Economy

The Latest from the TDP

Texas Democrats believe that ensuring job security is the number one priority for Texas workers, especially during tough economic times. We believe the state should foster entrepreneurship and innovation – especially the independent initiative of small business owners and innovators – to enlist Texas workers in creating new goods and services. Most importantly, we should do everything we can to address the pocketbook issues – such as doctor’s bills, home insurance payments, and college tuition – that matter most to Texas workers when they sit down at the table to pay the family bills and balance the family budget.

Unfortunately for Texas taxpayers and Texas workers, the politics of the Republican Party of Texas often stands in the way of true economic progress. In fact, the latest stunt from Rick Perry will carry a “Republican primary politics price tag” that could exceed $2 billion. Texas will have to borrow (with interest) as much as $2 billion to cover the shortfall in our unemployment fund – a shortfall that occurred when Rick Perry’s refused $555 million of Texas’ taxpayer dollars that the stimulus bill was supposed to send back to Texas. (Read more about this in the recent op-ed by Texas Democrat Party Chair Boyd Richie, “Texans lose helping hand because of GOP finger pointing”).

Texas Democrats believe that pocketbook issues – and not primary politics – should drive the decisions our elected officials make about our economy. And it’s the pocketbook issues where Texas Republicans have done their greatest damage:

* Rising Cost of Health Care Premiums – Since Rick Perry became Governor in 2000, annual health insurance premiums for Texans rose by 86% (from $6,638 to $12,403) while the state’s median earnings only rose 15%. (Source: Dallas Morning News)

* Highest Homeowner’s Insurance Rates in the Country – The average premium for homeowner’s insurance policies is $1,409, the highest in the nation and almost double the national average. (Source: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal).

* Tuition Deregulation Doubles Cost of College – Since Rick Perry and Texas Republicans passed tuition deregulation in 2003, the cost of tuition has doubled at many of Texas’ universities – including a 57% increase at the University of Texas at Austin. (Source: Associated Press / KXAN-TV)

The ingenuity of the Texas workforce cannot be question; unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Texas Republicans. Texas Democrats must continue to fight for the important pocketbook issues that affect the day-to-day lives of Texas workers. To learn more about our efforts, check out our Party Platform and learn more in the stories we’ve highlighted below:

The 2008 Platform of the Texas Democratic Party: Economy

Providing Good Jobs in a Growing Economy

Our economic security depends on developing the full potential of both Texas entrepreneurs and workers to create a prosperous economy and a good quality of life for all Texans. Small businesses are the innovative, job-creating engines of our economy and need to be nurtured. Workers need jobs that offer them and their families the dignity of a decent living instead of a lifetime shadowed by insecurity and poverty.

Strengthening Small Business

We believe the state should systematically foster entrepreneurship, especially the independent initiative of small businesses, to enlist Texas workers in creating new goods and services. We also believe:

  • the tax policies of the current governor that unfairly favor big business at the expense of small businesses must be reversed;
  • raising productivity by applying information technology should be a state priority;
  • the state should support research and development of environmentally sound alternative energy systems that create markets and jobs and help achieve energy independence; and
  • public policy initiatives should be adopted that make it affordable for small businesses to provide health insurance for their employees.

Improving Wages and Working Conditions

We believe the minimum wage must be increased meaningfully to make up for lost purchasing power and must be indexed from now on to keep it from eroding again; and that workers should be paid a living wage with provisions for health care benefits for their families, as well as their future retirement. We also believe:

  • the law Texas Democrats enacted in 2001 to make sure the state minimum wage for farm workers keeps up with increases in the federal minimum wage must be enforced;
  • that rapid, thorough retraining of laid off workers and training to improve and update the skills of workers seeking career advancement must be provided;
  • workforce entrants must be equipped with the skills needed to participate in the economy without being pitted against other workers in a drive for low wages;
  • the guarantee of overtime pay, constantly under Republican assault, must be preserved;
  • local wage standards in government contracts must be protected;
  • workers have a right to a diverse and safe workplace, free from injury and exposure to harmful materials, and meaningful sanctions must apply to employers who knowingly or negligently expose workers to injury or death;
  • workers and employers both benefit from a workers’ compensation system that provides affordable coverage for employers, meaningful compensation to injured workers, the right of workers to choose their own doctor, incentives for employers to retain injured employees, and due consideration for the rights of workers within the legal system;
  • all employees, public and private, must have the right to organize, collect dues, designate their income voluntarily to organizations and agencies of their choosing, and negotiate collectively with their employers through representatives of their choice;
  • the repeal of the Texas right to work law;
  • hiring of replacement workers for employees who are on strike should be banned;
  • the democratic majority of employees in a workplace should be free to choose union representation by signing cards authorizing a union to negotiate on their behalf, with mediation and arbitration for first contract disputes and with penalties that serve as a true deterrent for employers who violate employee organizing rights;
  • the right of unions to engage in political activity, free from partisan attempts to limit the ability of unions to participate in the political process, must not be infringed;
  • workers should be free from discriminatory employment practices and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act should become law;
  • the statewide job bank should be restored and U.S. Department of Labor data on the demand for occupational training should be used;
  • the state should establish a Department of Labor empowered to enforce state law concerning the minimum wage, union representation of employees, fair labor practices, occupational safety and health, and workers’ compensation; and
  • a state OSHA law should be enacted, and no person should be fired, lose seniority, be demoted, or suffer other reprisal for refusing to work when a violation of OSHA regulations places his or her health, life, or limb at risk.

Fostering Fair Global Trade

We must put an end to “cheap labor Republican” policies that encourage American companies to seek offshore tax shelters and outsource American jobs at the expense of hard-working Americans; and promote trade policy that generates jobs at home, affords dignity to working people, and protects the environment. Trade policy must combat child and slave labor, unconscionably low wages, environmental degradation and other practices that turn global trade into a race to the bottom. American and Texas products and local markets should receive preference.

Making Government/Business Partnership Serve the Common Good

We believe companies receiving government economic development subsidies must deliver the jobs they promise. We also believe:

  • competitive performance and accountability in state government are vital, but we oppose wholesale privatization schemes that result in less competition, less accountability, and inadequate delivery of services;
  • technology development programs, led by a strong space program that features revitalized manned space exploration and reaps the benefits provided by the Hubble Space Telescope, serve as a catalyst for productive investment in scientific research essential to our economic and national security in a competitive global economy;
  • the public should have equal opportunity to invest in any private ownership of publicly financed facilities, including sports facilities;
  • improper use of “no bid contracts” should be prohibited and fair bidding procedures must be diligently enforced to provide the best overall value for all government contracts for goods and services, including those contracts that involve assistance to foreign nations;
  • regulation of banks, utilities, and insurance carriers must be improved and antitrust laws must be aggressively enforced to ensure public faith in government-licensed and regulated entities central to the success and stability of the economy;
  • an outright ban is the appropriate response to policies and insurance scams, including those commonly known as “dead peasant” policies, that leverage state retirement funds into windfall profits for Republicans and their corporate cronies; and
  • copyright laws that provide for “fair use” of copyrighted material, including material used to research issues of public interest, must be maintained.