Last place in education first in minimum wage jobs...

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Tim

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Under the last 10 years of Rick Perry, Texas has slid down into the abyss.

Texas is the worst state when it comes to education. They place 50 out of 50 when it comes to proportion of people over the age of 25 that have a high school diploma. Worst in the country.
Texas also has the highest proportion of minimum wage jobs in the country.

So the majority of Texan's have not graduated high school and earn minimum wage... Is that what the republicans want for the country?

Every time I hear Rick Perry on the news, he is talking about how many jobs he has created while governor of Texas. But is that what America needs, where everyone is uneducated and works for minimum wage? I bet his corporate masters are very pleased....
 
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retro

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I'm interested in seeing the actual numbers... not that I don't believe you necessarily, but you've also been known to spin things to support your point. :p
 
Tim

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retro said:
I'm interested in seeing the actual numbers... not that I don't believe you necessarily, but you've also been known to spin things to support your point. :p
Click to expand...

Here are some links for you...

http://www.bls.gov/ro6/fax/minwage_tx.htm
Look at the chart at the very bottom of the page, you will see that Texas has the highest percentage of people working at or below minimum wage at 9.5%

Here is a link with sources showing they are (http://www.texaswatch.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Myth-Stat-layout-3.pdf)
1st in Job Site Fatalities
50th in Workers comp coverage
1st in percent uninsured
50th in average credit score
1st percent minimum wage workers
50th affordability of homeowner insurance
48th Percent with Employer-Based Health Coverage

Now onto education...
http://www.brookings.edu/metro/Stat...ta=Percent&year=2008&geo=state&zoom=0&x=0&y=0
That's a link from the Brookings institute that show education by city, location or state.
When you select by state, you will see that Texas is in 51st place with only 79.6% of people 25 and over with a high school diploma or equivalent.


Would you like any more stats?
 
Accountable

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Starting this year the bar is raised substantially. I'm optimistic about this new system. It has an actual end-of-course exam rather than an exam based on grade level.
Previously, if a student had to repeat biology but had enough credits to be considered a 10th-grader, he would take the 10th grader test, which focused on chemistry. Really stupid.

Here's the Dems' anti-Perry website:
http://meetrickperry.com/

Here's Perry's site:
http://www.rickperry.org/
 
BadBoy

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Someone has to flip the burgers and sweep up the elementary schools. :dunno

Why most of the states in the US have adopted Texas's End of Grade testing is beyond me, it does nothing but handicap the teachers's ability to teach.
 
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retro

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Not to be racist here... but you also have to look at the demographics.

Here are the high school graduation numbers broken down by ethnic background in the four Mexican border states.

Texas - (#45 in per student spending)
79.9% Graduation Rate - 51st
White - 91.7% (45.3% of population)
Black - 85.0% (11.8% of population)
Asian - 85.8% (3.8% of population)
Hispanic - 57.5% (37.6% of population)

California - (#23 in per student spending)
80.6% Graduation Rate - 49th
White - 93.4% (40.1% of population)
Black - 87.4% (6.2% of population)
Asian - 85.8% (13% of population)
Hispanic - 56.7% (37.6% of population)

Arizona - (#48 in per student spending)
84.2% Graduation Rate - 38th
White - 92.5% (57.8% of population)
Black - 88.2% (4.1% of population)
Asian - 87.4% (2.8% of population)
Hispanic - 62.5% (29.6% of population)

New Mexico - (#33 in per student spending)
82.8% Graduation Rate- 43rd
White - 94.2% (22.1% of population)
Asian - 89.7% (1.4% of population)
Black - 88.5% (2.1% of population)
Hispanic - 70.0% (46.3% of population)

Notice that Hispanics have a far lower high school graduation rate than do people of other ethnicities. Is it a cultural thing? I honestly can't tell you for certain what it is... but the numbers speak for themselves. When you have a cultural group that makes up nearly 40% of your total population, but has a high school graduation rate of under 60%, that's saying something.

That's not to say that Texas doesn't have issues that it needs to resolve either. But I want us to consider one other state in this discussion.

New York (#1 in per student spending)
84.7% - Graduation Rate - 36th
White - 91.2% (58.3% of population)
Black - 80.6% (15.9% of population)
Asian - 77.3% (7.3% of population)
Hispanic - 63.3% (17.6% of population)

Statistically speaking, New York isn't a whole helluva lot different than Arizona in terms of graduation rate. New York is 36th and Arizona is 38th. Yet New York is #1 in per student spending while Arizona is #48. Maybe it's not about the amount of money that you spend, but rather the work ethic and perhaps culture of the students and their families.

