Education Power

Education plays a significant role in people’s lives. It provides us the opportunity to become a productive member of a civilized society by acquiring all the necessary skills. School is indispensable in order for people to earn skills and knowledge. However, the problem is it costs too much.

According to Texas Tribune, the tuition in Texas went up by an astounding 147% between 2002 and 2015. From upper-middle class to poor are struggling with paying for their children’s college. The Texas government provides Bobcat Promise which guarantees free tuition and mandatory fees. Yet, It is required that family income is lower than $35,000 per year. Therefore, the middle-class family still struggle with their children’s high-cost tuitions. It seems there is no hope for them.

My classmate Luis Hurtado posted his blog talking about the Senate bill 32 and 33. Senate Bill 32 would provide free-tuition for Texas students whose annual household incomes are less than $100,000. It is called the Texas B-On-time Loan. The purpose of the Texas B-On-Time Loan program is to provide eligible Texas students zero-interest loans to attend colleges and universities in Texas. If the student meets specific goals, the entire loan amount can be forgiven upon graduation. Senate Bill 33 would provide tuition-free, in-state access to Texas community colleges. According to the Texas Promise Grant Program definition the main requirements are students must be a Texas resident, have graduated from a high school or received an equivalent certificate within the last 12 months, be enrolled in an eligible associate degree program or certificate program, be enrolled at least part-time, apply for financial aid, and keep their GPA at least 2.5, and so on.

I consider these requirements are decent and fair. These bills have not passed the state legislature yet due to state budget problem. If they pass the legislature, Texas will be a great state because I believe that high education creates great people, and great people create a bright future.

Cherish Mother Earth

The Earth, which is the only human habitat,is warmed by sunlight and the temperature of the earth is kept comfortable by greenhouse gases. If there are no gases, the earth’s average temperature would be negative 19 degrees Celsius, so greenhouse gases are necessary for human beings and other organisms to survive. However,Greenhouse gases have been increasing from human activity since the early twentieth century. The world’s population has been steadily growing, so carbon dioxide production and the burning of fossil fuels has grown alongside it and is extremely high. These emissions increase greenhouse gases and excessive gases raise global temperatures. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),Texas' coal-fired power plants are one of the largest polluters in the state, even ranking ahead of oil refineries and natural gas-fired power plants. Electricity generation and transportation are the two large sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Travis County. The total amount of greenhouse gas emissions for Austin-Travis County in 2016 was 13.7 million metric tons. Electricity generation accounts for 41 percent and transportation accounts for 36 percent of the total number of greenhouse gas emissions. Compared to 2013, the greenhouse gas produced from electricity generation decreased by 5 percent and carbon dioxide from transportation decreased by just 1 percent. Furthermore,greenhouse gas that was emitted from industrial processes increased by an astounding 68 percent. 

Greenhouse gases can cause global warming, which in effect, has many negative impacts on humanity, such as health issues. Rising temperatures from global warming can also negatively affect children. Higher temperatures increase death, especially among fetuses, toddlers, and young children. When temperatures increase with other conditions, such as high humidity,disease, or pollution, it can directly cause heat exhaustion and worsen other conditions, such as asthma, yellow fever,onchocerciasis, and trypanosomiasis. Unfortunately, these conditions often have long term consequences. Therefore,children must stay indoors and stay cool during the hottest time of the day or hottest season of the year (Graff and Shrader,2016).

The Texas green budget is provided by the EPA. However, the Trump Administration is going to cut 31 percent of the EPA budget by 2020. It is obvious that it will affect the Texas environment. Therefore, the Texas government ought to reconsider the state’s budget in order to protect the Texas environment and Texans.

Another reference 

Zivin Joshua Graff and Shrader Jeffrey “Temperature Extremes, Health, and Human Capital.” Spring, 2016. pp. 31-50

Blog 6 Comment on Classmate Blog (Gun control in Texas)

In the last few years, gun control has been a very controversial topic in the United States. Last year in Florida, 17 students were killed and 17 others were injured by an active shooter. Survivors of this attack are still suffering from trauma, which seems to have no end. It is clear that the U.S. should focus more on their gun control system. The states of Texas allows citizens a permit to carry guns. It costs less than 100 dollars to take the LTC ( License to Carry a Handgun Class) and the time until completion and the receiving of a license takes very little time. This allows Texans the ability to carry guns with little to no effort. However, 3,513 people died due to gun-related incidents in 2017. Furthermore, an average of 609 children are killed or injured by guns each year.

