Stage Five: Original editorial or commentary #1 (POST TO BE GRADED)
Today thousands led by union workers from across Texas rallied on the south steps of the Capital building here in downtown Austin in an effort to protest against the recently passed budgets cuts that the House has made. These cuts include heavy spending cuts to education, health care and state jobs.
The rally-goers organized and began with a march from Waterloo Park, unions and community organizers chartered buses to bring in supporters from areas like Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and Rio Grande Valley, in total there were about 6-7 thousand in the rally.
Nearly filling the entire street, protestors shouted various things, “They say cut back, we say fight back”, and the humorous “It’s raining, it’s pouring, Rick Perry is snoring.” Many carried signs of similar nature, “Stop the war on workers”, and “Tax the rich, serve the poor.”
Judy Lugo president of the Texas State Employees Union told the cheering crowd “We are all in this together. “Every Texan now and for years to come will suffer the consequences if the Texas Legislature does not change course.” Lugo is pushing for the spending of the state’s $9.5 billion “rainy day fund” and asked legislators to find additional revenue to fix the problem they have caused. “Workers did not cause this problem, and we are not going to pick up the tab for it. She says this budget short fall is due to “decades of bad public policy” and a recession brought on by financiers, speculators and corporate leaders.
State senator Kirk Watson was on the scene and had some strong words to say as well stating that the house passed a bill that does not align with the priorities of Texas. “We’re all here today because the evolving catastrophe taking place in the building behind me, we are here because we are justifiably frustrated that those who worked to cause this disaster are doing so little to fix it.
Watson asked the crowd to hold the legislative leaders accountable for spending cuts. Saying that the current generation cannot allow their kids to be stuffed into overcrowded classrooms, or allow the dismantling of their parents and grandparents nursing homes, nor will we allow them to cut out teachers and public servants in order to reduce the spending problem.
I find this sort of news very interesting because these are things that I never really see, they always take place in another city in a whole other state but to see this kind of work being done here in our state makes me proud, however, it is indeed a shame that this rally had to occur because of such an awful situation.
I'd also like to say, thank you to everyone who attended, I don’t fully understand our entire economy or our system, but I do know that I’m a tax payer and I know I’d be happy to learn that my hard earn money went into education and to help out the elderly.