As far as the job creation in Texas goes.

I live in California, and my company is involved in the agriculture industry... which accounts for a lot of those low paying jobs that you're seeing in Texas. California has an absolutely horrible business climate, to the degree that we've been ranked last in the nation as the least business friendly state. That's led to a whole lot of businesses leaving California. Texas has lots and lots of empty land, empty land that would be put to great use by farmers, dairies, and other ag-businesses. Every year, the largest Ag Expo in the world is held in Tulare, CA... and I go there with my company for one day. In walking around the different exhibit/vendor halls... I noticed that Texas had booths setup all over the place. In the Dairy Center as well as in a number of farming centers. Why is this? Because Texas is trying to lure businesses, ag and otherwise, to their state. There's a reason why Texas is ranked #1 for businesses while California is ranked #50. My company has seen a number of our clients move from California to Texas, and I know of a decent amount of dairies in a 100 mile radius of me that have moved or are considering moving there as well. Well, with agriculture you're going to see a large number of lower paying jobs... largely filled by Hispanic workers that haven't graduated high school.

Texas has less stringent regulations... and that's not to say that regulations are all bad, but the ones we have here in California have strangled our economy. The cost of utilities is far less than it is elsewhere, the cost of land is less expensive, the cost of fuel, commodities, etc., are all lower than California and elsewhere.

Now don't get me wrong here, I'm not really supporting Perry here... I didn't vote for him for Governor when I lived in Texas, and I doubt I would vote for him for President if he won the nomination. But you can't just throw numbers around with digging deeper into them than you did.
 
BadBoy

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retro said:
Notice that Hispanics have a far lower high school graduation rate than do people of other ethnicities. Is it a cultural thing? I honestly can't tell you for certain what it is... but the numbers speak for themselves. When you have a cultural group that makes up nearly 40% of your total population, but has a high school graduation rate of under 60%, that's saying something.
Click to expand...


Its because the prime hours for standing outside Home Depot (or Lowe's, your pick) also happen to coincide with the hours of school.


Too soon? :ninja
 
Panacea

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My latino boyfriend is an economics major with a chemical engineer for a father so I'm not offended :p
The only time they stand in front of a Home Depot is on their way to pick out sinks. :24:
 
Minor Axis

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Now that I live in Texas, (cursing my wife as I say it :p*) I'm very happy my kid is out of school. Texans love Perry. He's so macho. That is the most important thing about leading.

You know that is the only way to run most small business. For the owner to live the "good life", employees must be paid a pittance. We are moving to this business model on a National basis at all levels. This is a good reason to despise Capitalism and consider alternative economic models.

*Ironically my wife wanted to be closer to her aging parents after I made her live in the frigid North for 25 years, complains about Texas every day. She compares it to a 3rd world country.
 
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retro

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Minor Axis said:
Now that I live in Texas, (cursing my wife as I say it :p*) I'm very happy my kid is out of school. Texans love Perry. He's so macho. That is the most important thing about leading.

You know that is the only way to run most small business. For the owner to live the "good life", employees must be paid a pittance. We are moving to this business model on a National basis at all levels. This is a good reason to despise Capitalism and consider alternative economic models.

*Ironically my wife wanted to be closer to her aging parents after I made her live in the frigid North for 25 years, complains about Texas every day. She compares it to a 3rd world country.
Click to expand...

What kind of fucked up part of Texas do you live in? Third world country? The greater San Antonio and Austin areas sure as hell weren't like that when I lived there, and neither was Amarillo. The closest I can come up with was when we went to the Nederland area after Hurricane Rita, but a hurricane had obviously just ripped it apart.

But yeah, let's get rid of capitalism and put redistribution of wealth socialism in its place? Hell, might as well just go to full blown Communism for that matter. Would that make you happy? Erosion of civil liberties in the name of "fair" treatment for all?
 
Tim

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IDK, just from the stats I posted earlier it's closer to a third world country than any other state :dunno
 
Tim

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retro said:
Did you bother looking at anything that I posted? Oh, and have you actually ever been to Texas? :p
Click to expand...

I read everything that you posted... and if what you are saying is correct, then Texas IS the closest state to a third world country, right?

I didn't say it was the same, I said it was the closest out of the 50 to becoming like a third world country.
 
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Tim said:
I read everything that you posted... and if what you are saying is correct, then Texas IS the closest state to a third world country, right?

I didn't say it was the same, I said it was the closest out of the 50 to becoming like a third world country.
Click to expand...

If high school graduation rates are what determines whether or not a country is considered part of the third world, then you might have a point.
 
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