Proposition 2: Suspension, Abolition, or Maintenance

Although I’ve heard and read very little or nothing about Texas or local politics in recent months-I am tempted to say over the last two years- because of the election, I have seen signs for months urging voters to vote for Proposition 2, and last week I saw a sign urging voters to vote against it. Since I couldn’t vote on the proposition while voting two weeks ago, I decided to investigate the propositions this week and have vowed always to be prepared when I go to the polls.

I consulted KVUE website (http://www.kvue.com/news/top/stories/101708kvue_prop2-cb.121983946.html) and a proposition 2 website (http://www.stopdomainsubsidies.com/?page_id=6). Steve Alberts, a respected newscaster for KVUE, reported the facts of the story without advocacy at 6:21 PM on October 17^th, 2008. My second website is an advocacy website for the proposition and shows a pro-advocacy bias. The audience, of course, is Austinites. Proposition 2 bars the city from giving developers tax abatements according to the agreements of the City Council of 2003. If repealed, the present existent abatement agreements would no longer be honored by abatement sales tax or any others in the future.

The classical argument between big national business and small and local businesses has ensued. The Austin Chamber of Commerce is against the proposition and has collected $ 250, 000 to advertise and lobby against Proposition 2. On the other hand, five hundred small Austin businesses, such as the Alamo and Opal Divine’s, are for Proposition 2. The arguments of big business are standard. National chains and corporations bring capital and jobs to Austin. Further, they attract investment and other corporations, thus growing the economy. Austin mayor Will Wynn worries that the city’s bond rating would be affected and there would be millions of dollars worth of law suits. However, Brian Rogers realized that the agreement would cost 65 million dollars and saw it as a bad deal. He initiated and won the law suit and regarding this matter and got a ruling that the city could walk away from agreements at any time without recourse from the businesses involved and without damages. So Will Wynn is fibbing and manipulating the public like a good politician. However, a citizen can see his legitimate worry over bond ratings and the growth of the city through investment and national corporate involvement for the general economic welfare of the city. Big business is good for the city of Austin.

On the other hand, citizens, small businesses, and other proponents argue that home grown businesses are being hurt and also create jobs without getting large government tax breaks. They feel that it is a pity to subsidies a high end and upscale shopping center like Domain. Opponents argued that Domain, Endeavor Development, and Simon Properties, the largest such entity in the world, is unnecessary. Proponents feel that distributive justice is not being served. Does this sound like the conflict between the republicans and democrats or the same basic ideological debate?

However, the argument of the proponents of the debate do make some cogent points which make reasonable the suspension of subsides at least in the short term. Tax abatements can help the economy. In this case, proponents argue that because of budgetary problems the city has cut 50 positions, raised the solid waste fees, has a problem with fees for road construction, and has instituted a rolling closure of public libraries, the abatement agreement should be amended. I add that the economic crisis will make thing worst for the city. Perhaps, this is not the time to give a 65 million dollar tax break to a luxury mall.

Not This Time

The editorial board of The Texas Observer claims that it is non- partisan, but it espouses liberal causes. This is clearly evident from the editorials in the most recent edition, which deal with the local reactions to the national election in Houston, Dallas, and the South in general in all its lead articles. For example, the titles are “Turning Houston Blue,” “Blue Day Rising,” and “Not This Time.” It seems that the national campaign is taking up all the oxygen and local and state news not being covered. I did not even know that there was a Senate raise going on until last week when the ad campaign of Senator Cornyn was analyzed on NPR. He is so confident that he will win that he has a cowboy ad that says nothing. His race has only been mentioned two times since, but every stumps speech of McCain and Obama is aired on NPR. They make the same talking points again and again ad nauseam. So for all practical purposes there is no state and local news until after the election.

But to get back to the point. Let me say that the Texas Observer is an echo chamber for the few liberal democrats, its audience, in a “red hot state.” According to the most recent demographic statistics, there are a hundred thirty-five liberals in the state, most of whom reside in Austin.

I have chosen to review “Not This Time” because it deals with southern racism. George Ripps interviews Gerald Britt in this article. Ripps and Britt claim that McCain and Palin are appealing to latent Southern racism. The only “proof” or evidence for this argument is that Palin said that Barack Obama does not “see America like you and I.” In other words, he sees America as a black man and exotic academe. Britt thinks, and presents no evidence for it, that the polls are higher for Obama because of the “Bradley Effect.” Those polled say they will vote for Obama because they do not want to appear racist. Ripps and Britt make two other points. Obama has not discussed racial issue because it would appear to the general public that he had an Afro-American agenda. Obama is inhibited because he can never appear as black as Hillary and Palin can appear female.

Lastly, Britt and Ripps comment on Obama’s passed-white mother and grandmother/black father, Indonesian primary education, and Harvard Law Degree. This clearly proves that Obama is dangerous and exotic. In brief, Britt, the president of public policy at Central Dallas Ministries, is expressing his opinions from his personal observation and his knowledge about how PR works. Many commentators have made these points. The article shows little use of evidence and logic and the opinions are based on the authority of Britt and Ripps. However, they do reflect the feelings of the local ministry in Dallas about racist biases. Britt and Ripps conclude that the public will not be fooled. “Not This Time.”

The Feminization of Texas and the Energy Crisis

Michael Ennis in his article ‘Drill Team” intertwines several themes, specifically the history of the legislation on offshore drilling, the introduction to it as a campaign issue by McCain, the interaction over the issue by the candidates and their “flipflaps,” given poll numbers, a serious discussion of the oil problem over the course of next twenty years, and a “true picture” of the oil reserves in the U.S. It is interesting that American favor offshore drilling two to one, when McCain brought up this bogus during the spike in gas prices. Now that the price of oil is down below 90 dollars per barrel and all bets are off, in my opinion, on energy independence and alternative sources of energy. Ennis also mentions that the Green River Basin of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming has more oil than all the reserves of Saudi Arabia. Since this statement was in the Texas Monthly, I have no reason to doubt it. But just as in the case of L.A., it is impossible to level these states and establish a huge oil field. By the way, the oil offshore would take ten year to reach the consumer and would only amount to a small addition to our oil supply.

So what does this have to do with Texas? Texas would have to decide whether to drill more offshore. But the connection that Ennis makes to Texas is that Texans have stopped buying the Ford F. series of pickups, which has been a best seller in Texas for over 31 years. Remember everything in Texas is Rouged and Big. Instead Texans are buying the Honda Civic which is Pretty. In other words, the gas crisis has feminized Texans and caused a cultural earthquake. I might mention that the article is a quick and dirty way of learning about the energy crisis and the candidate’s political duplicity.

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