Same-Sex Marriage and Texas' Economy

Texas should legalize same-sex marriage, not only to have equality, but also to boost the economy.

I don’t see why same sex couples aren’t allowed to get married in Texas. If one person loves another person, then I think that it shouldn’t be the up to the government or anyone else as to whether or not they can get married. It should only be the business of the couple getting married. These couples are going to be together anyways, so why not allow them to have the benefits of marriage? They should be able to get the social security and tax benefits that married couples receive. It’s not fair that there are more states that allow cousins to get married than there are states that allow same-sex marriage. Criminals are allowed to get married and even strangers in Las Vegas are allowed to get married- just as long as they aren’t of the same sex.

In addition to having equality, legalizing same-sex marriage in Texas would add millions of dollars to the state and local economy. A study by the UCLA Williams Institute, the amount of money spent on wedding arrangements and tourism for same-sex marriages would amount to $181.6 million for the state and local economy over the course of three years. This would also help create many more jobs and the wedding planning industry would boom. Rather than having same-sex couples from Texas leave the state and get married elsewhere, Texas could be the one attracting same-sex couples from other states and further help its economy.

I think that the pros outweigh the cons when legalizing same-sex marriage in Texas. Same-sex couples would get equality and the benefits of marriage, while Texas’ economy would prosper from these marriages. I think that in this situation, everyone wins.  

Tax-Payers' Money Used for Pizza

An article written by Christopher Paxton explains how over $200,000 of tax money is being used to build a Gattiland in Taylor, Texas. His main audience would be citizens of Taylor because they are the ones who should be aware of this issue and could possibly do something about it. He is also a credible source because he is a Budget and Fiscal Policy Analyst for Empower Texans, so he is familiar on the topic. Paxton makes it clear that it is not fair to use tax-payers' money to make this pizza restaurant, especially when some of those tax-payers have their own pizza restaurants right down the street. I agree with him and believe that it is not fair that these restaurant owners are having their money be used for their competition. The justification for building this $200,000 Gattiland was that the area didn't have enough youth hangouts which leads to a weakness in the local economy. Although this might be true, I think that the people of Taylor, Texas should have been able to have a say in what would be built and where. I agree with Paxton when he says that it is unfair for the city to use taxpayer money to stimulate certain businesses and not others. This makes it unclear on which businesses get stimulated and which don't, and there should be a more fair method of choosing this. I also agree with Paxton when he says that the citizens of Taylor should want a change in the type of leadership they are getting. They need to understand that there are decisions being made that they may not know about and that may affect them in the future.

A Public Transportation Mindset

Amanda Haight wrote an article about public transportation and the recent adoption of the 2014 Austin Strategic Mobility Plan (ASMP) by the Austin City Council. This is a $1 billion project and it would include creating a new urban rail. Haight’s intended audience seems to be Austinites since those would be the people to use this new form of transportation and she is a credible source because she is from Austin and giving her take on the issue at hand. She believes that it is not a good idea to build the new rail system until Austinites adopt the mentality of a public transportation based lifestyle. I agree with her and believe that just because a new urban rail is created, doesn’t necessarily mean people will give up driving their cars to use it. This would require them to change up their routine and there may be some people that don’t feel like doing that. There were even supporters of light rail who came to the meeting to oppose the ASMP proposition. Haight makes the point that if people who normally support a light rail are saying that it is a bad idea, then that probably means that some more thought should be put into this product before a billion dollars is invested into it.

Haight also mentions the public transportation in France, where she studied abroad, and says that everyone there has the mentality of a public transportation based lifestyle. People there don’t really use their cars because the cities were developed around the transportation systems. However in Austin, the transportation system would be built into a city that is already established. I agree with her point about the mentality they have in France because I just recently got back from studying abroad in Spain and they did the same thing. Everyone uses public transportation to get around because it has always been there. As Haight has stated, if we are going to spend a billion dollars on this new rail, then Austinites would need to be willing to adopt a public transportation lifestyle first.

UT President Forced to Resign

On July 8^th, an article was written by Richard Whittaker about the controversy surrounding Bill Powers’ job as the president of the University of Texas at Austin. Powers was being forced to resign by UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa, and UT staff and alumni were not happy. The issue seemed to stem from whether or not Powers was abusing the admissions process by allowing friends and family members of lawmakers to get into the UT Law School. Powers says that he will step down in a year, but Cigarroa wants him gone this week and Cigarroa is already scheduled to quit later in the year. I don’t know why Cigarroa is so adamant to get Powers fired, and public figures such as Sen. Rodney Ellis and Board Chairman Charles Matthews have even stated that Cigarroa’s actions are making matters worse for both UT and the Board of Regents. Since I am a student at UT, this decision will affect me and my education. This article is a good read and gives a lot of insight to the tension between Powers and Cigarroa as well as other political members.