It is voting season in the Houston area, and many students, faculty and staff can exercise their powerful ability to affect change for our campus, the Houston area and our state.
Today is Election Day, and Proposition 4 has been firmly planted in the minds of academic stakeholders at UH and around the state.
Proposition 4 has a great potential impact on the efforts of our University to reach flagship status. However, there are other initiatives and resolutions that the voters will have to consider.
Proposition 1 will also be on the ballot, which deals with property rights. If the measure passes, cities and counties will be allowed to purchase land around a military base using tax increment financing funds.
According to Texas House Bill Joint Resolution 132, ‘there are many military bases in Texas that provide tremendous economic benefits to the state, as well as to the counties and cities within which they are located. The billions of dollars in payrolls and federal investment related to these bases are in danger of being lost due to continued encroachment by development around the military installations.’
This resolution was necessitated by the fact that municipal and county entities are precluded from issuing bonds or notes needed to erect buffer zones to protect these military areas. TIF funds will provide a vehicle for raising revenue within the districts that are home to these military installations by allowing municipalities and counties to levy taxes for improvement projects and the creation of buffer zones.
The benefits provided by these military installations are not always readily seen in dollars and cents. The intangible impact of the presence of these military bases is immeasurable, because they are symbolic of the notion of protecting our rights and freedoms as American citizens.
Our predisposition to react to any subject matter or initiative is mainly formed by our perceptual anchors, which are our beliefs, values and attitudes. I believe in our country, and I value our freedoms. My attitude toward our military is one of reverence and respect.
As Americans, we enjoy the wonderful privileges and freedoms afforded us by our democratic system of government. The right to show up at the polls and vote can be attributed to the sacrifices of all who have donned the military uniform.
Thus, the voters should keep this notion in mind when they exercise the right to vote: What is ours is theirs, and what is theirs is ours. Has the military not earned it for you?
Ruben Slater is a communication graduate student and may be reached at [email protected]
