Commentary #2

I agree with you on this subject "More for less". Some Illegal immigrants may harm the economy by working here and sending their money to other countries perhapse to help their families which i'll admit is a noble cause but others are working, playing, shopping, and just trying to make a living here in effect stimulating our economy. Those that work jobs under fake Social Security cards are contributing taxes (taken out of pay) while never benefiting from those taxes personally. As an example my friend Carlos Herrera (an illegal immigrant with forged SS card) worked many jobs others would turn down including "household" work helping the mentally and physically handicapped. He is a good guy with a good work ethic and I have a lot of respect for him. I heard a piece of stand-up comedy by Wanda Sykes recently that put it in perspective for me. Would you be mad if someone broke into your house and vacuumed? I wouldn't.

Blue Texas

Texas water availability is quickly becoming a critical issue that must be dealt with soon. Even with quick response  there is still chance for economic damage. As a resident I hope that clever/hasty(but not rushed) planning can help to reduce harm. I am a fan of conservation and recycling but I don't believe it is going to be enough to quench the needs of texans at the rate the population is growing. The population is projected to grow to 46 million in the next 50 years. Not to mention the current severe drought that plagues the state. Some Texas cities are estimated in 6 months to run out of water. Trucking water in will only be a quick fix. I believe that education/awareness of Texas' water status is important and punishments for water wasting should be more severe.


I'm not sure of the scale of job or the time required but I think that the benefits of building a water pipeline and reservoirs in Texas will outweigh possible harm. I believe it could help reduce stress put on some ecosystems as a result of over water consumption.  It will help to maintain water prices at reasonable and affordable levels as well as allow agriculture and commerce to continue unhindered on a large scale. It will be hard to avoid some inconveniences associated with the placement of the pipeline/reservoirs. A state draft plan estimates that an inadequate water supply would harm the economy, reducing employment by 546,000 people and income by more than $61 billion. Thats only in part of the state! The employment of welders, inspectors, project managers, engineers and many others could really help to stimulate the state's economy.     

Commentary

I'd like to start with a compliment on the catchy title "Gone Up in Smoke" and the use of the picture/comic also cleverly relavent to the article it's incorperated in as well as other posts of yours. Its a nice change from the typical bland paragraph format of most blogs of which I myself am guilty. It makes the read more pleasant in general and in this specific case adds some well placed humor. I thought it was a good informative read.

I myself dont smoke and would prefer not to run to class "chocking on clounds of smoke". I agree it would be nice if they would have surveyed the students before making the decision, but i believe the statement "they're taking our rights away" is exaggerated. Forcing smokers to smoke/harm themselves and only themselves (reguarding second-hand smoke) away from others seems a good decision I believe.   

Green Texas

      Marijuana decriminalization is becoming more common in the U.S. today. Roughly 1/3 of the country (sixteen states plus the District of Columbia) allow for the medical use of marijuana. Medical use is under constant scrutiny and there have been a lot of recent setbacks in the ending of cannabis prohibition including major announcements by the DEA, IRS, and ATF(The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) to "crackdown" on medical marijuana cultivators, dispensaries, and patients. Instead of medical specific legalization I believe marijuana should be full blown legalized in Texas as well as the other states. 

      There are many possible benefits to marijuana legalization. The medical applications of marijuana could still be utilized and further researched. It would stop the need for taxpayer dollars to be spent in order to prohibit it. In addition, it could generate tax money for the state regardless of if its price drops drastically due to legalization. According to Texas on the Brink (A Report from the Texas Legislative Study Group) Texas ranks 48th among the states in tax revenue raised per capita. Tax revenue needed for many state programs including the drastically underfunded education system. Another benefit for Texas specifically could be the reduced amount of smuggling across the Mexican border as a result of marijuana being more readily available.  I believe that we should allow adults 21 and over to use, grow, sell, or cultivate marijuana. Money could be pumped into the economy at  local, state, and federal levels.  Regulations and Fees would have to be enforced in order to truly benefit. Education and the prevention of underage use could be implemented.  
       Some might argue that regulation is impossible and too many people would grow it on their own, but how many smokers grow their own tobacco? It's realistic to think that people would sooner buy marijuana from a local convenience store then grow it at home in such great numbers it somehow negates the positive effects of legalization.     

