The Importance Of Voting

Many people wonder, “Why should I vote? I am only one person and my vote isn’t going to make the big difference,” but your vote is what makes the difference. Voting is the very first step in getting involved. It is what makes America a democracy and in turn gives us Texans the right to choose whom we think will carry out our best interest. With Election Day coming near I want to express the need for everyone to vote. If citizens don't vote, we will no longer be able to run our state in a FREE country. I am not one to ask you to vote for who I think deserves the right to be governor, but cast your ballet for who you think will make the best governor of Texas. Our candidates consist of Rick Perry (Republican), Bill White (Democrat), Katherine Glass (Libertarian), and Deb Shafto (Green Party).

Here is what Rick Perry and Bill White have to say about Texas’ low budget and what their priority spending will be and also their views on education.

Rick Perry is running for third term election. Perry states that his main priorities with the budget issues are education, transportation, border control, bankruptcy reform and e-government. E-Government is the use of technology to assist the operation of government. Perry is pro vouchers program for education and wants to start a pilot program, which would allow families to choose the school that their children attend. He also intends to incorporate online classes for students who have fallen behind, giving the opportunity to catch up and graduate.

Bill White wants to focus the low budget of Texas on energy, security, and health benefits. He believes that workforce training is very important and thinks that more vocational school routes should be offered for high school students. He is pro early childhood development programs, which current governor, Rick Perry, has vetoed in the past.

Please keep in mind that these over views are not fully detailed and that there are more topics that are being discussed. Also don’t dismiss the importance of looking in to the Libertarian and Green Party views before you vote. I encourage all of yall to support Texas in YOUR WAY and VOTE!!

Driver's Insurance Check Points

The blog, Grits for Breakfast, posted an article discussing the newly added insurance checkpoint scheme in Corpus Christi. The blog states that the city will soon add multiple stops where police officials will check for driver’s insurance. If the driver unavailable to provide proof of insurance than the car will be towed, and consequently auctioned off if proof of insurance is not presented with-in 30 days.

I believe this blog was targeted to grab the attention from people’s right activists, the young voters, as well as the uninsured. The blogger states that this might be the way that the Corpus Christi Police chief is getting around the ban of DWI check points. This will easily catch the attention of the TAMU at Corpus Christi students.

I have to agree with Grits for Breakfast on this one, and say “This seems like a straight-up revenue generation scheme.” Their city council sources appear to be credible and dead set on going forth with this outlandish pursuit of uninsured motorist. The fees for a first time offender will add up to about $500, and if this cannot be paid, once again the cars will be auctioned off. Police Chief, Troy Riggs, plans to double the auctions held each year to now total 12, which will generate approximately $510,000 for the city of Corpus. This was practiced in Dallas, with less harsh auctioning plans, and did not decrease the amount of uninsured motorist. This makes me believe that the blogger is on to something with the “revenue generation scheme.”

Dumping State Tourism Budget

Gubernatorial candidate Bill White has proposed not just to cut, but to eliminate, the entire Texas tourism budget. In response to this suggestion, I have to agree with columnist Bill Blaziek, that such a cut would have a disastrous affect on the Texas economy. The example provided in the article about the beautiful state of Colorado could not paint a better picture of the possible outcome of eliminating a budget that studies have shown yields a seven to one return on investment. At this point in time, our state cannot afford to lose this income, especially for important areas such as education. Personally, I have a strong conviction about the importance of education, so Bill White’s proposition concerns me more than a little. If we ever want to get out of the economic situation we are currently in, we have to give our future generations the tools with which to make major changes.

Among the many cities that would be affected in the large state of Texas would be El Paso. If a city like El Paso, which isn’t the first city to come to mind as a vacation destination, is estimating huge financial losses, can you imagine what cities like Corpus Christi and San Antonio might face? I am no professional economist, but I think the financial situation would certainly not be one to tip your ten-gallon hat to.

Additionally, considering that over half a million jobs are provided by the tourism industry, our unemployment rate might also see some major declines. Although I believe that Texas is currently one of the stronger states in the United States, I anticipate that such a change would amount to a lot of problems for folks waving the lone star flag.