pols 2312 - two

State Legislature and Governor in Austin determine:

Speed limits

Mayor and City Council members in your city determine:

How and where you can build your home or open a business.

State and local officials

Establish punishment for violations ranging from jaywalking to murder.

Estimated that some Texans pay

10-13% of their income to the state and local govt.

State and Local Govt collect the most visible taxes you pay. Such as:

1. Property tax

2. Sales tax

3. Lottery (voluntary)

The Texas Legislature determines how much money the state will allocate each university. Resulting in:

Increased tuition

You are expected to participate in state and local elections an average of

Once every six months

State and local government

have a more direct and dramatic influence on your daily life.

State and local government

enact most of the laws that affect your life.

While we pay much more to the federal government

we still pay a significant amount to the state and local government

We elect

1. Lt. Governor

2. Attorney General

3. Controller

4. State Senators

5. State Reps

6. Judges

7. Mayors

8. County Commissioners

9. Sheriffs

Governing system of Texas is divided into four parts (input/ output method)

Input: Contributes to the actual decision making institutions that make up Texas government.

First, the government of Texas can only be understood under the context of the history, geography, political culture, economics, and demographic nature of the state.

Second, the political decisions of the state leaders are a reflection of the people who choose to participate (voting, contacting, campaigning, or running) by means of interest groups or political parties.

Output:

Third, the government is defined by the institutions that make, implement and evaluate public policy (legislative, executive (government), judicial (courts)

Fourth, the end product= public policy. Laws passed and implemented by the government address problems and improve the quality of life for all Texans.

Legislature

makes laws

Executive (Government)

implements laws with the help of the bureaucracy.

Judicial (Courts)

determine if the laws are applied fairly and legally.

Our decisions are made based on

our own unique set of values, experiences and demands.

Context affects politics in four ways

1. Who plays? (who gets involved in the political process)

2. Who pays? (which people tend to pay more to the government? The rich? the poor?). Since Texas is a regressive state, the poor tend to pay more than the rich.

3. Who wins? (who gets the money back from the government?). Often times the wealthy win.

4. Size of the price (while the budget of Texas is large, the size of the price is small per person). A reflection of the attitude that everyone should be independent and help themselves.

Political Culture

a set of beliefs, sentiments and attitudes that give meaning to the political process. Determines how government works in the state.

Individualistic Culture

(The Northeast and Midwestern states= Pennsylvania)

Dominated by the importance of the needs, wants and desires of individuals. Minimal government involvement.

Moralistic Culture

(The Great Lakes states= Minnesota)

Government is good and can provide assistance to those who cannot help themselves. People in this culture look out for the good of the commonwealth.

Traditionalistic Culture

(The Southeastern states= Georgia)

Focuses on the elitist culture and making sure that things do not change very much. Decisions are made by the elites. The poor do not have much say. Origins go back to the slavery culture. (In between the other two).

Texas is a combination of what type of cultures?

Traditionalist and Individualistic cultures.

Daniel Elazar

Coined the terms moralistic, individualistic and traditionalistic

2 types of modern political landscape

Partisanship and Ideology

Partisanship

will help you to determine the degree to which being a democrat or republican will help or hurt your changes of re-election.

Political Ideology

A particular approach to governing that a person accepts, focusing on the degree to which government should be active and involved in various aspects of daily life.

Conservative Ideology

One in which voters prefer limited government intervention on financial matters (min wage, welfare) and more intervention on social issues (abortion, prayer).

Liberal Ideology

It's the opposite of conservative ideology. They are more interested in government intervention in welfare, taxes but do not want govt involved in issues such as abortion, prayer, etc.

Boardroom Republicans

Concerned more about money matters. They want a government that is free-market, low taxes and care very little about social issues.

Bedroom Republicans

Concerned more about moral issues and what the government is doing about them

Tea Party Movement

Began as an anti-tax movement.

Conservative Democrats

Similar to boardroom republicans. They look at politics through the lens of economics. Limited state taxes and social spending.

Moderate Democrats (Liberals)

They are in favor of social spending in welfare, education but are also pro-choice, pro-gay rights and anti-school prayer.

Battle of the Alamo

A fight for Texas independence. Texas lost and later gained its independence by defeating Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto.

First Period= Civil War (1861-1865)

Texas voted to sucede from the US and join the Confederate States of America.

Second Period= Reconstruction

The national government ran and controlled everything in Texas. They wanted to reconstruct by reincorporating the southern states into the US

Last Period= Post Reconstruction

Texas had developed a bitter attitude toward Republicans, African Americans. Yankees and the national government. These views continued to dominate Texas politics for the next one hundred years.

Populist Movement

An effort to create a third party dedicated to uniting the farmers and rural voters with the urban worker to create a true working class party.

Where did the first oil strike take place?

In East Texas at a place called Spindle Top. On Jan 10, 1901 the Hamill Bros of Corsicana struck oil. Spindle Top changed the face of Texas economics and politics forever.

Pro-business interest

Came at the expense of the poor. Prevented the poor from voting.

Ross S. Sterling

The only true liberal to ever serve as governor of Texas.

Shivercrats

Those who voted for both Democratic Governor Alan Shivers and Republican President Dwight Eisenhower.

Tea Party (2009/2010 the rise of the party)

Primarily Republicans who hold tightly to conservative values of lower taxes, lower business regulation and conservative positions on social issues.

What year was Texas admitted to the union?

1845, becoming the 29th state to come into the union. Only state to be accepted into the union with a simple majority vote in Congress.

Economies of Scale

government costs less per person in a large state (the cost is calculated across more tax payers).

Diverse Economy

not relying on a single industry to get by.