Originally posted by Toad
Or should we decide based on what Bush has done/not done in the last 3+ years as POTUS and what Kerry has done for the last 20+ years as the Junior Senator from Massachusetts?
Or what he did running Texas
EDUCATION under George W. Bush:
Out of 50 states, TEXAS scored:
3rd from Last in High school completion. (2)
15th from Last in Teacher salaries when he became "Gov." (1)
13th from Last in Teacher salaries at beginning of 2nd term. (1)
From '89 to '99 average teacher salaries went DOWN 1.1%
(in constant $'s) !
Dead Last in Teacher salary plus benefits. (1)
SAT (combined math & verbal scores ) (13):
Score of 995 = 7th from Last in 1996
Score of 995 = 6th from Last in 1997
Score of 995 = 7th from Last in 1998
FAMILY VALUES under George W. Bush:
Out of 50 states, TEXAS rates:
Dead Last in # of poorest counties in country. (3)
2nd from Last in # of children living in poverty. (3)
2nd from Last in # of children without health insurance. (3)
Highest number of people stripped of Medicare benefits (10)
Dead Last in % of poor working parents without insurance. (3)
2nd from Last in % of population without health insurance. (3)
6th from Last in Child support collections (3)
5th from Last in Teen Birth Rate. (4)
3rd from Last in Hunger Rate.
3rd from Last in Per capita funding for public health. (4)
4th from Last in Delivery of social services. (4)
6th from Last in # Mothers receiving prenatal care. (9)
CULTURE under George W. Bush:
Out of 50 states, TEXAS rates:
3rd from Last in Quality of Life in Texas
(Spending for parks and recreation) (7)
3rd from Last in Spending for the arts. (7)
5th from Last in Public libraries and branches. (8)
3rd from Last in Affordable Housing (12)
7th from Last in Home ownership (2)
Dead Last (i.e. highest) homes insurance rates in the nation (11)
4th from Last in Spending for police protection(12)
3rd from Last in Quality of place to raise children. (9)
(was 22nd from Last BEFORE Bush!)
Teen drug use - down nationally, but up 30% in Texas. (5)
Teen smoking - down nationally, NOT in Texas (5)
Dead Last (i.e. highest) # of executions (per capita) (11)
ENVIRONMENT under George W. Bush:
Out of 50 states, TEXAS rates:
Dead Last in # of Smog days.
Dead Last in Pollution released by manufacturing plants. (6)
Dead Last in Pollution by industrial plants.
in violation of Clean Air Act. (6)
Dead Last in Greenhouse gas emissions. (6)
2nd from Last in Spending for the environment. (7)
3rd from Last in Spending for parks and recreation. (7)
5th from Last in Water Resources Protection.
God bless you, TEXAS, if YOU were happy
with such a governor. The rest of the country
would have been eternally grateful to you
for keeping him there !
Sources:
(1) National Education Agency.
(2) U.S. Department of Education Office
of Educational Research and Development.
(3) U.S. Bureau of Census, Current Populations Trends.
(4) U.S. Dept. Health and Human Services:
National Center for Health Statistics.
(5) 1998 Texas School Survey of Substance:
Use Among Students: Grades 7-12, Texas.
Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse.
(6) U.S. EPA, Office of Pollution and Prevention .
(7) Texas Observer.
(8) Statistical Rankings by State.
(9) Children's Rights Council.
(10) Families USA
(11) National Association of Insurance Commissioners
(12) U.S. Bureau of Census, State Government Finances 1998
(13) College Examination Board