Andrew Teas

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Chapter 18 The People, Economy and Political
Culture of Texas

• Andrew Teas
• Government 2301
• Houston Community College

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Intro - Education
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(No Transcript)
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Intro - Education

• Median income in with bachelors degree - 82,827
• Median income with high school diploma - 38,137
• Median income in Texas without high school
  diploma less than 26,297
• Texas lowest high school graduation rate,
  highest dropout rate
• Why?

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People of Texas
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People of Texas

• Population Size and Growth
• Texas 2nd behind California in population
• July, 2006 23.5 million people (CA 36.5
  million)
• Texas has 2nd highest birthrate in nation
• Median age 32.3, compared to 35.3 nationwide
• Immigration high from Mexico, rest of U.S. and
  elsewhere
• Opportunities and challenges for government
• http//www.dgs.ca.gov/GarageSale

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People of Texas

• Population Diversity
• 50.2 of Texans are non-white in 2004
• Minority population increasing
• Language diversity in Texas, historically and
  now.
• Population Distribution
• Half of Texans live in Houston and DFW
• Shift from rural to urban
• Increasing urban influence on state government

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The Texas Economy
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Texas Economy

• Economy in Transition
• Agriculture - Traditional mainstay of Texas
  economy
• Petroleum price fluctuation
• Importance to economy and state government
• Severance taxes
• State ownership of oil-producing land
• Decline in oil, increase in diverse,
  service-based economy
• NAFTA

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Wealth, Poverty and Economic Growth

• 2004 GSP 771 billion
• 2006 GSP 1.09 trillion
• Rate of Economic growth - Nearly half the jobs
  created in the U.S. last year were created in
  Texas Tx gained 252,000 jobs between Aug. 2007
  and Aug. 2008 while U.S. lost 279,000.
• But
• Individual and family income below national
  average, although cost of living is below
  national average
• Income correlates with race
• Poverty rate 15.8 below 19,350 for family of
  four, compared to 12.1 for U.S.

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Texas Political Culture

• Elazars three strains of U.S. political culture
• Individualistic private initiative, minimal
  govt interference
• Moralistic People expect govt to intervene
• Traditionalistic government to preserve
  tradition and order
• Elazar sees Texas as a hybrid of individualistic
  and traditionalistic.

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The Socioeconomic Context of Policymaking

• Agenda Building Issues regarding growth
  especially in urban and suburban areas. Changing
  demographics present challenges (infrastructure,
  schools, etc.)
• Policy formulation and adoption (school finance,
  2009 Houston mayors race issues)
• Policy implementation and evaluation