by Gail Collins
• Harris County, which includes Houston, Texas, has 28,274 licensed Resident Nurses; 20,220 of whom are employed as full-time nurses while 2,921 are unemployed.154
• Travis County, which includes Austin, Texas, has 7,984 licensed Resident Nurses; 5,118 of whom are employed as full-time nurses while 956 are unemployed.155
• Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, Texas, has 16,363 licensed Resident Nurses; 11,920 of whom are employed as full-time nurses while 1,582 are unemployed.156
• Dallas County, which includes Dallas, Texas, has 16,718 licensed Resident Nurses; 12,208 of whom are employed as full-time nurses while 1,521 are unemployed.157
• El Paso County, which includes El Paso, Texas, has 5,424 licensed Resident Nurses; 4,081 of whom are employed as full-time nurses while 517 are unemployed.158
• Lamar County, which includes Paris, Texas, has 650 licensed Resident Nurses; 491 of whom are employed as full-time nurses while 67 are unemployed.159
• Potter County, which includes Amarillo, Texas, has 1,228 licensed Resident Nurses; 858 of whom are employed as full-time nurses while 143 are unemployed.160
Income Disparity and Employment:
• The personal per capita income for Texans in 2009 was $36,484.161
• 4.26 million Texans live in poverty, representing 17.3 percent of the state’s population.162
• Only 5.5 percent of Texas workers are members of a union.163
• 47 percent of Texas children live in low-income families.164
• Starr County led the state with 78.6 percent of the population considered low income.165
• The richest 20 percent of Texas families have average incomes 7.9 times larger than the poorest 20 percent of families, ranking as the 9th highest gap in the nation. This ratio was 7.0 in the late 1980s.166
• The richest 20 percent of Texas families have average incomes 2.8 times larger than the middle 20 percent of families, ranking as the 5th highest gap in the nation. This ratio was 2.3 in the late 1980s.167
• From the late 1980s to the mid-2000s, the average income of the poorest 20 percent of families increased $2,657, from $13,430 to $16,088.168
• From the late 1980s to the mid-2000s, the average income of the middle 20 percent of families increased $4,528, from $40,046 to $44,574.169
• From the late 1980s to the mid-2000s, the average income of the richest 20 percent of families increased $32,813, from $93,846 to $126,658.170
Taxation:
• A 2009 study named Texas’ tax system as one of the ten most regressive states in the nation.171
• A 2009 study found that Texas requires families in the bottom 20 percent of the income scale to pay more than three-and-a-half times as great a share of their earnings in taxes as the top 1 percent.172
• The poor in Texas pay 12.2 percent of their income in taxes, the fifth highest percentage in the country.173
• According to Americans for Prosperity, local government debt in Texas is over $175 billion.174
Transportation:
• Dallas–Ft. Worth and Houston were ranked 5th and 6th respectively among the 15 largest metropolitan cities in the yearly number of hours delayed in traffic.175
• Over the next 25 years, road use in Texas will grow by 214 percent, much of it concentrated in the state’s most congested metropolitan areas.176
• Texas has 50,189 bridges, about 40 percent more than any other state.177
• In 2009, there were 3,071 traffic fatalities.178
Sex Education:
