We are at an important turning point in the process of re-opening Texas. Today, Governor Greg Abbott announced a new phase in Texas’ reopening. It is another step in the right direction, but we still have much work to do. I am very concerned when I see politicians trying to use this crisis to further...
Almost nothing has remained immune from the global COVID-19 pandemic—including international transit. Countless plans have been canceled due to travel restrictions imposed by nations across the world as a result of the coronavirus. But legitimate international travel is not the only kind that has been affected. Migratory routes utilized by those who enter the United States illegally are experiencing...
These are unprecedented times with COVID-19, but we owe it to Texas to ensure that the cure isn’t worse than the disease with calls to expand mail-in balloting. We must ensure the integrity of one of our most essential rights as citizens—voting in free and fair elections. Because of the risks, including inaccurate rolls, vulnerability...
As of April 30, total Texas unemployment claims since mid-March have reached 1.5 million. This number is likely lower than the actual number of unemployed. To say that the state’s economy has taken a hit from COVID-19 lock-downs and the historical collapse of oil and gas would be an understatement. And the crisis also affects...
The Tyler Paper’s exceptional and thorough series, “Plaguing Prisons,” is helping to shine the spotlight on how the coronavirus pandemic affects those in jails and prisons. Reporter Cory McCoy reminds us that the measures we’re taking to protect ourselves, from social distancing to frequent hand-washing and the use of hand sanitizers, are all but impossible...
Prison bars do a good job of keeping those incarcerated from getting out, but sadly they don’t keep viruses from coming in. Indeed, as of April 22, two of the top five locations in the United States for coronavirus infections were prisons in Ohio. Even if a prison never admitted or released anyone, staff and contractors come...
We’ve been sheltering in place now for months, or what feels like months, and I am continually tortured by hearing R.E.M.’s “It’s The End of the World” in my head. It may seem like this really is the end of the world—but it’s not. And I believe it is time to get that song out...
Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk threatened to move his company headquarters and manufacturing plant, California’s sole remaining auto factory, out of state — to Texas and Nevada. Neither Texas nor Nevada has an individual income tax and their corporate taxes are lower, as well. With California’s higher taxes, greater red tape compliance costs, higher labor and land costs, and...
It should come as no surprise that the coronavirus pandemic is taking a larger economic toll on our most vulnerable populations. A 2016 study by Pew Research Center found that at $17,100, the median net worth of black households was less than one-fifth that of all U.S. households ($97,300), meaning they have much less in savings, if...
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) issued its official employment report for April—or, in this season of COVID-19, more appropriately, the unemployment report. The topline is that nonfarm payroll employment fell by 20.5 million jobs, with the unemployment rate jumping 10.3% to 14.7%, the highest one-month jump since these statistics started being tallied in 1948. Some...
As someone who has researched American higher education for the past three decades, one thing I can tell you is that it involves a lot of numbers. A lot of graphs. A lot of percentages. What it doesn’t provide is a lot of clarity. Why? It’s not the fault of the numbers gatherers, who are...
Danger is lurking inside our state prisons, and we can’t afford to delay action on safe and reasonable measures to mitigate it. Already, more than 1,300 incarcerated individuals and 400 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 in Texas. More cases are imminent, and coronavirus could spread rapidly, overwhelming staff, incarcerated individuals, and the prison...