Everything is getting worse and it's no April Fools' joke
Republicans have held power for more than 30 years and Texans are paying the price.
If you feel like everything around you is getting worse, it’s not just you. Millions of Texans across the state are feeling the pressure too and wondering if things will ever get better. I’m here to tell you they will, even if it doesn’t seem like it yet.
To understand how we got here, we have to step back in time to 2003, when Texas Republicans consolidated control over all three branches of government in the state for the first time in history. They won by promising Texas real reform, to make the state better for working families and businesses alike, but history shows us this did not exactly pan out the way they promised.
After consolidating power, Texas Republicans worked to turn the state into a capitalist’s dream: lower taxes, fewer regulations, and hollowed-out social programs. They even deregulated college tuition which sent costs soaring for students and families. Texas Republicans did all this while promising prosperity for regular people, and, to nobody’s surprise, these reforms made life harder for everyday Texans.
In return for giving big businesses more power, Texans were rewarded with less income, less stability, and less upward mobility. And despite skyrocketing inflation, Texas Republicans have never once considered increasing the minimum wage, which currently sits at a depressing $7.25/hr.
Since 2004, the cost of housing in Texas metros has more than doubled in many areas, far outpacing wages, leaving families stretched extremely thin just to keep a roof over their heads. That’s not even mentioning groceries, utilities, and gas, which have all risen roughly 60–70% over the same period, making every month feel like an existential fight to make ends meet.
Social programs that were meant to catch families when they fall have been cut or left underfunded, and millions of dollars in federal Medicaid funds go unused because Texas Republicans refuse to expand the program. This leaves millions of impoverished Texas without reliable childcare, health care, or support in times of crisis.
While the future for working class Texans looks bleak now, I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way. While Texas Republicans may have the money, there are tens of millions of Texans who hold the real power, with their voices and votes. In the 2024 general election in Texas, turnout was about 49.65% of the voting‑age population, which means roughly half of Texans old enough to vote didn’t cast a ballot in that race. Texas Democrats could retake power with just a small uptick in turnout, but they must truly embrace populist, common-sense positions that actually speak to the concerns of working Texans.
That, it seems, might be the real challenge after all.