Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

AUSTIN, February 7 - Texas has the largest percentage of children without health care, and one Texas state senator is not mincing words about what he feels is a major contributor to the problem.

“What happened under (Gov.) Rick Perry was the acceleration of decline in Texas health care numbers,” said State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso.

“Why? Because of the Grover Norquist philosophy,” he added, explaining the philosophy of the Republican tax-cut strategist as one where “leaders care more about tax cuts than caring for kids.”

Shapleigh’s statements came in advance of today’s scheduled press conference, where he will discuss the findings of the fourth edition of Texas on the Brink: How Texas Ranks Among the 50 States. Shapleigh will begin his address at 10 a.m. in the Lt. Governor’s Press Room in the Texas Capitol.

According to the publication, Texas also ranks last in the percent of insured non-elderly and in the amount of tax expenditures per capita.

“In his (Perry’s) State of the State speech he said ‘The state of our state is good,’” Shapleigh added. “For too many Texans, health care is not good; 5.8 million Texans have no health insurance.”

According to Texas on the Brink, family health insurance premiums rose about 87 percent from 2000 to 2007, while average earnings rose about 15 percent.

“Not a single city in Texas, not one, even reaches the national average of citizens with health insurance,” Shapleigh said, adding that along the Texas-Mexico border some fair even worse.

“Along the Texas border, communities have less access to health care and doctors and nurses than anywhere in America.”

In his presentation today, the senator plans to outline five major health care issues he said will face the Texas Legislature this session. He added that in order to change the current state of affairs in the Lone Star State, he and his colleagues must have the “courage to believe.”

“Every day (with) every vote, we’ll see,” he said.

Included in his critique of health care in Texas is information reflecting the state ranks in the bottom 20 percent in the categories of physicians, dentists and registered nurses, has the second-highest birth rate and the fifth-highest percentage of overweight children.
The ominous data explores areas other than health care, revealing what some could consider statistics just as sobering.

In terms of income inequality, Texas has the fifth-highest income disparity between people considered “rich” and those considered middle class. It ranks ninth in income disparity between the “rich” and the “poor,” according to the publication. Texas continues to have the highest occurrence of executions, the second-highest rate of incarcerations, the fifth-highest rate of larceny and vehicle theft and eighth-highest property and overall crime rate.

Texas ranks third in the percentage of people living below the federal poverty level and also in its percentage of population with food insecurity. The teenage birth rate percentage in Texas in the highest in the United Stated and its cervical cancer rate is six, according to the figures presented. On average, more women live in poverty in Texas than in 47 other states in the nation.

Environmentally, Texas’ ranks are abysmal. According to Texas on the Brink, the state has the highest level of air pollution emissions, amount of volatile compounds released into the air, amount of toxic chemicals released into the water and amount of carbon dioxide emissions.

In the area of civic duty and responsibility the publication indicates Texas is no better there than in its respect for the environment.

Texas ranks 42nd nationally in its percentage of its voting age population that is registered to vote.  In the category that some could argue reflects a state’s ability to truly change its government, Texas also ranks last.  

According to Texas on the Brink, the state ranks last in the percentage of voting-age population that actually casts a ballot.

Texas also has the third-highest number of convicted public officials.