Dear Austin City Council

In a commentary on the blog site Letters from Texas Harold Cook expresses his feeling toward four particular Austin City Council members. They are Laura Morrison, Kathie Tovo, Sheryl Cole, and Bill Spelman. He is sure to make this clear in his conclusion and even provides embedded email contact links to their offices.

Cook discusses the issues that he has with the council members in a very sarcastic and comical manner. He writes from the point of view of "a typical Austin voter". His article talks about voter participation and how the four members are purposely trying to keep it low by opposing a bill to move City of Austin elections to November. Cook doesn't go into detail on how exactly the voter turnout would change for the better. He believes that more women and minorities will not vote as a result of elections staying where they are, but again doesn't go into statistics. Cook is dissatisfied with the waste of taxpayer money that went into the deliberation and ultimate denial of increasing voter turnout by the members. He discusses the bill and bashes them for using bad rationale to try and justify their decisions.

The article was good at holding my attention and making me giggle while bringing to my attention some issues I might not agree with. I wish he would have provided more stats (hard numbers or even estimates) on voter turnout. Overall I liked the article and it made me want to do research of my own on these council members and this bill.

Instead of fixing air issues, Texas sues EPA - again

An editorial in the Houston Chronicle reports that "Texas sued the Environmental Protection Agency, yet again, for having the temerity to ask it, yet again, to stop poisoning our air." The EPA is requiring that Texas along with many other states improve their pollution control by limiting sulfur dioxide and nitrogen-oxide emissions. Originally only nitrogen-oxide in Texas, the attorney general Greg Abbott's office claimed "that it would result in loss of jobs and service interruptions." A suit is being filed by Luminant Generation Co. "the state's largest provider of electricity"  said "it will be forced to close several facilities and cut 500 jobs to comply with the ruling." In addition, the House of Representatives has passed a measure that will "likely delay the [EPA] ruling for several years." The EPA claims there will be no such interruptions and "no such problems have arisen in 40 years of EPA rulings."


I happen to side with this frustrated author that Texas ought to have more strict standards and improve air quality. However, their credibility is immediately brought into question with the statement that Texas is " home to 19 coal-fired power plants, the most in the nation." This is simply not true. Many other states have more coal-fired power plants ,but Texas does however produce the most amount of electricity from coal according to 2005 power production estimates.  The author could elaborate further on the subject of the pollutants and their harmful effects as grounds for more strict pollution standards. They do use E PA projections as a convincing persuader. The author provides reasoning for both sides expressing there frustration with Texas and its resilience (reasoning not) to comply as well as the EPA's argument "cleaner air would save lives, create jobs and save about $100 billion a year." In my opinion It's not really hard to argue that cleaner air would be nice ,and getting the political agenda in line so this can happen will be long and tedious.

Texas Education Funding Crisis

The Dallas Morning News repots, on top of the "more than $4 billion" dollar budget cut that schools recently took, "three commissioners appointed by Gov. Rick Perry may grant some of the nations largest refineries a tax refund of more than $135 million." This will only worsen the current school funding crisis. If this tax refund is approved other refineries could be eligible for these same tax breaks. Valero initially asked for the refund regarding  pollution-controlling equipment they were required to purchase by the EPA. Valero's argument is that " the units should be exempt under a Texas law that says industrial plants don't have to pay taxes on equipment purchased to reduce on-site pollution." Valero was first denied but has since appealed the decision.  School districts are "in an uncomfortable position" because there is no timeline on the ruling and they may be forced to return money that needs to be or could already be spent on necessities. This decision will affect everyone including "the children of the employees that help make the companies[/refineries} what they are."