Blog Stage VI: Critique

In the blog post "Keep Texas Red", the author argues that Texas should remain a Republican state and be ruled under conservative policies.  The author does this by making comparisons to California, stating that overall California's government is "overall more corrupt and inefficient" than Texas and that "by nearly every measure Texas is better".  Although I think everyone is entitled to their own political ideology and opinion I disagree with these claims because they are factually unsupported. To say that California's government is more corrupt and inefficient because it is ruled by many Democratic policies is a subjective statement with no basis.
It is true that the cost of living in Texas is overall cheaper.  It is also true that Texas is business friendly and it doesn't have a state income tax.  The examples given as to why Texas is "better" is only in the economic sense.  There is no discussion of the overall well-being of citizens-- only that the public shouldn't rely on social services from the government because it would be considered a waste.  Furthermore, even though Texas doesn't have an income tax it still compensates for this by having a higher sales tax and property tax.
I don't think that a State should be considered "better" because it doesn't want to use citizens money to fund services to help their fellow citizens.  The author argues that people should "take personal responsibility" if they think the government doesn't do enough to help the poor rather than "forcefully take from others to support your projects and causes".  This argument implies that people in poverty and unideal circumstances choose to be in that position, which is far from true and why the government is utilized to help.  Using words like "forcefully take" also implies that the money used to fund public services is a negative thing--as if a service that helps aid the public for the greater good is a burden and something to resent rather than appreciate.
As a minority in America, I can recognize that life and opportunities aren't as easy to come by.  It is easy to say that opportunities are equal and everyone is able to earn what they get as long as they try.  In present day America it is sad but true that this isn't the reality.  It is easy to say that people need to just "volunteer" their time and "help raise funds privately" as a solution for the poor but this is not the case.  That is the attitude of keeping the rich people rich and poor people poor, an attitude of people that know privilege and can't empathize with those who don't.  It is with the help of the government that creates real solutions for people that can't help themselves.
Another thing to point out is that the government in Texas is extremely misrepresented.  Mainly comprising of middle-aged white males, and with the growing population of Texas the legislator is becoming less and less representative of the citizens that make up Texas.  If the legislator was made up of minorities and people that actually matched the citizens it represented, it is very likely that politicians would stand on the side that looked out for the well-being of the less privileged--aka the "liberal" point of view.