In Carson Hagelman’s blog, he states that the majority of Texas Republicans do not want stricter rules on gun control, however, a large number of Texas Democrats want stricter rules on gun control. Hagelman says that if there were stricter rules on gun control, the rate of death by guns would decrease. I strongly agree with his opinion. It is extremely difficult to get rid of all guns in Texas and America, but it is possible to diminish victims of gun violence.

For instance, Japan, which is known as a very peaceful country, was a gun friendly country before World War II. The Second World War made Japanese people reconsider the concept of “peace,” so the Japanese government set strict laws on gun control. If Japanese people want to own a gun, they must attend all-day classes, pass a written test, and achieve at least 95% accuracy during a shooting-range test. Then, they have to pass a mental-health evaluation, which takes place at a hospital, and pass a background check, in which the government digs into their criminal record and interviews friends and family. It costs approximately 1,000 dollars and takes almost one year. After people finally get guns, they must report to the police. The police visit people’s homes to assure they are properly storing guns. Additionally, they can only buy shotguns and air rifles, but no handguns. In addition, they must retake the classes and initial exam every three years.

Gun control in Japan, combined with the prevailing respect for authority, has led to a more tuneful relationship between civilians and the police. The police choose to use sub-lethal force on people. For example, students with the police department are required to train in a martial art, such as Jiu-Jitsu, Ju-Do, or Aiki-Do, at a high level to become a part of the police force. Also, active duty police officers continue to train in their martial art techniques. Even Japanese riot police rarely turn to guns. Instead, they use martial art or a striking baton. In addition, off-duty police officers are not allowed to carry guns. In doing this, the police generate less widespread fear of citizens being shot, whether purposely or accidentally. Therefore, people feel less of a need to arm themselves. As a result of this effort, in 2015, only one person died by gunfire. The Japanese population in 2015 was about 127 million, therefore, the rate of death by guns was 0.0000000079 percent.

From the evidence above, there is still hope for Texas and the U.S. to diminish the tragic number of death by guns.

Drug abuse is a serious problem which the government should solve. Texas is a state with particularly strict laws regarding controlled substances and narcotics. However, the state’s laws are so complicated that the average person may find them challenging to understand or interpret, even though they are explained in the Texas Health and Safety 481.002(5). It includes thousands of compounds and substances, and the list is so exhaustive that I will say that nobody wants to memorize them. Additionally, Texas Health and Safety 481.102 states that a controlled substance is any substance found in Penalty Groups 1-4 as listed. I believe that citizens who use drugs do not carry a copy of them and check them when they attempt to use drugs. Even though Texas drug laws are strict, the rates of drug overdose deaths have been increasing. In 2017, 2,989 people died due to a drug overdose. This number is about 1.5 times higher since 2005. Furthermore, prescription drugs represent a large number of substance abuse cases and are also responsible for a large number of deaths in Texas. The Dallas Morning News stated that “In 2013, only 622 deaths in Texas were specifically blamed on opioids, mostly painkillers, according to the health services department. But the newspapers tallied 798 prescription-drug related deaths recorded by local medical examiners that year in just 17 of the state’s 254 counties”. The attitude toward prescribing varies dramatically from doctor to doctor. U.S. government has set affordable health care for individuals, families, and small business owners, so people living with substance use disorders can get special insurance now. Also, there is a law called  "Good Samaritan" which legally protects people who help people that are overdosing. Also, it makes more medication-assisted treatment options available for doctors and patients.

It is clear that the government should inform about Good Samaritan to doctors and people in order to prevent people from abusing drugs before they end up needing special care. Texas government must reconsider prescribed medication laws and warn American citizen about the harmfulness of prescription drugs. Also, they ought to make other controlled drugs lists and penalty lists which people can understand well. It inevitably takes time, but hopefully, the drug abuser population will decrease shortly.  

