I have repeatedly drummed on the problems in public education here in Texas. Well, just to keep you up to date there are three other pieces that have come across my desk in the last 24 hours in reference to education. Taken together with liberaltexans reporting and the context out of our past, they paint a pretty scary picture for our future.
First there was a report out of New York on the long term impact of excellent early education, especially excellent teachers!
Economists have generally thought that the answer was not much. Great teachers and early childhood programs can have a big short-term effect. But the impact tends to fade. By junior high and high school, children who had excellent early schooling do little better on tests than similar children who did not - which raises the demoralizing question of how much of a difference schools and teachers can make.
There has always been one major caveat, however, to the research on the fade-out effect. It was based mainly on test scores, not on a broader set of measures, like a child's health or eventual earnings. As Raj Chetty, a Harvard economist, says: "We don't really care about test scores. We care about adult outcomes."
Early this year, Mr. Chetty and five other researchers set out to fill this void. They examined the life paths of almost 12,000 children who had been part of a well-known education experiment in Tennessee in the 1980s. The children are now about 30, well started on their adult lives.
[snip]
The Case for $320,000 Kindergarten Teachers Students who had learned much more in kindergarten were more likely to go to college than students with otherwise similar backgrounds. Students who learned more were also less likely to become single parents. As adults, they were more likely to be saving for retirement. Perhaps most striking, they were earning more.
All else equal, they were making about an extra $100 a year at age 27 for every percentile they had moved up the test-score distribution over the course of kindergarten. A student who went from average to the 60th percentile - a typical jump for a 5-year-old with a good teacher - could expect to make about $1,000 more a year at age 27 than a student who remained at the average. Over time, the effect seems to grow, too.
Recently there has been a national conversation about race and racism, but this conversation has been inadequate at best and detrimental at worst. The problem is that the conversation has not been about racism as a systemic and institutional problem, but the conversation has been about whether or not individual acts of prejudice constitute racism. This conversation then completely ignores the structural problems that create racial disparities, and therefore completely misses the point of what our national conversation about race should be about. Perhaps the most significant source of structural racism is the United States justice system, where justice is not always blind.
According to a recent study, a defendant accused of killing a white person in North Carolina is nearly three times as likely to get the death penalty than someone accused of killing a black person. This study looked at death sentence in North Carolina over a 28 year period, and examined 15,281 homicides in the state of which 368 resulted in death sentences. The results of the study where that the odds of receiving a death sentence in cases where the victim was white were 2.96 times as high as the odds in cases with black victims. This finding is not unique. According to another study, blacks who kill whites are significantly more likely to face the death penalty in Maryland than are blacks who kill blacks or white killers
Race is not only one of the determining factors in who receives the death penalty, but in who is stopped by the police, especially when police are racially profiling. In New York 575,304 people stopped and frisked by the New York Police Department last year, and information was gathered on individuals being detained to build a database on citizens who had not committed any crime. According to a report by New America Media, 87% of those who where detained where people of color. While Governor Paterson recently signed a law that made it illegal for police to randomly detain and frisk individuals and to compile their private information, this illustrates another example of the structural racism that exists in the justice system.
According to a new report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Texas ranks 34th nationally in a state-by-state study on the well-being of America's children. There are also significant areas in which Texas is among the worst in the nation, and these ranks represent a failure in many of the public policies instituted over the last two decades.
Texas is among the very worst in preventing teenage pregnancies. The teen birth rate in Texas in 2007 was 64 births per 1,000 females ages 15-19, which is considerably higher than the national rate of 43 births per 1,000. Texas ranked 48th in the nation in teenage pregnancies, and only New Mexico and Mississippi ranked higher. This follows a nationwide trend of increased teenage pregnancies. According to a report by the Guttmacher Institute, after a decade of declining teenage pregnancies the nationally teen pregnancy rate rose 3% in 2006, which reflected an increase in teen birth of 4%. The report notes that the cause of the decline in teenage pregnancies in the 1990s was due to more and better use of contraceptives among sexually active teens. However, during the 2000s sex education programs aimed exclusively at promoting abstinence, and these programs have lead to increasing teen pregnancy rates especially in states such as Texas.
The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes Lois the corpse flower a restful and well-earned dormant period as it brings you this week's blog highlights.
WhosPlayin posted a document explaining the link between benzene and natural gas drilling and production operations, and examining a few recent air quality studies in the Barnett Shale.
