Texas Governor Greg Abbott made recent news with his “parental bill of rights”, recognizing the growing frustration with teachers unions and declining quality in education, coupled with heavy handed responses to the pandemic from mandatory vaccines to masks. “We are pushing this principle of rights that will restore parents to their rightful role as the ultimate decision maker for their child’s education and health care. No government program can replace that role parents play.”
Abbott was Attorney General during the contentious Obama administration, but the work continues as Texas’ latest accomplishments involve successful lawsuits against the current Biden administration’s overreach. “[We sued and won], both in the trial court for appeals as well as in the US Supreme Court, [against the] vaccine mandate concerning OSHA. A president cannot issue an order that he doesn’t have any authority under the Constitution.”
Texas has now appropriated part of their budget to secure the border, a job the federal government has failed to do with Biden’s reversal of the “Remain In Mexico” policy, overturned by the Supreme Court and the defunding of the wall. “Texas is going to step up and do what needs to be done, to enforce the rule of law. We appropriated $3 billion in Texas taxpayer money to secure the border for two years, [with] 10,000 National Guards and 1,500 Texas Department of Public Safety officers apprehending people who come across [illegally. The federal government isn’t currently] arresting smugglers [or] human traffickers. Texas is now building our own border wall.”
Abbott joked about how the western border was also being invaded by Californians, but clarified that many moving to Texas are conservatives. “Texas is the state of opportunity, anybody of any economic status of any background can come to Texas, thrive and succeed, because of the model of government that we have created. No bureaucrat in Austin can run your business better [than you]. Our job is to stay out of your way. We partner with the businesses trying to help them because of this mathematical fact. The more [they] succeed, the more revenue [goes to] the state of Texas through the sales tax.”
Abbott cited Elon Musk who experienced Texas “moving at the speed of business”. It began with a phone call Musk made to Abbott two months into COVID, considering a move in April 2020. Musk needed to build a new factory and it was virtually impossible in California with the shutdown, regulations and permits, estimating a 5 to 10 year time frame to completion. The mile-long factory is now open, taking only 18 months to complete in Texas. Abbott credits a government that “accelerates permits, deals with all the regulatory agencies and says, ‘you got 10 days to get this done’.”
In addition, Texas is slashing property taxes, and made permanent its zero income tax by passing a constitutional amendment. Abbott sees right to work laws, at-will employment, contributing to Texas’ ranking by CEOs as the best US state for business 19 years in a row and the 9th largest economy in the world. U-Haul trucks going inbound to the number one state for interstate moves, Texas, are impossible to find.
In the end, Abbott sees more productivity as the solution to current problems like inflation. He boasts the cheapest gas prices, due to the fact that they produce their own oil. Texas also has no federal lands in the state. “One of the best things that we can do to reduce prices and for America is produce more. We’re working with the oil and gas sector to produce more oil. The federal government cannot stop us from producing..” In addition, he cites opening up ports 24/7 in Corpus Christi and Houston to ease the Los Angeles port crisis. “It was far quicker for them just to go to the Panama Canal through the gulf into Texas.” Results matter. Abbott and Texas have it in spades.
About the author: Marc Ang (marc@aib2b.org) is a community organizer in Southern California and the founder of Asian Industry B2B. He focuses on the minority conservative experience and is a lead proponent for the school choice initiative “Educational Freedom Act” in California. Marc’s book “Minority Retort” will be released in early 2022.