SENATOR SHAPLEIGH ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF "TEXAS BORDERLANDS: FRONTIER OF THE FUTURE 2009"
April 9, 2009
"In Texas today, the American dream is distant. Texas ranks 43rd in home ownership rate and 50th in homeowner's insurance affordability. We have the highest percentage of uninsured children in the nation, are dead last in the percentage of residents with their high school diploma, and are near last in SAT scores. Texas now has America’s dirtiest air. On the streets, interest rates on payday loans exceed 1,100 percent per annum. If we do not change course, for the first time in our history, the Texas generation of tomorrow will be less prosperous than the generation of today. Our great state needs a change of course."
Written by Senator Eliot Shapleigh, www.shapleigh.org
AUSTIN - Today, Senator Shapleigh announces the release of the fifth edition of "Texas Borderlands: Frontier of the Future," which details many of the issues facing the 43 counties of the Texas-Mexico Border.
On so many issues, what happens on the Border today affects all of Texas tomorrow. From immigration to health care, from public education to voting, this Report has up-to-date information which may be of use in making policy, writing grants or analyzing issues.
"In Texas today, the American dream is distant. Texas ranks 43rd in home ownership rate and 50th in homeowner's insurance affordability. We have the highest percentage of uninsured children in the nation, are dead last in the percentage of residents with their high school diploma, and are near last in SAT scores. Texas now has America’s dirtiest air. On the streets, interest rates on payday loans exceed 1,100 percent per annum," Senator Shapleigh said. "If we do not change course, for the first time in our history, the Texas generation of tomorrow will be less prosperous than the generation of today. Our great state needs a change of course."
The full Report may be found on Senator Shapleigh's Web site, www.shapleigh.org, under the "Reporting to You" tab. Below
Below is a full list of chapters:
Chapter 1: Demographics of the Frontier of the Future
Chapter 2: Higher Education in the Texas Borderlands - "Learning & Earning"
Chapter 3: Ground Zero of Health Care in America
Chapter 4: Access to Capitol and Credit
Chapter 5: Public Education - "Investing in Our Future"
Chapter 6: The Environmental and Economic Consequences of Border Industrialization
Chapter 7: The Border Workforce - Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities
Chapter 8: Housing Challenges Along the Border
Chapter 9: "Bridging the Digital Divide in the Texas Borderlands"
Chapter 10: The State of Border Transportation and Security
Chapter 11: “The Texas Tax System: Inadequate and Inequitable"
Chapter 12: Immigration - Lifting the Lamp Beside Texas' Door
Chapter 13: Voting - Democracy's Front Line