Texas State Government Gives Middle Finger To Houston

About a month ago, after Harvey had finally moved on from Houston and the Gulf Coast, I wrote that the problems for that area were just beginning rather than ending. Little did I think that the Republican dominance of state government would be one of the problems that Houston would confront. But I guess you can never underestimate the abject cruelty and naked partisanship of hardcore Republicans these days.

Right now, Houston's sidewalks and front yards are littered with waste, some of which may be toxic, that needs to be collected and disposed of. FEMA will pick up a large portion of this cost but the city of Houston would still be on the hook for around $25 million. The city's emergency funds have already been depleted and its Democratic mayor believes that it will need between $50 million and $100 million for its full recovery effort. Accordingly, the mayor proposed a temporary property tax hike in order to raise the money the city needs. That was, of course, met with immediate and strong opposition.

But the proposal for a temporary tax hike would not have been necessary if the state government actually cared about the city of Houston. The state of Texas is flush these days, with the government sitting on a $10 billion surplus. But, in response to an emergency request for Houston's mayor, Republican Governor Greg Abbott indicated that none of that rainy day budget should be touched until the 2019 legislative session. Abbott says that Houston's mayor "has all the money that he needs" and that "In times like these, it’s important to have fiscal responsibility as opposed to financial panic." Republican State Senator Paul Bettencourt represents Houston but echoes Abbott, saying Houston should be "using the funds that are already there to avoid a tax increase." Of course, the reason Houston's mayor is asking to tap the state's rainy day fund is because its own funds are not there.

This attitude toward Houston is nothing new. The state's education funding system leaves Houston and other large cities at a disadvantage. The state also intervened to ensure that the city had no idea what kind of dangerous materials were being used in and around Houston, contributing to the disaster at the Arkema plant. The state government's lack of involvement also contributed to the lack of a real development plan and a real flood control program that could have mitigated the Harvey disaster.

This attitude infuses the Republican party at almost all levels and signifies the urban/rural divide throughout our country and politics. As Christopher Hooks writes about Texas, "we have a state government that sees its largest generators of economic activity — the six metropolitan areas in which more than half of the state lives — as some kind of threat, either because of their values or the demographic and political threat they represent to the Republican Party. You might hope Harvey would temper that, but don’t hold your breath." Sadly, as the disaster in Puerto Rico makes clear, the comment applies to more than Texas.