Texas measures economic strength through job creation, business investment, and population growth. Those measures matter, but they do not show whether prosperity is reaching the people who keep the economy running. Families can struggle to afford basic expenses while businesses expand, students can leave school without meaningful opportunities, and qualified workers can remain shut out of employment after incarceration. After November 3, Texas leaders should face a practical question: are state policies helping more people participate in the state’s prosperity?
United For ALICE’s 2026 Texas report, based on 2024 data, found that 40 percent of Texas households were either below the federal poverty level or earning more but still unable to afford basic necessities. For a family of four with two adults, an infant, and a preschooler, the estimated annual survival budget was $74,784. This is a measure of basic needs, not comfort or luxury, and it leaves little room for emergencies, debt payments, or savings.
That pressure reaches beyond individual households. Families with little financial breathing room have less ability to save, invest in training, or spend at local businesses. Small businesses need customers who can afford to buy from them, but they also need access to capital to grow and hire. Texas has a federal resource intended to help. Through the State Small Business Credit Initiative, the state has a $472.1 million allocation for capital access, loan guarantees, and loan participation programs. The allocation itself does not prove the money is reaching businesses. State officials should report how much financing is distributed, which communities benefit, how many jobs are created or retained, and whether participating businesses remain open.
Educational opportunity is another part of the same economic question. A student’s future should not depend entirely on the property wealth of the community where that student lives. During fiscal year 2024–25, 225 Texas school districts sent nearly $3 billion through the state’s recapture system. Recapture redistributes local property-tax revenue from property-wealthier districts to support school funding elsewhere; it is not simply money disappearing from public education. But taxpayers and families should be able to see whether the broader school-finance system is delivering qualified teachers, safe schools, effective programs, and pathways to college or good-paying work. State leaders should report outcomes that show whether funding is improving those opportunities, not just how much money moves through the system.
The same responsibility applies to people returning home after incarceration. A prison sentence may end while employment barriers remain. TDCJ’s fiscal year 2024 annual review reported that 10,770 eligible parole clients received employment services. That is a significant existing effort, but the number served does not tell the public how many people secured lasting jobs. Texas should track job placement, employment retention, wages, and the barriers that continue to keep qualified applicants from being hired. State agencies should also review occupational licensing restrictions to determine whether each one is genuinely necessary for public safety or unnecessarily prevents people who have completed their sentences from working. Employers deserve reliable information about qualifications and risk; applicants deserve a fair opportunity to demonstrate their ability.
These are not four unrelated policy debates. Household stability, small-business growth, educational opportunity, and employment after incarceration all shape the state’s workforce and local economies. A family unable to cover basic expenses has limited purchasing power. A business without financing cannot expand. A student without access to effective education enters the workforce at a disadvantage. A qualified person blocked from employment represents lost talent and lost economic contribution. Texas cannot claim that prosperity is broadly shared if large numbers of residents cannot take part in it.
Progress does not require a new government program for every problem or higher taxes. It requires a disciplined review of existing spending, tax incentives, contracts, and economic development programs. State leaders should publish clear performance measures, identify programs that are not producing their intended results, and redirect resources when the evidence supports doing so. That review must protect essential services and distinguish actual savings from money already committed. Fiscal responsibility should mean knowing what public dollars accomplish, not simply announcing that government is spending less.
After Election Day, campaign promises will give way to budgets, legislation, agency decisions, and public accountability. Texans should expect officials to explain who benefits from state policies, what changes, and how results are measured. Economic growth matters, but it is not the final report card. The real test is whether the people who work, operate businesses, attend public schools, and return home after incarceration have a fair opportunity to build stable lives and contribute to Texas’s future.
Michael A. Davis is an Austin-based writer, author, and reentry advocate whose work examines criminal justice, economic opportunity, public policy, and the experiences of historically underserved communities. Drawing on his professional experience and lived experience with incarceration, Davis brings a grounded perspective to conversations about policy, accountability, and institutional reform. His work has appeared in The Texas Dispatch, Next City, the Austin American-Statesman, and the Austin Chronicle, among other publications.