Vote in TCAN Poll

The True Courage Action Network is conducting a poll .....

honoring the best efforts of legislators and advocates who have shown courage relating to TCAN's mission to restore strong ethical standards, government transparency, and electoral reform and voter protection during this legislative session.

Among the names nominated in the Texas State Senate is Senator Eliot Shapleigh, nominated for his Texas on the Brink reports.

And the Texas House of Representative nominees include Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, for his fight against voter ID bills and Fort Worth's Lon Burnam. Burnam, who joined Anchia in that fight, was nominated for his attempts to reform the Texas Ethics Commission.

And don't forget to vote for Texas Progressive Bloggers in the Texas Advocate category. If you need convincing, check out some of the blogs on our list to the right. You have until May 20 at noon to register your vote.

A Race to the Bottom

Participants in Women’s Legislative Days, held in Austin in January, were introduced to a publication entitled "Texas on the Brink: How Texas Ranks Among the 50 States," issued by Senator Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso.

Several Texas blogs, including TexasKaos and the Houston Chronicle blog, have cited statistics from the report, but these facts bear repeating because they quantify our state’s race for the bottom.

Here are just a few statistics from the report:

Texas ranks 50th in the percentage of adults with a high school diploma

Texas SAT scores rank 47th

Texas ranks 44th in the percentage of women living above the poverty level

Texas is 1st in the number of job discrimination lawsuits

Texas is 5th in teenage birth rate

Texas ranks first in the percentage of uninsured children and adults

Texas ranks 44th in the percentage of eligible voters who vote

The most disturbing statistic from the report, however, is this: 45% of families in Texas earn poverty-level wages. Thus, we have the dubious distinction of being 2nd in the nation in income inequality between rich and poor.

When John Edwards talks about two Americas—one for the rich, another for the poor—Texas illustrates his point. That’s surely nothing to brag about.