Gov. Greg Abbott is trying to restart the Texas economy with the relaxation of social distancing guidelines and allowing many businesses to reopen to the public.
Unfortunately COVID-19 remains in the population and continues to spread. The death toll rate in Texas is climbing. The fact of the matter is gun-toating, right wing protestors can’t intimidate a deadly virus into not being a deadly virus. Just the opposite the demands to re-open the economy – just reopens the population to the spread of the virus. Public health experts agree that there will be other waves of the coronanavirus until there is a vaccine. And this won’t happen for another year.
So, what will Texas look like when we finally get on the other side of this pandemic? What lessons will we have learned? Will we have the political leadership in place to move the state’s economy forward so it can create the jobs, security and opportunity that Texans have come to expect?
Policy experts from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin and the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston have issued a nine-point playbook with their vision for rebuilding a more equitable and inclusive future Texas.
The report, “A Playbook for Resiliency: Creating Opportunity for All Texans,” co-authored by Kirk Watson, founding dean of the Hobby School of Public Affairs, and Steven Pedigo, professor of practice and director of the LBJ School’s Urban Lab, calls for state and local leaders to evaluate past policies and unequal growth.
Texas Public Radio's David Martin Davies spoke with Steven Pedigo about the Playbook for Resiliency.
David Martin Davies can be reached at DMDavies@TPR.org and on Twitter at @DavidMartinDavi.
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