Saturday, August 11, 2012

No extra space exploration in Texas


In response to the post, Space Exploration in Texas, I’d like to say that while bringing more space oriented business to Texas could be great, I am against this idea.  Bazan states that, “If these businesses would like to come to Texas, the governor needs to negotiate with them in order to bring more jobs to Texas.”  I understand that for the aerospace engineer graduates this would be a dream come true, but one thing that is left from consideration is what happens to all of the jobs that were already in those areas where these new facilities will be built.  

Several leading companies from California and Washington are interested in areas of Texas to establish facilities for their companies and further research.  As I have stated before what is to happen with the industries and other businesses in that area?  Having these companies establish themselves in Texas may create jobs but I argue that they will just displace many people form their jobs. I say this because many of those areas thrive on local business activity within there counties.  If these out-of-state companies come in and give jobs but take the profits back to their home state, how will the benefit of "creating" new jobs out weigh the displacement of the old jobs?

Friday, August 10, 2012

Same-sex schools. A yes by administrators, a no by students

Austin’s Pearce and Garcia middle schools in Northeast Austin are talking about creating
two single-sex schools.  Of nearly 500 students, 81% said they would not be interested in this kind of school, according to an online survey done in May.  Board trustee Cheryl Bradley supports the creation of the separate schools because she believes that this could help lower teen pregnancies and dropout rates.
This is something district leaders have been considering for as early as the 2013-14 school year.
My opinion on this matter deals with the cost.  The district estimates it would cost $860,833 more to operate the two schools as single-sex schools in the first year than they spent for them in the 2012-13 school year.  Even though more money will be spent I feel that this cost could help cut other costs the Texas government takes care of, for example, healthcare resources.  I know that amount is only after the first year, so I’m making a judgment only by this information.  Separating children could lead to fewer pregnancies which could have cost Texas hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Board President Mark Williams said he doesn't know whether single-sex schools are the answer but said he knows something must change.
I agree with Williams in that a change is necessary.  I feel that this is a good time to make this change because next spring congress will be back in session, and this could be a very strong debate topic for our state.  To further strengthen this point I’d like to point out that according to the CDC 825,000 students in grades 6 to 12 are having sex each year.  Maybe by cutting back the time they spend with each other will help cut this number back and bring Texas out of the top 4 states in America with high pregnancy rates.

http://www.cdc.gov/prc/stories-prevention-research/stories/lowering-the-teen-birth-rate.htm

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Another view of the War on Drugs


I would like to comment on blog five of Government: Bigger in Texas.  I really enjoy this debate topic because it is constantly evolving.  I agree that making illegal drugs legal is a change that should happen, at least for a trial period.  What do we really have to lose from a trial?  As discussed before, people already purchase their goods from illegal sources so we would not be creating a brand new “product.”  

I also believe that keeping drugs illegal could keep or decrease the crime rate involved with drug cartels, in comparison to making them legal.  Don’t say I’m ridiculous or crazy yet, hear me out on this point.
Right now we all know that drugs, money, and violence have all seriously been connected to a lot of media coverage.  The war on drugs is not progressing.  But what if it could be worse?  Imagine, an individual has been living in Texas their whole life and they have been buying drugs illegally from a distributor in another country for the past 20 years.  This distributor knows everything about this person and their family.  Say that illegal drugs are now legal and this individual would be able to purchase their drugs sooner and at a more convenient place.  Do you think that drug lord will let his customer walk away that easy?  Unarmed salesmen at a car dealership don’t let potential customers walk away easily much less this drug lord who has no problem killing or resorting to some kind of violence just so they can make a profit.

So imagine that. Imagine that situation times 10.  I see a lot more violence and hurting of people’s families than what was originally happening.

This is just a thought that I feel no one ever looks at seriously, and I had to comment.