Relief for our Coastline

I completely agree with this blog post about relief efforts on the coast. It is appalling to me to see the devastation that is still prevalent after Hurricane Ike, the debris and lack of resources that are available to the citizens of the devastated area is not acceptable. You are absolutely right that now is the time for Rick Perry to sponsor a permanent relief program and also ensure that the Texas Department of Insurance is regulating the Insurance Companies on the payment of claims.

I am not sure which one is more appalling, the fact that these people are still living in FEMA trailers months after the event or that they are getting $8,000 for their hurricane ravaged homes that were insured for much more. The Insurance companies play upon their policy holders and the lack of their understanding of insurance laws and requirements so they can get away underpayments of claims, delayed payments and sometimes even denying the claim.

Disaster relief needs an overhaul on a state and national level, until these issues get reformed; citizens living on the coast will continue to be at risk of not having adequate resources when disaster strikes.

Judicial Mayhem

The Court structure in Texas is so confusing. It is simply amazing to me that anything gets done within the Judicial System. There are 3 distinct problems in my mind, the number of layers, the educational background required for some of the lower court levels, and the election system.

The court structure in Texas is so confusing; there is no need for 5 layers. I think the court system could be narrowed down to 4 layers, Municipal Court, County Court, District Court, and Court of Appeals (Supreme and Criminal Appeals). The confusion comes in when there are multiple court systems that overlap in the cases they hear. Even within the County level, the jurisdiction is overlapping. This simply is not necessary. The Municipal Courts should be combined with the Justice Courts; they cover for the most part the same jurisdiction. The County courts should have 2 courts, the County Court of Law and the Probate Court. The District Court remains as is, but the Court of Appeals seems to be one more level of court system to have to go through. There should be a panel that reviews if an appeal can go to the top level, but does not need to be another level of judiciary chaos.

The educational requirement for some of the lower courts is almost appalling. I can’t believe that you do not need to at least have a degree in law to be on some of these lower courts. I feel that while you may not need to have “seat” experience, you should at least be well versed in the law for all levels of the court system, this should include a degree in Law at the minimum. I think without this the citizens of Texas are being dealt a great injustice.

The final major issue is the election system in which they are forced to participate. I think that all judges should be appointed by the House and affirmed by a 2/3 vote in the Senate. While this will not alleviate the partisan issue entirely, it will help. Judges should not have to worry about where their campaign dollars come from and if their judgment is in line with the party they represent. Their ruling should always be based on the law, and we need to alleviate anything that might change that.

Until this issue is addressed, our judicial system will be broken. This is one area that impacts all citizens of Texas and should be at the forefront of the issues the legislature works to fix.

Response on Quality of life for the elderly

After reading the Blog on When does Quality of Life End? I was appalled about the statistics of nursing home abuse and the number of facilities had been cited. How scary to know that you may be putting your loved one into the care of a monster, who might abuse them in ways unimaginable.

I agree with the author, something must be done. A start is passing a bill to enforce stricter enforcement on hiring requirements for care giving facilities. I truly hope they do not stop there. The punishment for this type of abuse should be harder and come with stiffer consequences.

The thought of anyone putting a loved one into a facility only to find out they are abused has got to be a horrific event that will forever change the life of all involved. The Nursing Home industry should really work on the requiring more structured education as well as continuing education classes in required subjects, as well as scheduled mental evaluations.

Until we start taking care of our elderly as we take care of our children, we will continue to see senseless abuse and deaths of our mothers, fathers, aunts and uncles.

Texas – Headed for a Recession?

With all the uncertainty in the US economy with the failing banks, housing markets in a shambles and the unemployment rate continuing to climb; it is refreshing to read about the state of the Texas economy.

David Dewhurst has stated that Texas is in pretty good shape for now, but 2009 might not be as health once they account for the cost of hurricane Ike. However, the fact that Texas is not facing a deficit as of yet, leaves me in utter amazement, and gives me a great deal of hope that the state economy will make it through this time of economic downturn.