Off the Kuff took a look at campaign finance reports for Harris County candidates and State Reps. Along the way, he answered the burning question "What kind of man subscribes to Glamour magazine?"
If you write off Rick Perry as a political prettyboy you do him a disservice and you fall into a trap that his critics seem to never quite overcome. Goodhair is a posturing, preening, parasite who has found the good life by using his political office to grow prosperous. He serves the usual set of Republican suspects - corporations, the affluent, fundamentalists, etc. All this is well known. What is not appreciated is his absolute mastery of hiding this servitude under the bushel basket of bureaucratic detail and obfuscation.
The short sloganized version of this tale has to be: "Rick Perry is too busy polishing his image to worry about innocent inmates facing the death penalty."
Perry's contributing culpability in everything from the TYC scandal to the torching of the govenor's mansion has never been the stuff of headlines, or at least, of enduring cycles of news coverage. Why? I answer because the decisions and inept governance that these sordid events highlight are spin by Perry as bureaucratic foul-ups which makes him the victim of everyone's favorite bete noir - The Big Bad Unelected Bureaucrat! Don't blame me Perry says, blame that little gray guy or gal over there in the cubicle.
So, when last year the Innocence Project raised the all too real specter that Mr. Death Penalty had refused to stay an execution even though there was credible expert testimony indicating that the convicted was NOT guilty Perry pulled a Perry, he used the arcana of the Texas bureaucratic process to stall the investigation. Rick Casey explains:
Dousing a troublesome arson probe Last fall, two days before one of the nation's top arson scientists was about to appear before the commission to explain his harsh criticism of evidence used to help convict Corsicana man Cameron Todd Willingham of deliberately setting the fire that killed his young children, Gov. Rick Perry abruptly named Bradley, district attorney of Williamson County, to replace the commission's founding chairman, Austin defense attorney Sam Bassett
Vyan over at Daily Kos has written an excellent piece about MSNBC's Rachel Maddow's deconstruction of Fox's race baiting and the Republican Party's most recent southern strategy of scorched earth politics.
This week the Congress passed a $34 billion dollar extension of benefits to Americans who have been out of work for more than 26 weeks, and these benefits where passed along party lines with the Republicans in the Senate blocking the benefits for weeks. Congressional Republicans argued that the benefits should not be passed unless a corresponding amount of budget cuts could be made, however, another argument that Republicans have offered is that unemployment benefits themselves are a disincentive to find work. At a time when long term unemployment is high than at any time since the Great Depression, and there are five workers applying for every one job these arguments seem ludicrous. The unemployment benefits will help 2 million struggling Americans, and the extension of benefits will last through November.
The idea that unemployment benefits will unacceptably add to the deficit is a relatively weak argument, considering that the fall in consumer demand if unemployment benefits are not extending in the long run will add more to the deficit in lack of tax revenue. Also, it seems a bit disingenuous for Republicans to lecture anyone on deficits or government spending. According to analysis by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, significant causes of our current deficits where due to the 2001 and 2003 Bush Administration tax cuts (which by the way Republicans are still arguing doing not need to be paid for with corresponding cuts in the budget). The other idea that unemployment benefits are a disincentive for people to find employment is another weak argument when you consider that there are not enough jobs for American workers. What these arguments are about is plain and simply politics.
That would be the G.W. Bush era of criminal incompetence, an unnecessary oil war in Iraq and U.S. economic devastation 2000-2008.
On the NBC Meet the Press show on Sunday, TX Senator John Cornyn and TX U.S. House Rep. Pete Sessions clearly revealed the core belief system and agenda of the GOP.
First, the GOP is completely bereft of ideas and solutions for repairing our broken economy. Nor does the Republican Party have any plan on any table for creating new jobs for unemployed Americans.
Instead the GOP is totally focused on the negative and the cold-hearted: obstruction, obfuscation and the repeal of both health care and financial reform should the Republican Party take control of the U.S. Congress.
Repeat. The GOP has absolutely no viable ideas, solutions or plans for the future. The GOP is instead consumed and driven by racism as well as hate talk, fear mongering and lies.
