Partisan and racialized politics are behind Texas’ 15 years of obstruction to address decades of perpetually high uninsurance rates. For Latinos, whose uninsured numbers exceed 3 million, representing 55% of the state’s uninsured, their health and financial hardships are compounded.
The dismantling and barriers to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and related challenges to incorporate ethnic studies more fully in public schools are about power and privileges – they deter movements toward racial and social justice, leveling equal opportunities to prosperity, and gaining individual and political power.
See Drs Angela Valenzuela and Emilio Zamora, and Dr. Chloe Sikes
Latinos must remove the current Texas political power structure for most Latino families to realize social, cultural, and economic prosperity. Texas’ poor performance in national ranking among ten major human capital investment areas has a significant effect on marginalizing, politically and socio-economically, generations of Latinos. Unless the underlying political beliefs that enable inequitable policymaking and policies are changed, Latino improvements will be inadequately slow.
Limited evidence exists regarding Latino-based research and policy impact aligned with improvements among Latino bienestar (well-being) indicators. Of particular concern are impacts on those Latinos who are at-risk or who are in poverty, less educated, unemployed, and/or in poor health.
Population, employment growth, and U.S./Mexico border business opportunities require increasing equitable capital investments in South Texas, which has a long history of policy neglect.
The Latino wage earnings disparity relative to $1 dollar for non-Latino White Workers is .67 cents. These disparities not only pose challenges to economic well-being but also significantly undermine the increase of Latino political power and policy influence.
