking away or cutting the program could affect these children with being ready for public school. Being that majority of the children are Hispanic, English is either a second language...
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...1800’s were a turbulent time for Texas and Mexico. That time period was known as the Spanish Colonization. It was full of building missions, establishing capitals, slavery, fighting for independence, and ever-lasting effects. The most significant dates during that brutal time period were 1718 and 1821. In 1718, San Antonio de Valero was founded and in 1821, Mexico gained its independence from Spain. Those events helped shape Texas and Mexico into the regions we know today. The reason 1718 is a significant date during the Spanish Colonization is because the mission, San Antonio de Valero, was created on May 1st. A mission is a settlement that is part of the mission system. The mission system was an easy way to help the...
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...the belief that the Americans had a God-given right, based on racial superiority, to spread across the Pacific Ocean (Chavez 2). The motives that were really behind Manifest Destiny was the acquisition of new territory, and the Americans wanted territories which were relatively uninhabited by people they considered inferior. As Americans wandered in search of land towards the west, the reality that the majority of those lands had occupants living in them got overlooked. President Polk shared and guided the dream of manifest destiny, and offered to purchase some territory of Mexico. His aim was to convince Mexicans to get into a negotiation and surrender a portion of their land to America .However, the refusal of the offer by the Mexican government and the unbending of the Polk to populate the area resulted in tension in the two nations. President Polk told the congress that blood had been shed, and he provoked war with Mexicans. With the end of the Mexican War, the United States absorbed one third of that nation’s total area. Even though American’s gained a considerable amount of land, it created great political sectionalism in America. The Mexican American War was for the most part determined by Manifest Destiny that imparted nation building through territorial expansion, promoted the idea of American racial superiority and ultimately supported slavery's growth (Chavez 3). The westward movement of Americans in reply to manifest destiny is one of the reasons that started...
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...interesting to me because of all the moving pieces. In Mexico you had the Federalist going against the Consecutives. The whole time this was going on you had the Abolitionist opposing the war, thinking that America wanted Mexico just to add more slave states. At this time the term “MANIFEST DESTINY” was coined . In August 1843 Santa Anna threaten war with America if they were to incorporate Texas into the Union. Herrera (new president of Mexico) didn’t take this stance. With the encouragement from Great Britain President Herrera decided to resolve the issue of Texas with diplomacy rather than war. President Herrera then told America to send an ambassador to negotiate the Settlement of the Texas boundary. America sent Ambassador Slidell to negotiate for Texas, but his intensions involved more than just the State of Texas. When Ambassador Slidell went into Mexico he had every intention to buy California and New Mexico from Mexico. United States made an offer of 25 million dollars for The Rio Grande border in Texas and another 25 to 30 million for Mexico’s provinces of Alta California (California) and Santa Fe De Nuevo Mexico (New Mexico). Mexico was not inclined nor in position to negotiate. The Mexican people thought by selling the territories to the United States that it would tarnish there national honor. The Centralist, Federalist, and not even Mexican Moderates liked Ambassadors...
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...Concealed carry on campuses ranges from any building that is owned or leased by a institution for higher education, according to Section 61.003 of the education code. An act of carrying handguns on campuses was enacted by the legislature of the state of Texas in 2016, however, before this was passed there was years of consideration and minimal action. Leading up to this bill there were numerous occurrences of fatal campus shootings and massacres, passing this bill would in hopes allow students to protect themselves if a situation arises and/or help stop the progression of a shooting. Although the students on campus could potentially lesson the number of victims injured or worse, there was also the potential of the opposite to happen, more guns...
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...Tejanos were the Spanish inhabitants that lived in Texas and Anglo-Americans was a name given to the Americans who settled down to Mexican owned Texas Stephan F. Austin a Tejano help grant many of the Anglo-Americans entry into Texas; however; many have entered Texas illegally and faced many opposition such as the Native Americans and the Spanish living in Texas and therefore lead to the Americanization of Texas. The Anglo-Americans adapted to the indigenous Native American population and the Tejanos living in Texas by being opportunistic and resourceful. The Anglo-Americans were very opportunistic to adapt, as they were able to gain from their selfish ways. Sam Houston was sent to Texas by Andrew Jackson to help redeem his life after the...
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...president making eleven states secede from the Union. So, why did Texans chose to risk their lives, and sometimes lose their lives by fighting in the Civil War? Texans fought because of their love for Texas, their want for State’s Rights, and their wish to preserve slavery. Texans fought in the Civil War because of their love for Texas. In Document D, John Wesley Rabb says “I wanto be home so bad. I here that the Yanks are in Texas...I think most of the Rangers wanto be in Texas.” This shows how much he loved Texas. It also shows how bad Rabb wanted to be home. Rabb fought for the love of Texas because he wanted to preserve the way Texas was and didn’t want it to change because of the war....
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...Texas is the second most populous (after California) and the second largest of the 50 U.S. states (after Alaska) in the United States of America, and the largest state in the 48 contiguous United States. Geographically located in the south central part of the country, Texas shares an international border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south and borders the U.S. states of New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the northeast, and Louisiana to the east. Texas has an area of 268,820 square miles (696,200 km2) and a growing population of over 26.9 million residents (July 2014).[8] Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States, while San Antonio is the second largest in the state and seventh largest in the United States. Dallas–Fort Worth and Greater Houston are the fourth and fifth largest United States metropolitan areas, respectively. Other major cities include El Paso and Austin—the state capital. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify Texas as a former independent republic and as a reminder of the state's struggle for independence from Mexico. The "Lone Star" can be found on the Texas state flag and on the Texas state seal today.[9] The origin of the state name, Texas, is from the word, "Tejas", which means 'friends' in the Caddo language.[10] Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, Texas contains diverse landscapes that resemble both...
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...In chapter eight, Menchaca discussed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the racialization of the Mexican population living in the Southwest. In 1848 the United States and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ending the Mexican America War. The United States government stated that Mexicans who lived within the newly controlled territory of the Southwest would become American citizens. However, a year later after the treaty had been signed, the United States government lied and broke its promise of allowing equality to the newly controlled Mexican population living within the southwest. California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas were some of the states newly controlled by the United States government. The United States government began the process of...
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...Examining Government Regulations HSM 210 6-22-2014 Examining Government Regulations I have researched the aging Hispanic population where I live in Texas. Texas is one of the largest areas where Hispanics reside. With the older Hispanics in Dallas, the city where I reside, 40.5 percent are estimated to be poor, or near poor (Mahone, J. 1988). There are major barriers to getting needed services to the aging Hispanic community. These barriers range from language to an overloaded staff with aging services (Severence, J. 2009). Texas's challenges with this issue are funding for services needed for older Hispanics. Due to the funding situation, this results in trimming program allocations, causing a freeze in hiring staff and less programs are able to be created. Another challenge, is the fact that the long-term care-giving of Hispanic families use to be handled within their own families homes; however, today these family caregivers are dwindling in size. As the age of caregivers increases, the informal caregiver system is becoming overwhelmed. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, more than thirty-three percent of the Texas population speaks another language in their home. How accurate this is, is uncertain, because many non-English speaking Hispanics are not included in the Census. Texas has the second-largest aging Hispanic population in the nation. Texas also has sixty-four frontier counties that has an average of less than...
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