Transcript TEXAS GOVERNMENT 2306

TEXAS GOVERNMENT 2306
UNIT 10
SPENDING AND SERVICES
The Psychology of Spending and
Services
• Texans’ cynical view of government
power increasingly conflicts with
growing demands for public services
TEXAS SPENDING &
SERVICES—Principles
o Traditionalistic Political Culture
§ Anti-government philosophy
§ Conservative philosophy
• o Individualistic Political Culture
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Self-reliance
Pull self up by bootstraps approach
Individualism
Free enterprise
• o Conservative Political Philosophy
§ Fiscal restraint—low taxes, spending, & borrowing
§ “Best government is government that governs
least”
§ Free enterprise, few social programs & services,
few governmental regulations
Texas State Expenditures
1989-2005
Texas Budget
Discretionary vs. Earmarked
(Dedicated or Restricted) Funds
2001-2002
Megastates: Per Capita State
Expenditures
TEXAS SPENDING
COMPARATIVE RANKING
• o Ranks 15th among 15 most populous
states in per capita govt. spending
• o Ranks 50th in per capita spending on all
services
• o Texas per capita spending is 71% of
national average
Texas Budget & Federal Funds
2004-2005
STATE APPROPRIATIONS
2004-2005
TEXAS STATE BUDGET
Four Major Expenditures
  Education-43%
42%
  Health/Human Services-31%
  Transportation-12%
  State Prisons-7%
34%
9%
7%
TOP THREE AREAS OF
SPENDING-TEXAS RANKING
  Education:
• o 40th of 50
• o 83% of nat’l. ave.
  Health/Human Services:
• o 41st of 50
• o 13th of 15 of 15 most populous states
  Transportation:
• o 47th of 50
• o 63% of national average
Education in Texas
• Public spending for education in Texas was not
guaranteed until the 1876 constitution
• Compulsory attendance was mandated in 1915,
and free textbooks provided in 1918
• The Texas Education Agency (TEA) was
established in 1949
• House Bill 72 was passed in 1984 creating:
State standards for student performance;
State standards for teacher competence
Public School Governance
State Board of Education
Texas Education Agency (TEA)
Locally Elected School Boards
State and Local Administration
• The State Board of Education
• sets general rules and guidelines for TEA,
• approves organizational plans,
• recommends budget, and
• implements funding formulas
• Approves textbooks schools use
• Texas 1,037 school districts are the basic structure for
local control:
 7-9 member elected school boards;
 Professional school superintendents
The Politics of Public Education
• Curriculum is determined by TEA, addressing
many issues specific to the course taught
• Textbooks are selected by the State Board of
Education (SBE) with substantial battles between
conservatives and liberals
• Faculties are hired although standards are
established by a 15-member state board.
EDUCATION
  42% of state budget
  40th of 50 on per capita expenditures
  Texas spends (per capita) 83% of
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national average
Of 15 most populous states-Texas
ranks 11th—up from 15th (1993)
  Reasons Why:
• o Individualistic/Traditionalistic Culture
• o State economy
• o Conservatism
QUALITY OF EDUCATION:
SAT SCORES
•
ECISD
TEXAS
US
• Max. Score:
• 800
• VERBAL
482
493
508
• MATH
486
502
520
Texas Educational Rankings
• Ave. Teacher Salary
• 32nd
• Exp. Per Pupil
• 40th
• State Aid Per Student
• 46th
• SAT Scores
• 47th
• Percent over 25 w. hs
• 50th
diploma
• HS Graduation Rate
• 35th
Ethnicity of Texas Public School
Students
Public School Finance (Pre-2007)
• Expenditures for public school operations rank
Texas 40th of the 50 states
• State funding (30-35%) comes from:
The Permanent School Fund;
The Available School Fund;
The Foundation School Program (largest
portion)
• Local funding (60%) comes from ad valorem
property taxes (major source of revenue) and
general-obligation bonds
Funding Disparity in Texas-1
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300,000 students in poorest
schools had <3% of state’s wealth to
support their education
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300,000 students in wealthiest
schools had 25%+ of state’s wealth
to support their education
Funding Disparity in Texas-2
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North Forrest district—Harris
County (90% black) had $67,630 of
property value per student
• Houston ISD had $348,180 of
property value/student
Funding Disparity in Texas-3
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Edgewood District (95%
Hispanic) has $38,854 of property
value per student
•
  Alamo Heights (same county)
had $570,109 of property value per
student
Funding Disparity in Texas-4
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Wilmer-Hutchins (82% black) in
Dallas County had $97,681 of
property value per student
•
• Carrollton-Farmers Branch had
$512,259 of property value per
student
Funding Disparity in Texas-5
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Poorest school district in Texas-$20,000 or property wealth per
student
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Wealthiest school district has
$14 million+/per student
School Finance Reform
School financing has largely been resolved
by:
Edgewood v. Kirby (Texas Supreme Court, 1989);
Until 2007, the Texas legislature has decreased
public school funding forcing schools to look for
new revenue
In 2007 legislative session Texas Legislature
increased state funding for public schools &
repealed “Robin Hood” –state share increased, local
share decreased
Texas Higher Education
Enrollment-Fall 2003
HIGHER EDUCATION
Governance
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)
Boards of Trustees
College Administration
Texas Higher Education Rankings
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College faculty salaries—10% below national
average
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Ranks 27th of 50 in average annual costs at
public colleges & university
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Ranks 29th of 50 in per capita state & local
higher ed. Expenditures
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Ranks 28th of 50 in percentage of the
population graduated from college (23.9%)
Cost of Higher Education
Texas Health & Human Service
Agencies
Health and Human Services
• The 2nd largest category of state spending
although 60% of funding originates with
the federal government
• Social services include:
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families;
Health insurance;
Unemployment insurance
Health & Human Services
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34% of state budget
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29th of 50 on per capita health care expend.