It appears that the political leaders of our state are very conservative with the state budget, and are continuously working for the people of the state of Texas. The rainy day fund has been maintained to assist with unexpected state expenses, and should be able to hopefully cover most of the expenses from Ike. The state brought 26% of the nations new jobs to Texas; this is really encouraging that the state employment rate continues to grow. We still see companies laying-off workers within some of the industries, but there is a bit of hope that there are new jobs still coming to the state.

I feel pretty optimistic about the Texas economy; the leaders of our state have positioned us to be prepared for economic hardships while still looking out for our interests. If they continue some of the key initiatives they have begun and keep them at the forefront of their efforts, the state should be able to avoid a detrimental recession.

A Pocket full of Gold?

There are 2 Propositions on the table for Travis County this November 4th. While the 1st Proposition is important, it is the 2nd Proposition that is getting the attention from the Austin American Statesman. Proposition 2 would change the City Charter and forbid the City Council from granting financial incentives.

I have to agree with the columnist, if this truly is all there is to Proposition 2. If you take the ability for the City to provide incentives to businesses coming into the area, you are essentially dictating the fate of the City of Austin. One of the big reasons we have high tech companies and a booming economy compared to the rest of the nation, is because of those very incentives. You cut those out, you might as well kiss the economy goodbye.

While the columnist seems to have a great deal of knowledge of the tax break plan that was made with “The Domain” developer, he does not give enough information as to why a voter would want to vote “no” other than expensive lawsuits that will cost the tax payers. Unless the proposition document spells out that it will break current contracts that the City has made with previous developers, I can’t imagine that all contracts will need to be written to conform to this new policy. This would be economic suicide for sure.

I have to sometimes wonder, as I am sure we all do, why frivolous proposals such as this ever get to the ballot. Something such as this, that could detriment a city in such a volatile economy simply does not make since. It almost makes you wonder if someone’s pockets are getting lined with gold if it passes.

Are Incumbents always the right vote?

In the Editorial, by the Editorial Board of the Austin American Statesman, regarding the Williamson County elections, I found a few things very peculiar; one was the fact that none of the Libertarian candidates got no more than a slight mention. Why is this, do they not have a view on the issues that they are concentrating on? Does the paper not believe that their view is important enough to print? The second issue that I have is that the Incumbents that they mentioned in the piece all had mostly one year of experience and did not make a strong case as to why they were the better candidate.

With a little bit of research it was easy to find that the Libertarian party supports some of the same issues as the major party candidates. It would have bee beneficial to see how the party approaches some of the key issues of Williamson County.

The four Republican Incumbents that were covered had great information. The opposing Democrats had little details except for Democrat Gregory Windham, he had the longest piece in the article except for Dan Gattis, and that is only because Mr. Gattis had done something with his 3 terms in the House of Representatives. This editorial does not show any reason why these incumbents deserve a second or forth term. I highly doubt that anyone should recommend a candidate that “has worked on road projects”.

I think it is important for everyone to practice their right to freedom of speech, but if you are going to publish an editorial on the candidates, make sure you cover all the candidates, that is the only way voters can make an educated decision.

Laws are for Politicians

It is things like this that give the distinct impression that some of our law makers are corrupt and deceiving the public, and out for their own agenda. As much as Tom Craddock has been in the news over the past few years, the last thing voters of the state of Texas need is to know that this Tom Craddick is in business dealing with an undisclosed lobbyist. State law requires them to disclose a Company’s name in which they are in dealings with; however, they do not have to disclose the Lobbyist name they deal with.
This is conflict of interest at its finest. If I am in a business dealing with a company, and my passing of a bill or not passing it is going to benefit the company I am involved with, you better believe I am going to protect my investments, and if anyone of these political figures tell you they don’t; they are lying.
In 2006 a grand jury found that the state’s disclosure rules were pathetic and stated that the Texas ethics laws are less than desirable. If these laws are not strong enough to police our lawmakers from corruption, how are we as taxpayers supposed to trust that these politicians are working for our interests and not for their pocketbook?