The latest economy news from The Texas Tribune.
In 2010, 4.4 million Texans lived below the poverty line, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Tuesday. Poverty has increased in more than 200 counties across Texas since 2007, the year before the recession hit. Use our interactive maps to explore the change in annual poverty rates and the median household income in your county. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TexasPovertyMap_1.jpg)
Root and Tan on the restoration of the Governor's Mansion and on the Perrys' expensive replacement digs, E. Smith's TribLive interview with three freshman legislators in El Paso, M. Smith on tough financial standards for local school districts, Ramshaw and Murphy on Texas docs paid by drug companies, yours truly on new congressional and legislative redistricting maps, Hamilton on the biggest competitive endeavor in Brownsville's schools and Aguilar on how border mayors feel about military equipment in their cities: The best of our best content from November 21 to 25, 2011. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Tribweek-11-21-11.jpg)
This update of our "Texas Economy by Region" interactive map compares the unemployment rate from 2010 to 2011 in each county to determine whether the economy has improved or declined. We’ve also included a map of Texas cities with pop-ups that show industry changes from 2010 to 2011. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TexasUnemployment.png)
How can the party of LBJ, Ann Richards and Henry Cisneros regain its footing? We asked three prominent Democratic strategists for their take. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/democrat-columns.png)
The Texas unemployment rate dropped only slightly this month from 8.5 percent to 8.4 percent, according to statistics released by the Texas Workforce Commission today. But the state's economy is not performing as well as it was this time last year. And as the national economy has improved, the Texas economy has lagged. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/JOBS.jpg)
Voters clearly want good schools and nice roads and low taxes. It's a political and policy question straight out of a business textbook: What's the right balance of price and quality? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a7d041d350653ac3860644966aea582f/BD%20INC%20Williams%2001%202011)
Texas Republicans are playing with the old Milton Friedman line: There is no such thing as a free lunch. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/cd312949f43bcc5b54d109760bd018d6/TT%20Event%20Crownover%20Taylor%20Williams%2003%202011)
The latest UT/TT Poll on the 2012 race and other issues, Root on Herman Cain's stumble, Ramshaw and Titus on Texas Republicans who don't support Perry, Murphy maps presidential fundraising in Texas, Philpott on changing the constitution for parks and education, Hamilton on a case of higher ed separation anxiety, Grissom on the state's breakup with a death penalty witness, Galbraith on a congressman's search for a big leak, Aguilar on the Border Patrol's effort to operate in environmentally protected areas and Aaronson on a dramatic drop in government employment in Texas: The best of our best content from October 31 to November 4, 2011. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Tribweek11022011.jpg)
Texas voters think the economy is the biggest problem facing the country but immigration is the most pressing issue facing the state, according to the new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Wordcloud-Set1.png)
This interactive shows the dramatic drop in employment at Texas state agencies from the third quarter of fiscal year 2011 to the last quarter, right before $15 billion in cuts to the 2012-2013 biennium budget kicked in Sept. 1. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Texas-Cuts.jpg)
Texas voters are more likely to attribute the state's economic success to its natural resources and long-standing pro-business policies than to Gov. Rick Perry's leadership, according to the new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib-Polls-Day2.002.png)
Gov. Rick Perry's campaign is broadcasting a new ad in Iowa starting today that implicity denigrates Barack Obama for being "slick" and using a TelePrompter and explicity promises action instead of talk. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/CM_Capture_8.png)
Rick Perry's presidential campaign reportedly spent $175,000 on its first ad buy in Iowa, whose crucial caucus is a little more than two months away. The ad focuses on job creation efforts in Texas during Perry's tenure as governor. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/CM_Capture_3_1.png)
A successful challenge to the state's primary business tax would throw lawmakers into special session to try to find enough money to pay for public schools, a lawyer for the state told the Texas Supreme Court today. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b7619b535caf929a45793624a2921160/BD%20INC%20Supreme%20Court%2001%202011)
At last Thursday's TribLive conversation, Comptroller Susan Combs talked about the health of the Texas economy, her agency's data breach, her shifting position on abortion and more. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/TribLCombs010CMS.jpg)
Texas added 15,400 new jobs last month, according to statistics released today by the Texas Workforce Commission. The Texas unemployment rate, which increased over the last three months, remained steady in September at 8.5 percent. Full Story
At this morning's TribLive conversation, Comptroller Susan Combs talked about the billions cut from the state budget during the last legislative session — and whether kicking the can down the road on health care costs was a sound financial decision. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/TribLCombs007CMS_1.jpg)
At this morning's TribLive conversation, Comptroller Susan Combs talked about the health of the Texas economy — and whether unemployment creeping up is cause for concern. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/TribLCombs002CMS_1.jpg)
U.S. Senate candidate Tom Leppert, the former Dallas mayor, has released a new campaign spot that boasts of his job creation experience, and takes a swipe at so-called "career politicians." Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Screen_shot_2011-10-19_at_5.31.54_PM_1.png)
Aaronson interactively asks if stimulus funds created jobs in Texas, Aguilar on new voter registrar rules that could decrease voter turnout, Galbraith on a UT professor's debunking of climate change "myths," Grissom on an epic clash of El Paso political titans, Hamilton on the right's new higher ed guru, Murphy maps household data from the 2010 Census, Ramsey on a coming rules fight in the Texas Senate, Root and M. Smith on Rick Perry's performance at the New Hampshire debate and M. Smith talks public ed cuts with the state's Superintendent of the Year: The best of our best content from October 10-14, 2011. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/10102011_Tribweek.jpg)