• In 2008, the birth rate for ages 15–19 in Texas was 63.4 per every 1,000 people, compared to 41.5 in the U.S., giving Texas the third highest teen birth rate in the nation.179
• According to a 2009 study of sex education materials from 96 percent of all Texas schools, only 4 percent of schools in Texas teach about pregnancy and STD prevention in schools.180
• 3.7 million Texas students are not taught basic information in public schools about STD prevention and unplanned pregnancies, and 25 percent of Texas school districts have no formal policy regulating sex education.181
• 41 percent of sex education materials used in Texas school districts contains factual errors.182
• 53 percent of Texas students have had sexual intercourse, compared with 48 percent nationwide; 17 percent of Texas students have had sexual intercourse with four or more persons in their life, compared with 15 percent nationwide; and 43.6 percent of Texas students did not use a condom during their last instance of sexual intercourse, compared with 38.5 percent nationwide.183
Index
Abbott, Greg, 143
Afghanistan, 44, 53, 54
Alabama, 19, 31, 174
Alaska, 93
Amira (uninsured Texan), 174–75
Anderson, David, 76–77, 95, 110
Anderson, John, 144
Antarctica, 80
Arizona, 160, 171, 183
Arkansas, 74, 174
Arlington, Tex., 12, 104
Armey, Dick, 6, 51–52, 54, 55, 64, 68, 131, 133, 139, 183
Arredondo, Brenda, 80–81
Austin, Stephen, 18
Austin, Tex., 3, 11, 12, 24, 25, 34, 35, 46, 48, 49, 84, 85, 100, 112, 118, 143, 149, 154, 156, 159, 163, 167, 171, 188, 189
Barone, Charles, 84, 85, 100
Barton, “Smokey Joe,” 132, 138, 141–42
Baylor, Don, 154
Bean, Roy, 16
Beaufort, S.C., 79
Beck, Glenn, 147, 165
Benedict XVI, Pope, 15
Bennet, Michael, 92
Bennett, William, 106
Bernier, Nathan, 112
Black, Bill, 62, 63
Bloomberg, Michael, 89–90
Boehlert, Sherwood, 130, 133–34, 142
Boehner, John, 21, 84
Boston, Mass., 80
Bowie, Jim, 19, 97
Boyle, Carolyn, 103
Brady, Kevin, 21–22
Brandl, Michael, 163, 164
Briscoe, Dolph, 128, 129
Bronstein, Marta, 182
Brown, George, 49
Brown, Jerry, 150
Bryce, Robert, 65
Buchanan, Pat, 83
Buda, Tex., 156
Bullock, Bob, 29, 46, 47, 151–52
Bush, Barbara, 50–51, 92
Bush, George H. W., 5, 46, 50–51, 53, 68, 74, 75–76, 130–31, 137
Bush, George W., 5, 15, 20, 36–37, 46, 47, 51, 52–54, 69, 74, 78–79, 80, 81, 82–85, 87, 88–89, 90, 92, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103–4, 105, 134–38, 139, 140–41, 142, 143, 158, 159, 160, 179, 186
Bush, Jeb, 105
Cahoon, Frank, 18, 43–44
Cain, Herman, 186
California, 6, 29, 62, 64, 70, 71, 87, 111, 122, 137–38, 148–50, 153, 157, 163, 166, 167, 168
Cargill, Barbara, 115
Caro, Robert, 32, 48, 49
Carpinteria, Calif., 149
Carter, Jimmy, 45, 128–29, 130
Carter, Terry, 161
Casey, Rick, 184
Castro, Joaquín, 42, 180–81, 182, 184, 187
Castro, Julián, 180, 181–82, 188
Castro, Rosie, 179–81, 182
Cheney, Dick, 74, 137–38, 140
Cisneros, Henry, 187, 191–92
Clauss, Richard, 157
Clements, Bill, 13, 45, 129
Clinton, Bill, 6, 65, 68, 69, 74, 84, 85, 131, 187
Clinton, Hillary, 80
Coke, Richard, 42
Collins, Sara, 160
Colorado, 87, 92, 95, 100–101
Columbus, Ohio, 100
Condino, Shella, 190
Connally, John, 43, 47, 49, 50
Connecticut, 50
Corn, David, 69
Cornyn, John, 171
Craymer, Dale, 153
Crockett, Davy, 12, 16, 19, 20, 39, 97
Crossley, David, 35, 36
Culberson, John, 33
Curtiss, Glenn, 114
Dalhart, Tex., 157
Dallas, Tex., 34, 61, 104, 130, 135, 147, 185
Darrow, Clarence, 114
Davis, E. J., 42
