THERE ARE MORE OF US THAN YOU THINK - SPONSORED BY THE KENDALL COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

Hosts:  Laura Bray and Susan Dollar

Contact: https://kendalltxdemocrats.org/

Address: 216 E Blanco Rd Suite 201, Boerne, TX 78006

(830) 331-1243

Original Air Date:  October 26, 2024

Hi, I’m Laura Bray and I’m Chair of the Kendall County Democratic Party.

And I’m Susan Dollar, President of the Boerne Area Democrats. We’re here to chat about the ongoing election, the importance of voting, and issues important to Kendall County Voters.

You’re probably aware that there’s an election going on. Early voting is open now through Friday, November 1. You can vote at the Kendall County Courthouse Annex at 221 Fawn Valley Drive in Boerne. It’s open today until 7pm, tomorrow from 9am to 3pm, and Monday through Friday next week from 7am to 7pm. There’s also an early voting location in Comfort at the First Baptist Church that’s open today and tomorrow from 9am to 6pm. It’s at 100 Amber Drive.

We’ve had a record number of early voters. As of Wednesday, nearly 9,000 Kendall residents had cast their ballot, either at early voting or by returning their ballot by mail. That’s a turnout of 23%...in just three days.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 5 at any of eleven locations in Kendall County. All voting locations are open from 7am to 7pm. You can find a list of those locations on the Kendall County Elections website.

We urge every registered voter in Kendall to get out their and cast their ballot!

In presidential elections since 2012, Democrats statewide have steadily gotten closer to winning the state for the Democratic presidential candidate—we were only five and a half points away in 2020. And in 2016, Beto O’Rourke came within two and a half points of beating Ted Cruz.

The margins in Kendall County, of course, are wider, but we’re also steadily shrinking those margins. So we’re happy with the trends we’re seeing.

ISSUES

Next we want to chat about two of the issues that resonate with Kendall County voters.

The first is VOUCHERS: Public, taxpayer money should go to PUBLIC schools, not private, unaccountable, largely religious ones. Public schools/Friday Night Lights are the heart of most rural communities and often the largest employer (as in Kendall). Taking away more funds to fund vouchers will financially decimate rural districts. This is a HUGE issue in Texas, as the Texas Legislature starts its new session in January.

In the preamble to Article 7 of the Texas Constitution, it states: “A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preservation of the liberties and rights of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature of the State to establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools.” Article 7 (emphasis added)

In Texas, the public school per pupil funding is $6,160 but the voucher proposal is to give each student in private schools $8,000. 

????  The tuition for a private school here in Boerne ranges from$11,335 for Pre-K to $$16,085 per year for grades 9-12.  And that tuition doesn’t include the $1,000 new student fee, the $150 application fee, school lunches, athletic participation fees, fine arts fees, and required uniforms from Lands’ End or Tommy Hilfiger.

There are currently over 700 (719) students enrolled at this private school, which would mean a total of $5,752,000 going for private school enrollment instead of our public schools.

Republicans and Gov. Abbott are LYING about vouchers:

• It’s not “school choice” (as Republicans say) but “the SCHOOL’S choice.” Public schools educate all students. Private schools choose whom to admit, what to teach, and have no accountability.
• The majority of Texas voters do NOT want vouchers despite Republican statements that we do. The Fredericksburg Standard reported in earlier this month that 65% of voters in Gillespie County (a heavily Republican county) oppose school vouchers (Fredericksburg Standard, 10/9/2024).

Here are some other facts:

• Cost for voucher programs are astronomical. Arizona’s voucher program (enacted in 2022) “will likely bankrupt the state,” according to AZ Governor Katie Hobbs. Voucher costs in 2023 were over five times the $65M estimate. (Source: NEA)
• Boerne ISD employs over 1,500 people, three times the number of the #2 employer (HEB). School vouchers will divert even more funding away from public schools, necessitating draconian cuts in school budgets (and likely employment).

We urge you to vote for Democratic candidates who will vote against vouchers. Here are the names/races to look for:

Dwain Handley, Texas House District 19

Merrie Fox, Texas Senate District 25, who was endorsed by the San Antonio Express News.

Raquel Saenz Ortiz, State Board of Education, District 10

How about we talk about the economy? According to the Joint Economic Committee, the U.S. economy has performed much better under Democratic presidents than Republican presidents in the modern era.

Interestingly, the Economist just released a special report that illustrates that the US economy is the envy of the world.

