Demographic Changes in Texas - Paper Example

Texas is the second growing population in the United States. Many Hispanic immigrants moved into the state from Mexico and other countries making the population to increase. Birth rate has been increasing but only by a single race. The government has a responsibility to control the demographic changes because they have a negative impact on the economy. In this essay will discuss the demographic changes in Texas based on the data collected and the comparison of historical statistics with contemporary findings. I will also discuss the general patterns, the factors that contributed to demographic changes in Texas and the demographic category that caught my attention. The essay will also outline the impact the changes might have over Texas in the next forty years and on partisan politics in Texas.

I observed the Texas demographic data and what caught my eyes is the continued dramatic change from 1950-2003. According to the Census Bureau, the population in the year 1950 was 7,711,194, and in the year 2003, it was 22,103,374. The population continued to grow despite the economic recession in 2001 which affected Texas badly. Despite the economic downturn, the population grew by 1.26 million people 2000 to 2003. The question I was asking myself when analyzing this data is the reasons for the rapid population growth, and I noted birth rate as one of the major reason. The birth rate in Texas is higher than the average by 0.3 percent (Petersen, Assanie). The second reason is the Hispanic migrants to Texas. Between the years 2000-2010, the Hispanic children have increased by 4.8 million while the Non-Hispanic children. The birth rate of the Hispanic has increased by 64 percent and that of the non-Hispanic by 17.5 percent. 77.6 percent increase in Dallas MSA Hispanic children and a decline of 11.3 percent in non-Hispanic children. The Hispanic birthrate in San Antonio MSA has increased by 135.9 percent while that of non-Hispanic had reduced by 46.6 percent. In Houston MSA, Hispanic birthrate increased by 86.8 percent and that of non-Hispanic declined by 16.4 percent. Based on the data, it is clear that the population in Texas increased due to the Hispanic birth rate.

Hispanics are growing more than the non-Hispanics in Texas, and therefore in twenty years from now, the Hispanic will be the majority based on my findings. The Hispanic growth rate during the 1990s was 54 percent, and they make up 35 percent of the state population. This is a great change from 1980 where the Hispanic made up 21 percent, Angle 67 percent and the Blacks 12 percent and the remaining races occupied the rest percentage. In 2003, the Anglo occupied 52 percent of the state population, and the Black remained at 12 percent. The Hispanic increased to from 21 percent in 1980, 12 percent in 1990, 32 percent in 2000, and 36 percent in 20003. These projections demonstrate that in 2020, Hispanics and Anglo will have the same percent maybe 42 percent (Petersen, Assanie).The Hispanic will be the majority with 48 percent of the population in 2030 just as it was the case of Anglo in 2010. According to the projections, the Hispanics will be the majority, and they will be the largely populated race by far. Approximately 33 percent will be Anglo, Black will make up 9 percent which will be a decline, and the remaining will be other races.

The state government can address these changes by controlling the birthrate in the country and controlling immigration in Texas. The government cause control birthrate by teaching and promoting birth control methods to the Hispanics to control their birthrates (Bobo and Dawson 6). The second would be making education longer by ensuring that all Hispanics children spend six years in colleges and university and this will lower their birthrate because they will be occupied with studies. Most Hispanics do not afford to pay colleges, and therefore they drop out at the college level. The state government should work with the national government to control the number of illegal immigrants in the country. According to Department of Homeland Security, undocumented immigrants in use were 10.8 million in 2009. The government should be strict on the immigrants who enter the bonders illegally (Salamon).

The impact of the changes in demography includes an increase in government expense to provide social amenities. The government has to provide education and healthcare services to the whole population which becomes very challenging. The state government benefits from the taxes paid by undocumented immigrants, but this amount is lower than what the government spends to provide adequate education and healthcare (Bobo and Dawson 8). Another impact is the decrease in the wage rate because the immigrants work at any pay because they are desperate and lack required knowledge and skills for employment. Increase in population leads to social vices such as robbery and prostitution as people look for other means to get money.

The effect of demographic change on the partisan politics is that most elected leaders will be Hispanics because they will surpass the Anglo in the next 30 to 40 years. In the last years, politics was black-white driven, but this will change soon because Hispanics are increasing rapidly. Hispanics make up 52 percent identified political independents while Democrats make up 32 percent and 11 percent Republicans. Most Hispanics affiliate with the Democratic Party and their percentage increase by 52 percent and republican remain with 23 percent (Bobo and Dawson 12). The government controls this by regulating the number of Hispanic allowed to vote.

In conclusion, the Texas demography changes are caused by the increase Hispanic birthrate which is double those of other races. The second reason is the illegal immigrants who settle in Texas and begin their family in this state. The state government can address the issue by introducing birth control methods and making a legal policy on the number of children one is allowed to have. The increased population growth has a negative impact because the government uses public funds to provide adequate education and medical services to everyone. If the increased Hispanic birthrate is not addressed, in the next 30 to 40 years Hispanic will be the majority in the state and may make the most political decisions in the state. The number of Hispanic residents in Texas is increasing and in few years to come there will be a consistent change in the state.

Works Cited

Petersen, DAnn, Assanie, Laila,The Changing Face of Texas Population Projections and Implications https://www.dallasfed.org 2005 Web.

Salamon, Jeff. Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Illegal Immigration (But Didnt Know Who to Ask) Texas Monthly. www.texasmonthly.com 2010 Web.

Bobo, Lawrence D., and Michael C. Dawson. 2009. A Change Has Come: Race, Politics, and the Path to the Obama Presidency. Du Bois Review 6 (1): 1-14.