Throughout this course we have covered most of the elements of Texas government and rather than just a “This is how it is” type class, the course material addressed not only the history but also many of the problems with our current system. Through the discussions boards and blog entries there were many opinions on how to fix this and that, but one thing that was not brought up much was just doing away with the entire mess and starting over.
One fact that is undeniable is that Texas is very quickly growing and modernizing as a state, but we are still using an 1800’s model of government. We have a part time legislature that meets ever 2 years and “guesses” how much the state might have the next two years and doles out the money. And when they miss the mark, it is the next legislature that has to try and fix it. During those two years the economy can go through massive swings, technology changes. I don’t handle nearly as much money but I am continually reworking my personal budget as things come up and there is no way I could guess what the future would hold for me 2 years from now.
Power is spread across so many different authorities, and even overlaps in many cases, to the point that it is not always really clear as to who does what. The complexity makes it hard for the average citizen to really participate and isn’t that the point of a government by the people? In the 1800’s it was much harder to participate so more delegation and regionalization made sense but now the participation is hindered by that same process that was needed to ensure participation back then. I can now cross the state in a day whereas the same trip once took weeks, and with modern technology quite often the trip isn’t needed as most business can now be done via voice or data that didn’t exist then.
Sometimes when you have a really old car, you reach a point where it doesn’t make sense to fix it anymore and you just need to get a newer model. With the Texas economy now being larger than that of most countries, I propose that we might just be at that moment.
The problems in the state, the poverty, lack of insurance, rich/poor divide, environmental problems, energy issues, road construction, education problems… they require a full time government to deal with them. As a Texan, I would love to be proud of how we do things but when it comes to our government I’m afraid that just isn’t possible. I think our Texas pride should allow us to collectively agree that we need to be the best even if it means changing our ways.
To start, we need a legislature that meets on a very regular basis. There were a massive number of bills and issues that were not addressed last session simply because there was not enough time to get around to them, and it will be 2 more years before most have a chance to come up again. We need to shift the budgeting incrementally to the point to where they are spending the money after we make it, based on the prior year’s revenues instead of future projections. We need to study areas of the country where the citizen participation is the highest, find out why and mirror their processes.
We need to draw in neutral experts in every field, from government to criminal corrections, energy, education, road construction and actually listen to them, even if what they say does not mirror our religious or political philosophies. Everyone likes to armchair quarterback, but this is a game that affects lives.
As a Texan, I have no doubt that we could find ways to maintain a healthy business environment while still helping our poor, educating our children and protecting our environment. But we won’t do it working part-time with closed minds spending money we don’t have yet and most likely won’t.
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