Shifts in Education and Economics in Texas

Just as the population of Texas is changing, so is the education and economics. This change is occurring, as the result of an increase in Hispanics, overall young population, decreases in the amount of Anglos, and lack of money invested into Texas’ education system. When looking into Hispanics, “Hispanics still lag behind other groups in obtaining a four-year degree. In 2013, among Hispanics ages 25 to 29, just 15% of Hispanics have a bachelor’s degree or higher” (5 facts about Latinos and Education). The reason Hispanics tend to lag behind other ethnic groups in education, comes down to the fact that as many come to the United states, they are searching for the highest paying job without the use of a college degree. This belief of finding

a high paying job, instead of going to college, tends to transcend to multiple generations of Hispanics. This creates a problem, as the state of Texas tends to consistently underfund education both at the high school level and even college level, when instead they should be funding it. With little money spent in education, by “2040 approximately 30.1 percent of the labor force will not have a high school diploma, up from 18.8 percent in 2000” (Petersen and Assanie). If this occurs, the workforce in the state will be less educated and lack the skills needed to perform jobs. As the city of Houston is one of the largest medical centers in the nation, astounding innovations in medical care will be unheard of and the death rate will likely increase. However, its not so simple to just increase the funding spent toward education in the state of Texas. The reason this is because, the state of Texas lacks competition in political elections, posses a large amount of gerrymandering among politicians, and has comparatively low voter turnout. Currently Texas is dominated by the Republican Party, which constantly underfunds education. “In 2011, they slashed per-pupil spending by $500. Overall it was a $5.4 billion haircut for education, the first reduction in the school budget since the Great Depression” (Stanford). This lack of competition presents issues with education as voters are practically forced to choose a candidate from the Republican Party. Consequently this streak will continue as long as Republicans hold both the house and the senate in Texas. As for gerrymandering, the Republican Party consistently gerrymanders district lines, gaining the advantage in elections and, thus making it harder for Democrats to come out on top. In accordance with the lack of competition and gerrymandering, Texas also has historically low voter turnout. In the 2014 midterm elections Texas voter turnout among registered voter was 28.5 percent compared to the United States average of 36.3 percent ("The Worst Voter Turnout in 72 Years"). With these factors taken into account it is no wonder education is consistently underfunded in Texas. When looking deeper into what will happen in 2040 with the economics of Texas, one is likely to see that the average American household will be 7,700 dollars poorer than he or she was in the year 2010, as a result of the underfunding of education. (Murdock). However, if Texas were to fund their education there would be an increase in the amount of dollars a family makes from $66,333.00 to $131,916.00 dollars in 2050. (Murdock) In addition to the average family household income, when looking at consumer expenditures, consumer spending would go down by about $4,000 dollars per household or consumer spending would go up by about $40,000 dollars, if politicians and Texans where to invest more money into the education system (Murdock). Along with consumer expenditures and the median average a family will make by 2050, when looking at Texas poverty levels today. Texas poverty levels are consistently increasing. “The 4.4 million Texans in poverty in 2014 was double the 2.2 million residents in poverty in 1980” (Shelby). By 2050 demographers expect the state of Texas’ poverty level to increase from 17.8 percent to nearly 21 percent (Murdock). If the gap was too close and education would be funded, the poverty level in the state of Texas would drop from 17.8 percent to 11.9 percent. Finally, Texas’ state tax levels would also increase, due to the increase in spending among its citizens. Overall, if the federal government were to illegalize gerrymandering, Texas’ competition where to increase, and voter turnout where to increase, one would likely see that the amount of money spent toward education would directly increase along with the economic levels. Steve Murdock, a profound demographer once said, “It doesn’t matter what racial group you belong to more education equals more money” (Murdock). Overall Texas has the ability to either become the trailer park of America or the high tech industry of the world.
Furthermore, with these changes that are occurring among the population of Texas, as well as the education and economics the political attitudes/preferences of Texans’ will directly change. Currently, sense the state is having such an immense influx of Hispanics and an increasing young population, the current party that dominates Texas will have the ability to become Democratic. The reason for this is that on average the “in congressional races nationally, Democrats won the Latino vote by a margin of 62% to 36%” (Krogstad and Lopez). Likewise, the youth also tend to vote Democratically, “from 1993 to 2003, 47% of 18- to 29-year-olds, on average, identified as Democrats or said they were independents but leaned to the Democratic Party, while 42% were Republicans or Republican leaners” (Jones). However, as Hispanics as well as young adults tend to vote Democratically, these two groups tend to have the lowest voter turnout. This will cause the state of Texas to become a swing state from the years 2025 to the year 2030. Nonetheless, as young individuals and Hispanics increase, the Republican Party will become non-existent as youths and Hispanics will begin to inhabit both the house and senate in Texas, thus resembling New York as a Democratic state.
In conclusion, “during the 1990s, Texas grew even faster than expected, becoming the second largest state in the nation” (Petersen and Assanie).

Texas began to change holistically to a culture that was older and more diverse; this culture was dominated by a large amount Anglos and many southern traditions. Just as this occurred in the year 1990, by the year 2035 Texas will also experience another change. This change will result in increased Hispanics as well as young individuals. “No longer can it be said that a “typical” Texan is simply an extension of white American culture rooted in southern tradition” (Champagne and Harpham 34). Likewise, Texas may experience inequalities in the median home income and education among many ethnic groups presenting many challenges. This will occur unless the state of Texas is able to fund education, increase voter turnout, and change Texas’ one party system. Nevertheless, the state has the ability to reduce these socioeconomic differences. In the years to come based off the data presented Texas will more than likely become an even larger high tech industry similar to that of New York City, it will also be one of the most competitive states in the nation among not only its education, but also its workforce, and will be a majority Democratic state. Some experts believe that Texas’ previous culture will be very influential to the new culture of Texas, as people tend to influence each other. However, the influence will be miniscule in that Texans’ will more than likely to still use southern terms, such as the word “yall”. Overall, “the world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress”

(Kettering).