The debate over immigration has been pushed into the national conversation since the Arizona state legislature passed Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, otherwise known as SB1070. Since Arizona Governor, Republican Jan Brewer, signed SB1070 into law there have been seven separate lawsuits filed against the law, including a lawsuit filed by the United States Department of Justice. In federal court last week Judge Susan Bolton heard arguments from both sides of Salgado v. Brewer, and this week Judge Bolton will hear arguments in the case brought by the Justice Department. These lawsuits argue that the law is unconstitutional on different grounds including that it violates civil liberty, that it causes racial profiling and that it is an unlawful regulation of federal immigration law.
This law has come at a significant price to Arizona. While the state is facing a budget deficit of more than $4.5 billion dollars, the law is going to cost the state millions of dollars. In addition to the $10 million in initial cost of implementing the law, county and municipal law enforcement agencies will be forced to spend millions of dollars enforcing the law. According to the Immigration Policy Center law-enforcement agencies in Yuma County alone will have to spend between $775,880 and $1,163,820 in processing expenses; jail costs would be between $21,195,600 and $96,086,720; attorney and staff fees would be $810,067-$1,620,134; and additional detention facilities would have to be built at unknown costs. Arizona will also be affected by Latino and immigrant populations that may migrate to states with less hostile environments towards these populations. According to a 2008 study by the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy at the University of Arizona, the Latino and immigrant generated $10.2 billion in state economic output, and generated tax revenues of roughly $776 million.
Stay with me on this one as it can be a little technical to follow. I will try to make plain what our friend Commissioner Staples appears to be up to. In essence is it about corporate friendly control over broadband access and the limiting of competition in its provision. My bumper sticker/30 second sound byte would be: Staples whores for Big Broadband - Rural Texas is road kill on the Broadband highway!
You should know for starters that rural areas are severely underserved by current broadband suppliers. No news there, rural Texas also gets the short end of the educational resources as well. But this inequity has a real bite on the larger stage of international commerce. The US lags behind in access to broadband and this hurts us.
Staples draws fire over broadband map contract A March study by two Philadelphia organizations - Digital Impact Group and Econsult Corp. - estimated that the U.S. loses more than $55 billion a year in economic activity because of spotty access.
So, closing this digital divide is not just a matter of equity, but of economics. Big Broadband is not in love with the thought that they will be forced to provide broadband to Podunk - no big bucks in that prospect. Along comes the government providing money to map broadband available, hopefully documenting the holes in the coverage. This would in turn produce pressure for Big Broadband to fill these holes, and/or provide funds for smaller local providers/competitors. What to do? Rig the mapping process/outcome!
Now that a financial reform bill has passed the U.S. Congress and the Republican Party continues to show its unbridled contempt for the jobless while it falls all over itself protecting the Bush tax cuts for the rich, the American people are beginning to wake up and smell the coffee.
A just-released Gallup poll now gives Democrats a 6-point lead among registered voters in the generic Congressional ballot. With Wall Street reform awaiting the signature of the President, the American people are beginning to pay attention, and they are starting to realize that this election is a choice: A choice between a party that wants to move forward and make progress - however imperfectly - and a party that has made a political decision to obstruct everything.
Meanwhile, Republicans continue to fully embrace their Scroogeconomics policies.
The Texas Progressive Alliance has never lost containment and needs no relief wells as it brings you this week's blog roundup.
Neil at Texas Liberal visited the Houston Museum of Natural Science and took a picture of the corpse flower. The flower will smell like rotten flesh when it blooms. This has been a major topic of conversation in Houston over the past week.
McBlogger wants to know, Why is Todd Staples whining about Hank Gilbert being mean? Wasn't Staples the one who personally leveled personal attacks before the primary was over? Turns out, Staples can't really give a punch or take one.
BossKitty at TruthHuggeris totally irritated by endless political talking heads. Republicans refuse to define the term ENTITLEMENT, because it is what they target to slash. They will only speak in very broad terms. Answer That Question Republicans!
President Obama has accomplished more in his first half term than any President since FDR.
This is why the Republican Party is screaming and howling day in and day out. The programs implemented by the Obama Administration will offer an economic life line to everyday American people. Some of Obama's policies have seriously inconvenienced big business and big insurance, too. And this why the Republican Party has been threatening to repeal health care and financial reform the second it can get control of the levers of power.
But we are not going to let Republicans take back the power are we?
Dostephen's recommended diary on the Southern strategy and its latest iteration in the Tea Party reminded me that we are probabaly gonna need to talk about race to racists this election cycle.
Video blogger Jay Smooth has some good advice for when we do.
Bill White raised more money from more contributors than Rick Perry.
From the White campaign.
