Justin Miller
By Justin Miller:
Five Months Later, the State’s Unemployment System is Still Broken for Many Texans
The state’s unemployment insurance system was woefully unprepared when the COVID-fueled economic crisis hit in March. Months later, unemployed Texans are still struggling to get—and keep—their benefits.
In March, after losing her job with Rolfson Oil, Laura Orozco filed for unemployment. Her claim was denied. The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), which administers the state’s unemployment insurance system, said that based on the agency’s formula, she hadn’t earned … Read More
Joaquin Castro Says He’ll Champion Progressive Foreign Policy
The representative from San Antonio is vying to become the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
San Antonio U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro is vying to become chair of one of the most powerful committees in Washington: the House Foreign Affairs Committee. But to do so, he’ll have to overcome the centrist and pro-military forces in the … Read More
From Boom to Bloodbath
The Permian Basin’s shale revolution is over and renewable energy is surging. What does that mean for Texas’ future?
From Boom to Bloodbath The Permian Basin’s shale revolution is over and renewable energy is surging. What does that mean for Texas’ future? By Justin Miller July 27, 2020 For the past three years, Josh Thomas labored away on … Read More
Historic Runoff Turnout Sets Stage for Texas Democrats in 2020’s ‘Biggest Battleground’
MJ Hegar won a contested Senate runoff and Democrats broke their record for runoff turnout as nearly 1 million voters cast ballots.
The Texas primaries in March feel like a lifetime ago. Soon after Super Tuesday, the coronavirus pandemic spread across the country and ground political campaigns to a halt. Governor Greg Abbott delayed the runoff elections by two months while state … Read More
Amid a National Reckoning Over Racial Injustice, Royce West Seeks to Upset MJ Hegar—and the DSCC
Texas’ Democratic Senate runoff to face John Cornyn has taken on new political significance as a Black state senator vies to defeat the national party’s favored candidate.
Texas Democratic Senate candidate Royce West was fed up. In the final days of early voting for the runoff election, frontrunner MJ Hegar put out a new ad in which she says that Texans will “stand together against the systemic … Read More
Abbott Puts Cabal of His Billionaire Donors, Industry Lobbyists in Charge of Restarting Texas’ Economy
The governor’s ‘strike force’ is composed of some of the most powerful moguls in the Lone Star State. In a time of pandemic, critics say it’s reckless pay-to-play politics.
Even as it’s still far from clear whether Texas has seen the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Greg Abbott is gearing up to restart the state’s economy. On Friday afternoon, he announced the creation of the “Strike Force to … Read More
‘I’m in Limbo Here’: Texans Are Met with an Overwhelmed and Antiquated State Unemployment System
The safety net meant to support the second largest workforce in the country is using decades-old technology. The workforce agency was trying to replace it when the pandemic hit.
Four months ago, Alan Chastain moved from Louisiana to the Houston area for a promising new job as a sales representative at a sign company. By late March, Chastain had been let go. It wasn’t a shock; as the coronavirus … Read More
A ‘Stay-at-Home’ Order by Any Other Name
At a time when clear and decisive action is paramount, Governor Greg Abbott has delayed, deferred, and equivocated, likely costing lives.
Twenty-six days after an elderly Fort Bend man became the first presumptive positive case of COVID-19 in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott convened a press conference at the Capitol. It was the last day of March, and Texas’ official case count … Read More
Texas Republicans’ Pandemic Performance Is True to Form
Dan Patrick performs for Fox News; Greg Abbott dithers; and John Cornyn defiantly refuses to log off.
On Monday evening, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick went on Fox News with Tucker Carlson and issued a call for the American economy to ramp back up in the very near-term, even if it means exposing vulnerable members of society, namely … Read More