DeLay, Tom, 6, 43, 51–52, 54, 64, 131, 132, 133–34, 139, 141,
194
Deuell, Bob, 124
Disney, Walt, 16
Dixon, Don, 62–63
Dole, Sanford B., 114
Driscoll, Clara, 17
Dunbar, Cynthia, 115
Duncan, Arne, 90
Dunlap, Tom, 27
Eberly, Angelina, 25
Eckhardt, Bob, 129–30
Edgewood, Tex., 180
Egypt, 122
Eisenhower, Dwight, 59, 95, 165
Ellis, Rodney, 44–45, 186
El Paso, Tex., 80–81, 163, 164
England, 76
Erekson, Keith, 111
Evans, David, 171, 172
Ferguson, James “Pa,” 14
Ferguson, Miriam “Ma,” 14, 24
Fields, Jack, 129–30
Finland, 74
Fisher, Richard, 158
Fleischer, Ari, 138
Florida, 83, 105, 133, 166
Ford, Gerald, 128
Ford, Henry, 114
Fort Bliss, Tex., 164
Fort Hood, Tex., 164
Fort Worth, Tex., 28, 34, 156, 191
France, 12, 61
Gabler, Mel, 109, 110
Gabler, Norma, 109, 110
Galbraith, Kate, 38
Galveston Bay, 144
Garner, John Nance, 47
Gawande, Atul, 159–60
Georgia, 90
Gerstner, Louis V., 82
Gingrich, Newt, 51, 64, 131, 179
Goldwater, Barry, 43
Gonzalez, Henry, 49
Gore, Al, 79, 80, 131, 136–37
Gramm, Phil, 5, 47, 52, 59–61, 65–68, 69–70, 71, 72, 194
Gramm, Wendy, 68–69, 102
Grant, Ulysses S., 42
Greenberger, Michael, 69–70
Griles, J. Steven, 137
Grissmer, David, 78, 79, 91–92
Hagerty, Fran, 123, 124
Halbouty, Michel, 130
Haley, James, 19–20, 127
Hall, Ralph, 142
Hammond, Bill, 82
Harrigan, Stephen, 19
Harris County, Tex., 175, 189
Harrison, William Henry, 13, 14
Hart, Patricia Kilday, 171–72
Hawaii, 182
Heflin, Talmadge, 152
Helmcamp, Leslie, 164
Henry, Patrick, 21
Hicks, Nolan, 150
Hightower, Jim, 52
Hill, John, 45
Hobby, Bill, 36, 77, 152, 183
Hochberg, Scott, 73, 78, 100, 104
Hogg, Ima, 14
Hogg, Jim, 14
Houston, Sam, 3, 14, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22–23, 25, 165
Houston, Tex., 20, 22, 25, 33, 34–36, 39, 49, 51, 88–89, 104, 129, 134, 137, 149, 155, 175, 182, 188–89
Hughes, Bryan, 123
Hunt, Hunter, 137
Hunt, Ray, 137
Illinois, 166, 195
India, 107
Iowa, 65–66, 123
Iran, 76
Iraq, 53
Ireland, 97
Israel, 113, 114, 115
Italy, 139, 140
Ivins, Molly, 24, 76, 78
Jackson, Jesse, 52
Jackson, Lisa, 142–43
Jeffords, Jim, 84
Johnson, Lady Bird, 19
Johnson, Lyndon, 19, 23, 32, 43,
47–49, 50, 53, 59, 127, 131, 133, 141
Jones, Alex, 97
Jones, Anson, 14
Jordan, Barbara, 24
Juarez, Mexico, 163
Kansas, 59
Kelly, Ray, 30
Kennebunkport, Maine, 50
Kennedy, John F., 45, 47, 50, 59
Kennedy, Ted, 84, 85
King, Christopher, 31, 162–63, 166
Klein, Stephen P., 79–80
Klineberg, Stephen, 35–36
Knight, Mavis, 113
Kolkhorst, Lois, 28, 34
Kotkin, Joel, 149
Kress, Sandy, 85, 100
Krueger, Robert, 185
Kuykendall, Marshall, 127
Lake Austin, 166
Langtry, Tex., 16
Lanier, Bob, 35
Laredo, Tex., 187
Las Vegas, Nev., 40
Lay, Ken, 67–68, 137–38
Lazio, Rick, 80
Leininger, James, 101–2, 103, 111
Leonard, Justin, 20
Levy, Rick, 161–62
Lincoln, Abraham, 12
Lindbergh, Charles, 114
Logue, Dan, 150
Lopez, David, 175
Los Angeles, Calif., 148
Louisiana, 12, 33, 98, 174
MacGillis, Alec, 155
Maine, 7, 50, 83, 89
Malachy, Saint, 15
Mandela, Nelson, 21
Mann, Pamela, 22–23
Marfa, Tex., 38–39, 191
Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, 60
Marquez, Ralph, 136
Marston, James, 50, 130
Martin, Bill, 113
Martin, Bill, Jr., 113
Massachusetts, 143
Mattox, Jim, 45–46, 130
Maynardsville, Tenn., 107
McAllen, Tex., 160
McCain, John, 21, 71, 74
McCarthy, Joseph, 113
McClure, Jessica (“Baby Jessica”),
33
McCormick, Peggy, 23
McEntire, Dennis, 190
McGee, Julie, 109–10, 115
McKinnon, Mark, 54