Strong fundraising results show momentum building for Bill White
Over 16,000 contributors back successful businessman, popular mayor
HOUSTON -- At the end of the last filing period on June 30, more than 16,000 supporters had contributed to Bill White's campaign for governor, propelling White towards November with over $9 million cash on hand.
Grassroots support for White is strong. More than 75 percent of individual contributors gave $100 or less and over 11,700 new contributors joined the team this period.
"Texans from all backgrounds and political viewpoints see Bill White as someone who's in it for Texas. People in over 200 Texas counties have generously contributed to the campaign, and over 11,700 contributors this period were first-time donors," said Scott Atlas, Campaign Finance Chair. "There's a growing sense that Texans are ready for a new governor."
In the first two fundraising periods after entering the governor's race, White raised more dollars than Perry. Between late February and the end of June, contributors poured more than $7.4 million into White's campaign, with more than $16.6 million raised for his campaign for governor since December 4.
Bill White has raised more money from the grassroots while Rick Perry's pay to play politics and his overwhelming support for corporate and special interests over those of the people has yielded fewer contributions.
Rick Perry has circled his wagons around avoidance and accountability.
The Governor of Texas is on a 24/7 rampage to avoid questions and he refuses to be held accountable for his policies, agendas and decisions for the past decade.
Rick Perry must be growing rather desperate for the Governor seems to have engaged the services of PR spin doctors to coach him on how to deflect his Enron type of accounting schemes that delivered a $18 billion budget short fall. The Governor is also trying to flee from taking responsibility for his house of cards methodology for measuring the state's K-12 school performance.
The spin doctors' solution for cowardly and frightened career politicians?
Blame the coward's own evil doing on Washington, the federal government and the coward's opponents and critics for cowardly, reckless and irresponsible policies and decisions.
A bunch of debt? Rick Perry should know all about debt, junk science and voodoo math. And it has nothing to do with Washington, D.C. and the federal government.
Steve Benen over at the Washington Monthly Blog asks a very important question this morning, what do we do when an entire political party moves to Bizarro World?. I don't think there is an easy answer . I blogged last week about Who is Killing Our Democracy and argued that it was our elites, especially our politicans and the talking heads of the MSM.
But Steve's analysis brings home the fact that the political blame is not evenly divided. Republicans must bear the greater guilt. In discussing the multiple crisis we face, there is NO other reasonable conclusion. Therein lies the problem, the reasonable part. For to discuss our current situation reasonably, we must agree to be reasonable, to appeal to facts and not ideological presumptions. Sane people on all sides of the Liberal/Conservative/Moderate-Independent divide can do that. Not so Tea Baggers, Dittoheads, and rabid partisans of the left or right.
A recent article from the Boston Globe tells us How Facts Fail.
While Rick Perry slashes social services for children and the elderly, our welfare loathing Governor appears to be incapable of cutting back on his own taxpayer funded living expenses.
While there is an $18 billion budget shortfall, the state's schools rank second to last in the U.S. and Texas has the highest number of uninsured residents, the Neiman Marcus loving millionaire Governor expects taxpayers to pony up for his Gourmet Magazine subscriptions, fine wines, pate de foie gras and thousand dollar drapes.
Nat-Wu triumphantly returns to Three Wise Men to write about the possibilty of a double-dip recession and even a third depression on the economic horizon.
This is very bad news for Texas. I find it uncanny that I learned about this sad state of affairs from outside of Texas on the Nation.com, of all places, on the very same day that Rick Casey of the Houston Chronicle wrote an expose about the TEA. It seems that the rest of the U.S. has been aware of something that the public in Texas has not been informed about, at least until very recently.
From The Nation.com.
A recent report from Education Week and the Editorial Projects in Education (EPE) Research Center shows that the nation's graduation rate dropped for the second consecutive year, following about a decade of improvements. Three out of every 10 American public students will fail to finish high school, but in Texas that dropout rate increases to about 35 percent, according to the report.
Moreover, Dallas and Houston are named as two of 25 national "dropout epicenters" from whose high schools come one-fifth of all dropouts. Texas policymakers seem wholly unaware of this crisis, since the Texas Education Agency calculates the graduation and dropout rates in a manner that puts them at 88 and 12 percent, respectively. At schools like Robert E. Lee in Houston, where in 2008 the federal calculations placed the graduation rate somewhere in the thirties, those numbers seem almost comical.
