On Dec. 24, 2023, the Viewpoints column by Rich Sena stressed that all lives matter. I found myself agreeing with much of what Rich wrote, but his article also gave me pause.
I thought about Phil. 2:3-4: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
If all lives matter, then:
• What about the lives of the 4,270,462 people that live below the poverty rate in Texas?
Texas ranks 13th for the poorest state in the nation, placing it in the top 20 of the poorest states. In 2022, the poverty threshold for a family of four was $29,950. Of Texas’ 254 counties, 76 experienced an uptick in poverty rates from 2018 to 2022.
The state has significantly curtailed the amount of traditional welfare it provides to poor Texans over the last two decades, instead putting more of its federal anti-poverty dollars toward plugging budget holes or funding other programs that provide services to residents with higher incomes than those who qualify for cash welfare.
Prov. 19:17: “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.”
• What about the lives of the 5,185,561 Texans that have no health insurance?
Texas has the nation’s highest percentage of uninsured residents, at nearly 17%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Texans ages 19-34 were most likely to not have health care coverage; over a quarter of Hispanic Texans were uninsured. The percentage of uninsured Hispanic Texans was more than twice the rate of uninsured whites (11.1%) and Asians (8.7%).
Texas refuses to expand Medicaid, leaving $11.9 billion in federal money on the table. Currently, 5,526,633 people are covered by Medicaid and an additional nearly two million Texans would be covered if the state accepted expansion. As of September, 917,573 Texans have been disenrolled from Medicaid.
While some individuals have become ineligible because incomes increased, or they were children who aged out of the program, more than 600,000 have been disenrolled in Texas because of procedural errors.
Matt. 25:36-40: “I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me into your home.”
• What about the lives of undocumented immigrants in Texas?
Texas has the second-highest undocumented population in the U.S., behind California. The population of unauthorized immigrants in the state has remained relatively stable at 1.6 million people (this does not reflect changes in migrant apprehensions and expulsions along the U.S.-Mexico border).
These unauthorized immigrants make up 8% of Texas’ workforce. With such a large share of Texas’ workforce, undocumented workers are critical to the labor infrastructure of the state.
Undocumented immigrants are particularly concentrated in agricultural occupations, 33% of the total agricultural workforce, construction jobs, at 27%, and building grounds and maintenance workers, 24%. They are also highly integrated into Texas’ communities and society, with nearly half, 49%, being homeowners; 78% have lived in the U.S. since 2010 or earlier.
Through their wages, they contribute more than $30 billion to the economy annually, with an additional $6.5 billion in combined federal, state, and local taxes.
Heb. 13:1-8: “Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.”
If you believe that all the lives of all humanity matter, then what about these lives? Is this how we want our fellow Texans to live? Is this the Texas we want to live in?
As Texans, we need to remember Luke 6:30-31: “Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
I’ll have more to say on this topic in the Feb. 4 column.
Susan Dollar is the President of the Boerne Area Democrats
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