  41st of 50 on per capita welfare expend.
  Of 15 most populous states: Texas = 13th
  Is an increasing share of state budget
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Funded primarily from federal money
Health Services
  Texans most likely in America to
have no health insurance—ranks
50th
  A low priority in Texas
Health Insurance Coverage by
Race
Health Services
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Medicaid
• o Health care to poor
• o Most expensive—1.7 million covered
• o 94% of recipients--aged, disabled, kids
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W.I.C.—(Women, Infants, Children)
• o Provides nutrition & education to poor women &
their babies
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MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS (MHMR
Dept.)
  State mental hospitals
  Most are outpatients
UNEMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS
(Tx. Workforce Commission)
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Unemployment Insurance
Texas law very restrictive
Ineligible if:
• o Fired for cause
• o Voluntarily quit
• o Part of labor dispute
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Max. benefit: $294/week for
maximum of 26 weeks
Welfare Services
  Texas Constitution: prohibits
spending more than 1% of state
budget on welfare
  A low priority in Texas
Net Family Income in Texas
Percentage of Persons in
Poverty in Texas
Number of Welfare Recipients
in Texas
Megastates: Per Capita Welfare
Expenditures—2000-2001
Welfare Programs
  T.A.N.F. (Temporary Assistance to
Needy Families)
• replaced AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent
Children)
• o Current Benefits:
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$65/month per child (way below nat’l. ave.)
Adults:
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Can receive benefits for 2 consecutive years
No more than 5 year max. lifetime benefits
The Politics of Welfare
• The broadest view of welfare is that it is an
unearned, government-provided benefit
• Social Insurance programs include old age,
survivors, and disability insurance, and
unemployment insurance which require more than
a means test
• Texas welfare rolls furnish the bare essentials.
• The main problem facing welfare today is that is
doesn’t cure, it alleviates.
Welfare Myths
• Any poor person may be eligible for state
public assistance benefits
• Welfare benefits allow some to buy things
they don’t need
• Welfare mothers have more children to
increase their monthly TANF checks
Cash Value of Monthly Welfare
Benefits for Typical TANF
Family 2004
Of 3 million Texans in poverty
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Only 850,000 receive TANF (28%)
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No welfare for able-bodied adults in
Texas
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Most welfare $ to poor women, their
children, the elderly, & handicapped
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With welfare & all other benefits (food
stamps, etc.) average family benefits
received in Texas = 25% below poverty line
Welfare Realities
• Cheating and overpayment cost taxpayers
money
• The welfare system alleviates rather than cures
poverty
• The vast majority of recipients are children
• The culture of poverty is self-perpetuating
TRANSPORTATION
  9% of state budget
  Texas: 47th of 50 in per capita expend
  63% of national average
  Historically: roads = county function
  Today: highways = joint federal/state
effort
Texas Department of
Transportation
• o Administers the money
• o 46% of highway funds = federal money
• o State Money—from gas tax (15 of 20 cents
per gallon)
• O These funds earmarked for highways
O Little or no money or consideration for
public transport
Megastates: Per Capital
Highway Expenditures
Texas Highway System--Use
The Politics of Transportation
• Per capita state highway funding is among the
nation’s lowest
• Controversy over the Trans-Texas Corridor:
 An estimated cost of $200 billion;
 Some see it as a land grab
• Automotive transportation is part of the Texas
culture and Texans are unreceptive to mass
transit
PUBLIC SAFETY/CRIMINAL JUSTICE
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7% of state budget

Ruiz v. Estelle (1982)
• o Prison overcrowding violated 8th Amend.
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State Options:
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Early Release
Send fewer criminals to prison
Massive expansion of prison system
Texas Choice
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Massive expansion of prison system
Funded by state bonds (state indebtedness)
Texas amended the state constitution to allow this
Crime: Texas Rankings
• o 1st in prison population
• o 3rd in incarceration rate
• o 1st in number of executions
• o 6th total crime rate (per capita)
• o 12th highest violent crime rate (per capita
o 14th highest rape rate (per capita)
State Expenditures:
1981-1991-2001
Megastates: Per Capita
Expenditures—By Dollars
Per Capita Spending in Texas:
A Comparison