The Washington Post featured an article that stated that by “just about every measure, the U.S. economy is in good shape. Growth is strong. Unemployment is low. Inflation is back down. More important, many Americans are getting sizable pay raises, and middle-class wealth has surged to record levels.”

And 23 Nobel Prize-winning economists endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris over Trump in a joint letter released this week, explaining that the Republican’s agenda would “lead to higher prices, larger deficits, and greater inequality.”

“Simply put, Harris’s policies will result in a stronger economic performance, with economic growth that is more robust, more sustainable, and more equitable,” the letter added.

The Nobel laureates aren’t alone. The Wall Street Journal also recently asked economists a related question and found that most economists think “inflation, interest rates and deficits would be higher” under Trump’s agenda than Harris’ agenda.

In almost every measure of the U.S. economy including total job growth, unemployment, economic growth, manufacturing job growth, manufacturing investment, small business creation, and contribution to the national debt, economic performance is stronger under Democrats. While there are many factors contributing to these trends, the throughline is clear that Democratic administrations consistently help the U.S. economy perform better than Republican administrations.

https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/democrats/2024/10/the-u-s-economy-performs-better-under-democratic-presidents    October 7, 2024

Republicans have prioritized tax cuts that benefit the wealthy and that fail to boost economic growth or pay for themselves, while Democrats have prioritized investing in the middle class, supporting small businesses, and improving economic resilience after downturns. Of the 11 recessions in the modern era, 10 have begun under Republican presidents.

Looking at the last seven presidents, job growth totaled over 50 million under Democratic presidents compared to only 17 million under Republican presidents. Most recently, job growth has totaled nearly 16.2 million under the Biden-Harris administration

The unemployment rate has fallen from 6.4% at the start of the Biden-Harris administration to 4.1% in September 2024

Real gross domestic product (GDP) has grown by 10% under the Biden-Harris administration compared to 9% under President Donald Trump.

The total number of manufacturing jobs decreased by 178,000 under President Trump, while the number increased by 729,000 under the Biden-Harris administration.

Thanks to legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act, manufacturing construction spending recently surged to its highest level ever recorded and is producing hundreds of thousands of jobs.

A record of nearly 19 million new business applications have been filed under the Biden-Harris administration.  Thanks to investments that have passed under the Biden-Harris administration, such as the American Rescue Plan, Inflation Reduction Act, and Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Extension Act

And what about the debt? The U.S. national debt has increased significantly over the last two decades, largely due to partisan tax cuts passed by Republican presidents that disproportionately benefited the wealthy and big corporations.   President Trump approved far more non-pandemic-related increases to the debt. Most of these increases were approved as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which largely benefitted the wealthiest Americans and large corporations.  

Here are some more facts about the economy under Biden:

Of the 11 recessions that have occurred in the modern (post-World War II) era, 10 of them have occurred under Republican presidents.

America’s employers added a surprisingly strong 254,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate dropped for a second straight month, from 4.2% in August to 4.1% in September.

Although inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022, it began to decline and is now 2.4%, back to levels last seen in February 2021.

The S&P 500 is up roughly 48% since Biden took office in early 2021. 2024, the S&P 500 repeatedly reached new all-time highs, mixed with short periods of market volatility. Year-to-date through August 28, 2024, the S&P 500 gained 18.31%.

Candidates/TxLege/ Find Out More:

There are seventeen strong Democratic candidates on the ballot. Make sure to vote for every one of them, right down the ballot. Key races to look for include:

For US Senate: Colin Allred, who was endorsed by the San Antonio Express News

For US District 21: Kristin Hook, who was endorsed by the San Antonio Express News

For Texas House District 19: Dwain Handley

For Texas Senate District 25: Merrie Fox who was endorsed by the San Antonio Express News, and

For State Board of Education, District 10: Raquel Saenz Ortiz

Democrats need to flip only 12 seats to stop vouchers and the rest of the extreme Republican agenda from passing in next year’s Texas Legislature.

You can find out more about the Boerne Area Democrats on our website at www.boerne-area-democrats.com  We meet every second Thursday of the month at the Longhorn Café.

And you can find out more about the Kendall County Democratic Party on our website at www.kcdems.us

Close:

That’s all the time we have today. Thanks for listening. If you missed anything or want to share this interview with others, find a link to the Boerne Radio podcast at www.boerneradio.com or on the Kendall County Democratic Party website at www.kcdems.us.

We’ll be back next Saturday to talk about more issues important to Kendall County voters. We hope you can join us then!