Jacob Greendyk

Tx. Govt. Prof. West

2 October 2020

Texas’ Chronic Crummy Condition

As Molly Ivans said in “Is Texas America,” Texas is almost always “near the bottom ​by

every measure of social service, education and quality of life.” This quote illuminates the essence

of the problems with living in Texas, and frames my argument that due to the problems

presented by Texas’ size, Big Business’ ensuing influence, and the state’s long standing political

imbalance, it is in fact an “inferior” place to live.

The unique geography of Texas may have provided a raw base for big business, but the

lasting negative effects of those big business’ powers are just as significant. As they grew, oil

and gas companies compounded their political influence and it manifested in heavily

business-favorable policy. One outstanding example of such is the state of waste disposal

regulations. The State govt. allows dumping sites to be privately owned, and therefore control

the logistics of an environmental necessity. As a result, dumping sites commonly charge

exorbitant rates in remote locations, leading workers to illegally dump waste from moving trucks

to avoid fees. However, even in the case someone were to be caught in the middle of the

aforementioned process, Texas attorneys don’t even have the jurisdiction to file against said

person unless they were ​NOT​ exclusively dumping waste from oil and gas drilling. While

individually this law is relatively minor, it illustrates the problem originated by Texas’

miraculous size and opportunity. Additionally, to elaborate on the previously presented

schooling issues; many are created or worsened by Texas’ size, with the most frequent issues

relating to transport or time availability, which itself is rooted in the agrarian values that arose
from the environment created by our enormous state. Analyzed as a whole, Texas’ size was a

wolf in sheeps skin- at first glance nothing short of bountiful, but as time progressed, that bounty

morphed into a seductive chance at millions and seeped through Texas’ political scene as well as

its tangible, enacted policy.

Post-Reconstruction, the state was populated by Texan Nationalists,(T.N.)who were

slowly shifting their political loyalty towards what is now the conservative Republican party.

Now while it was not until 1964 that SCOTUS ruled Texas’ one senator per country system was

unconstitutional, Texas legislators draw and have drawn conservative-favoring voting district

lines, or as it is commonly known they have “gerrymandered”. To further explain we look at the

2010 census, when rural Texans made up for 15% of the Texan population(2010 Census). While

this number is low, because districts are drawn to value certain areas unfairly, that population is

in effect the majority. Concurrently, conservative policy is based on low taxes, economic liberty,

and little government involvement. .That stance applies to education too, where legislators’

underfunding added to schooling difficulties(transport, time etc)that furthered a cycle in rural

Texas based around raising children to prioritize “continuation of work” before higher education.

According to the Texas Comptroller's Report Card, while the % pop. in advanced industries is

above average due to high startup density in urban areas, Texas ranks 49th in percent pop.

w/GED, and bottom 20 in Bachelor’s degrees(Texas Report Card) despite the statistical boost

provided by those same urban areas.

As Texas developed, its size and political climate both influenced each other and

grew together. As previously stated, the state’s size presented inherent issues;such as the path it

provided for big business to gain influence. When contextualized with the reality of a state
whose politics have been wrongly dominated by a statistical minority, Texas is clearly exposed

as an “inferior” state to live in.