McLeroy, Don, 112, 114–15
Melosi, Martin, 27, 127
Mexico, 12, 13, 18, 29, 30, 39, 163, 165, 180, 181
Miami, Fla., 40, 160
Michael, Tom, 39
Michener, James, 13
Michigan, 163
Micronesia, 122
Middle East, 128, 194
Midland, Tex., 36–38, 43, 50–51, 93
Midlothian, Tex., 132
Milken, Mike, 106
Miller, George, 84, 85, 88, 89, 100, 104
Minnesota, 16, 170, 174, 176
Mississippi, 160, 162, 166
Missouri, 174
Mixon, John, 35
Morales, Dan, 186–87
Murdock, Steve, 181, 182, 183, 188, 189
Murray, Richard, 188
Napoleon I, Emperor of France, 19
Netherlands, 122
Nevada, 150, 171
New Jersey, 65, 139
Newsom, Gavin, 150
New York, 6, 29, 30, 80, 130, 133, 148, 152, 163, 195
New York, N.Y., 87, 89–90
Nixon, Richard, 24, 47, 128
Norquist, Grover, 102
North Carolina, 18, 89
Obama, Barack, 3, 6, 54, 55, 91, 92, 101, 104, 115, 132, 141, 171, 176, 182
O’Daniel, W. Lee “Pappy,” 14–15
Ohio, 13–14, 95, 133, 164
Oklahoma, 12, 42, 43, 89, 96, 170
Oliphant, Pat, 25
O’Neill, Paul, 140
Orbison, Roy, 63
Ornstein, Norman, 51
Orr, Robert, 155
Paige, Rod, 88, 89
Paint Creek, Tex., 27
Patrick, Dan, 21
Paul, Ron, 6, 46, 54
Pecos, Tex., 16
Pena, Richard, 161
Pennsylvania, 12, 90, 107, 164
Perot, Ross, 75–77, 92, 191, 192
Perry, Rick, 3–4, 5, 6, 12, 13, 14, 27, 28, 31–32, 46, 47, 50, 52, 92–93, 96, 97, 102–3, 123–24, 125, 126, 142–44, 147–49, 150–51, 154, 155, 156, 157, 165, 168, 174, 182, 183, 184, 186, 191, 194
Perry, Wes, 37–38
“Peter the Roman,” 15
Phelps, Paige, 169
Plano, Tex., 126
Potter, Robert, 18, 22, 43
Presidio, Tex., 39, 169, 190–91
Puzde
r, Andrew, 149
Quincy, Mass., 80
Quinn, Dan, 110, 111
Ratliff, Bill, 44, 77, 81, 83, 85, 86, 103, 153
Ravitch, Diane, 87–88, 91, 106
Rawls, John, 167–68
Rayburn, Sam, 47
Reagan, Ronald, 61, 63, 66, 73–74, 75, 106, 113, 129, 130, 179, 185
Reaser, Vernon, 99
Richards, Ann, 15, 24–25, 45–46, 53, 77, 110, 151, 158, 187, 189
Richards, Cecile, 110
Riddle, Debbie, 22, 183–84
Rio Grande Valley, 96, 189–90
River Oaks, Tex., 35
Roosevelt, Franklin D., 47, 48
Roosevelt, Theodore, 114
Rose, Louis “Moses,” 19
Rove, Karl, 52–53, 83
Russell, Jan Jarboe, 19, 48
Russia, 19, 22
Rwanda, 122
Sacramento, Calif., 148
Sadler, Paul, 81, 82, 85, 91
San Antonio, Tex., 16, 28, 34, 49, 96, 99, 101, 103, 111, 121, 149, 172, 174–75, 179, 180, 181, 182, 186, 187
Sanborn, Robert, 182, 189
Sanchez, Tony, 187
San Jacinto, Tex., 22–23, 42
Sawyer, Diane, 79
Scarsdale, N.Y., 80
Schlafly, Phyllis, 114
Schwarzenegger, Arnold, 157
Seattle, Wash., 97–98
Senterfitt, Reuben, 73
Shafter, Tex., 39
Sharp, John, 102
Shorto, Russell, 116
Smith, Evan, 125
Smith, Lamar, 30
Smith, Tom, 38, 127, 136
Sosa, Lionel, 179, 181, 185–86, 187
South Carolina, 82
Soviet Union, 54
Soward, Larry, 143–44
Spain, 12, 96
Steinbach, Chris, 34
Stern, Jeremy, 116
Stern, Sheldon, 116
Stewart, Jimmy, 61
Strama, Mark, 159, 167–68
Sugar Land, Tex., 51, 64, 126, 155
Swartz, Mimi, 158–59
Swinnea, Teloa, 191
Taos, N.Mex., 191
Tennessee, 16, 95, 98, 107
Thompson, Karen, 17, 20–21
Tortolero, Susan, 120, 122
Tower, John, 185
Travis, William B., 17, 18–21, 49
Trump, Donald, 13
Utah, 124
Vermont, 11, 84, 152
Vernon, Calif., 148
Vernon, Tex., 63
Villarreal, Michael, 99, 121, 125
Virginia, 115
Vonnegut, Kurt, 166
Warren, Jack, 129
Wartzman, Rick, 147, 158
Weddington, Susan, 98
Weiss, Daniel, 135
Welch, Ronald, 36
West, Emily, 42
White, Bill, 33
White, Mark, 75
Whitman, Christie Todd, 139–40, 143
Wichita Falls, Tex., 63
Wiley, David, 119, 121