Government CANNOT Take People's Opportunities.

In Texas Public Policy Foundation’s blog article “Occupational licensing keeps many from driving toward prosperity”, Dr. Derek Cohen, the director of the Center for Effective Justice and Right on Crime at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Vance Ginn, Ph.D., director of the Center for Economic Prosperity and senior economist at the Texas Public Policy Foundation stated that In order to expand job opportunity and decrease crime rates, Texas should eliminate unnecessary occupational licenses. Cohen and Ginn consider that earning license coat is too much and this labor restriction raises prices, therefore, it decreases consumers’ consumption and their satisfaction. Also, these doctors say that Occupational licensing reform can reduce recidivism. They report that states that have high occupational licensing burdens increase new-crime recidivism but states that have low high occupational licensing burdens decrease it.

I strongly agree with their arguments. According to the blog, Texas requires that cosmetologist need 350 days of training, but emergency medical technician(EMT) need only 35 days. As a consumer, I care more about my life than my hairstyle. I want EMT to have high-quality techniques to save people’s lives. Also, labor restriction narrows people’s dreams. There are so many talented people who can provide high-quality services in the world; however, if they cannot afford to take courses to earn licenses, their high-quality talents will never come into the world. About recidivism, I believe that responsibilities make people grow, and workers feel companies rely on them make workers confident in themselves. Therefore, the occupational license can lead people to more responsibility, and that might reduce crime rates as well. It is clear that Texas should consider to fix these labor market impediments and make low-cost training and high-quality technicians. It can change a vicious cycle to an efficient cycle.    

Mexico--United States barrier has been a major controversial topic in America. According to El Paso Times, president Donald Trump has mentioned El Paso to justify his wall barrier policy. He states, “The border city of El Paso, Texas, used to have extremely high rates of violent crime — one of the highest in the country, and considered one of our Nation's most dangerous cities. Now, with a powerful barrier in place, El Paso is one of our safest cities.”
In the article “Violent crime in El Paso before and after border fence”John Shjarback, who is an assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Texas at El Paso, and Victor Manjarrez, associate director of the Center for Law and Human Behavior at the University of Texas at El Paso stated that the crime rate of El Paso has drastically decreased since 1995. However, it has not changed the crime rate since 2008 when the border wall was rebuilt. Therefore, the border wall cannot be the primary solution to reduce the crime rate in today’s El Paso.
   I agree with the previous mentioned opinions because as mentioned in the articles, local, county, and federal, such as U.S. Customs and Border Patrol have contributed to reducing the city’s violent crime rate by almost 500 percent over last few decades. This number shows that it is possible to reduce the crime rate without the wall. It is a fact that the border wall has been protecting the United States, but the crime rate has not changed. Therefore, president Trump and the government should consider another way to prove how much the border wall is essential to the United States of America.

On Tuesday, February 5th, Governor Greg Abbott addressed that he would make  bills to be passed faster than 60 days which the state requires. He mentioned the bills, such as school finance, would be increasing teachers salary, property tax reform, school safety, and disaster relief. Abbott showed his thoughts for children. He thinks that children need effective teachers in order for children to be well-educated. Therefore, he is trying to find out the way teachers earn their six figures salary. 
    House and Senate Democrats praised the governor’s effort to fix a school system; however, they pointed out that Abbott did not mention enough of the significant issues that he was supposed to work seriously. For example, the health care system which is always staying low rank in the states. Toni Rose, a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representative said, “Black women are dying at an alarming rate. We need to expand Medicaid” According to data from the Texas Maternal Mortality Task Force, 89 women died due to pregnancy-related causes in 2012. Black women are 2 to 6 more likely to die from complications of pregnancy than white women. Also, the study noted that approximately 50% of pregnancy is unplanned, and unplanned pregnancy can increase mortality. Majority of Maternal Mortality is preventable. It is obvious that Texas government must focus on people’s lives more than anything. If they expand Medicaid and reconsider the healthcare system, It will be possible that we can decrease the rate of maternal death dramatically.