Note: This story originally appeared on The Quorum Report. Join us there daily for coverage of Texas politics and government. HOUSTON – Business interests here in Southeast Texas and elsewhere are working to marshal their forces ahead of what could be a bloody fight at the Republican Party of Texas convention in June over where […]
Immigration Fight Simmers Ahead of Texas GOP Convention
by Scott on March 20, 2014 in Border Security, Economy, Immigration, Politics, Tea Party, Texas, Workforce
Targeted Worker Misclassification Crackdown Begins in Texas
by Scott on January 15, 2014 in Construction, Houston, Latinos, Politics, Texas
Construction companies across Texas that work on public projects are on notice now that the targeted worker misclassification crackdown passed by the legislature in 2013 has taken effect. HB 2015 “Worker Classification” was signed into law on June 14, 2013 and became effective on January 1, 2014. This law is considered by many to be a good first […]
Educators and Business Leaders Come Together to Support School Reforms
by Scott on January 6, 2014 in Education, Politics, Texas, Workforce
Note: This column originally appeared on Construction Citizen. In what will hopefully be the first in a series of events like it across Texas, business leaders and educators from the Houston area gathered to talk about the best ways they can work together to put kids on track for the skilled trades if that’s what […]
Signs That 2014 Could Be the Year for Immigration Reform
by Scott on January 5, 2014 in Border Security, Economy, Houston, Immigration, Obama, Politics, Rick Perry, Tea Party, Texas
This column originally appeared on The Quorum Report. Join us there daily for coverage of Texas politics and government. On the first workday of 2014, there’s no doubt business leaders in Texas were pleased to see the report from the New York Times that declared US House Speaker John Boehner now supports changing the nation’s […]
The Legislature Shouldn’t Hit-And-Run on Immigration
by Scott on May 13, 2013 in Immigration, Politics, Texas
You might think a proposal to force undocumented immigrants to be background checked, fingerprinted, photographed and entered into a database would be an easy sell with Republican lawmakers. But, you’d be wrong. With time quickly running out in the legislative session, a plan to make it possible for undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver permit […]
Is There Any Red Meat Left to Throw?
by Scott on January 29, 2013 in Politics, Rick Perry, Texas
Gov. Perry avoided the hot button issues of abortion, immigration and gun control so that he could instead focus on the infrastructure needs of Texas in his State of the State address. Aman Batheja has the details over at the Texas Tribune. While many in the Austin chattering class have been trying to figure out […]
Texas is Letting Fear Decide its Fate on Immigration
by Scott on January 28, 2013 in Border Security, Economy, Immigration, Politics, Tea Party, Texas
Texas has an estimated 1.7 million undocumented immigrants living between the Red and Rio Grande Rivers. Houston alone is home to about 600,000 of those. Texas has a 1,200 mile border with Mexico (the longest of any state). Texas has a booming Latino population that sees almost every other issue through the lens of immigration. […]
Purging the Underground Economy in Texas
by Scott on January 3, 2013 in Economy, Immigration, Politics, Texas
In Texas, we pride ourselves on job creation and entrepreneurship. This is the Promised Land, where you can be in charge of your own destiny. For many, if not most, this is true. For others, that rhetoric is used to dodge the law, pay people off the books, avoid taxes and contribute to a cancerous […]
Obama Misses a Texas-Sized Opportunity on Immigration
by Scott on July 23, 2012 in Economy, Immigration, Obama, Politics, Texas
We’ve entered an interesting time in American politics when a Democrat can flog a Republican with the issue of illegal immigration. For years, conservative politicians have used it to call their opponents “open borders liberals.” President Obama, during his visits to San Antonio and Austin this week, slammed the presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney for […]
Texas and Germany Face Labor Shortage for the Same Reason
by Scott on July 10, 2012 in Economy, Education, Immigration, Politics, Texas
The coming labor shortage reported on extensively at Construction Citizen, another website I write for, isn’t confined to the United States. Germany, an economic powerhouse like Texas, now has its economic performance threatened because the country’s businesses can’t find enough skilled laborers. Tweet Share
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Scott Braddock is a journalist and political analyst based in Austin.
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