Lone Star Tarnished : A Critical Look at Texas Politics and Public Policy

Texas pride, like everything else in the state, is larger than life. So, too, perhaps, are the state's challenges. Lone Star Tarnished, Third Edition approaches public policy in the nation's most populous'red state'from historical, comparative, and critical perspectives. The historical perspective provides the scope for asking how various policy domains have developed in Texas history, regularly reaching back to the state's founding and with substantial data for the period 1950 to the present. In each chapter, Cal Jillson compares Texas public policy choices and results with those of other states and the United States in general. Finally, the critical perspective allows us to question the balance of benefits and costs attendant to what is often referred to as'the Texas way'or'the Texas model.'This is used best as a supplementary text for instructors of a course on Texas Politics who want to stress history, political culture, and public policy. Jillson delves deeply into eight substantive policy chapters, covering the most important policy areas in which state governments are active. The third edition includes completely rewritten first and second chapters, as well as updates throughout the book and revised figures and tables. Also new to the third edition is a completely new chapter on higher education in Texas. Through Jillson's lively and lucid prose, students are well equipped to analyse how Texas has done and is doing compared to selected states and the national average over time and today. Readers will also come away with the necessary tools to assess the many claims of Texas's exceptionalism. New to the Third Edition Highlights major new actors in Texas politics, including Governor Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, George P. Bush, and a higher profile Ted Cruz. Notes key policy developments in education, health care, transportation, energy and more resulting from the 2015 and 2017 legislative sessions and the arrival of the new Republican Trump administration in Washington. Updates all tables and figures in the book, including a dozen new ones, assessing how Texas is doing in income, education, human services, transportation, energy, and the environment. Includes an entirely new chapter on'Higher Education in Texas.' "Texas pride, like everything else in the state, is larger than life. So, too, perhaps, are the state©Ø℗ђ℗ةs challenges. Lone Star Tarnished, Third Edition approaches public policy in the nation©Ø℗ђ℗ةs most populous "red state" from historical, comparative, and critical perspectives. The historical perspective provides the scope for asking how various policy domains have developed in Texas history, regularly reaching back to the state©Ø℗ђ℗ةs founding and with substantial data for the period 1950 to the present. In each chapter, Cal Jillson compares Texas public policy choices and results with those of other states and the United States in general. Finally, the critical perspective allows us to question the balance of benefits and costs attendant to what is often referred to as "the Texas way" or "the Texas model." This is used best as a supplementary text for instructors of a course on Texas Politics who want to stress history, political culture, and public policy. Jillson delves deeply into eight substantive policy chapters, covering the most important policy areas in which state governments are active. The third edition includes completely rewritten first and second chapters, as well as updates throughout the book and revised figures and tables. Also new to the third edition is a completely new chapter on higher education in Texas. Through Jillson©Ø℗ђ℗ةs lively and lucid prose, students are well equipped to analyse how Texas has done and is doing compared to selected states and the national average over time and today. Readers will also come away with the necessary tools to assess the many claims of Texas©Ø℗ђ℗ةs exceptionalism. New to the Third EditionThe manuscript has been revised throughout to highlight major new actors in Texas politics, including Governor Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, George P. Bush, and a higher profile Ted Cruz, and to note the major policy developments in education, health care, transportation, energy and more resulting from the 2015 and 2017 legislative sessions and the arrival of the new Republican Trump administration in Washington. All of the tables and figures in the book, including a dozen new ones, have been revised and updated with the most recent data and information. These data ground our discussion of how Texas is doing in income, education, human services, transportation, energy and the environment and more compared to the past, to other states, and to national averages. Chapters 1 and 2 have been completely rewritten to better highlight the continuity in "the Texas way" from first Anglo settlement to today and to show how new actors like Greg Abbott have replaced old actors like Rick Perry without missing a beat. See especially the discussion late in Chapter 2 of Governor Abbott©Ø℗ђ℗ةs call for a Convention of the States to amend the U.S. Constitution. Chapter 3 has been thoroughly updated as demographic change continues apace in Texas. Chapter 4 has been rewritten to include a major new section, including a new table and two new graphs, highlighting the ongoing importance of the energy sector to the Texas economy. Outside the energy sector, where 95 percent of Texans work, the state©Ø℗ђ℗ةs workers lag national averages for both productivity and pay. Chapter 6 is an entirely new chapter on "Higher Education in Texas." We find that Texas lags national averages for college attendance, state funding, graduation rates, and much more. In Chapter 10 we analyze the implications for Texas energy and environmental policies of the transition from the Obama administration to the Trump administration and the EPA now headed by former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt. Chapter 11 has a new section exploring the pace of a potential Democratic Party return to competitiveness in Texas, often called Purple Texas, as the most likely driver of major tax and policy change in the state."--Provided by publisher Texas pride, like everything else in the state, is larger than life. So, too, perhaps, are the state's challenges. Lone Star Tarnished approaches public policy in the nation's most populous "red state" from historical, comparative, and critical perspectives. The historical perspective provides the scope for asking how various policy domains have developed in Texas history. In each chapter, Cal Jillson compares Texas public policy choices and results with those of other states and the United States in general. Finally, the critical perspective allows readers to question the balance of benefits and costs attendant to what is often referred to as "the Texas way" or "the Texas model" and to assess the many claims of Texas's exceptionalism. Through Jillson's lively and lucid prose, students are well equipped to analyse how Texas has done and is doing compared to selected states and the national average over time and today. This text is aimed at students and professors of Texas politics who want to stress history, political culture, and public policy. New to the Fourth Edition Fully updated to include the most recent Texas elections and political events Covers the 2019 legislative session Highlights new population data, with projections forward to 2050, recently released by the U.S. Census and the Texas State Data Center. Explores the dramatic increases in Texas oil and gas production and their impact on global and U.S. prices and on the profitability and the viability of many Texas producers in light of the recent plunge in prices. All figures and tables include the most recent data available. Texas pride, like everything else in the state, is larger than life. So, too, perhaps, are the state s challenges. Lone Star Tarnished, Third Edition approaches public policy in the nation s most populous "red state" from historical, comparative, and critical perspectives. The historical perspective provides the scope for asking how various policy domains have developed in Texas history, regularly reaching back to the state s founding and with substantial data for the period 1950 to the present. In each chapter, Cal Jillson compares Texas public policy choices and results with those of other states and the United States in general. Finally, the critical perspective allows us to question the balance of benefits and costs attendant to what is often referred to as "the Texas way" or "the Texas model." This is used best as a supplementary text for instructors of a course on Texas Politics who want to stress history, political culture, and public policy