Texas Governor Greg Abbott is running for re-election, and one of his campaign promises is to make the state more affordable. However, these plans did not sit well with some Texas residents, who complained that the governor has been in office since 2015 and questioned why he had not addressed these issues before.
As reported by The Houston Chronicle, Abbott has made affordability one of the central themes of his re-election campaign, with the goal of turning Texas into “one of the most affordable states in the United States.” Despite having been governor for over a decade, however, Abbott had never campaigned on the cost of living before.
Abbott’s housing proposal would speed up permits for the construction of new homes, which are expected to drive prices down. In healthcare, however, Abbott has resisted the idea of offering Medicaid to more low-income adults.
According to experts interviewed by the media outlet, some parts of the plan are solid, such as lowering housing costs by boosting supply, but the proposals still lack clear measures for reducing healthcare and child care expenses.
Texans React to Governor’s Plans to Make State More Affordable
More liberal-leaning Texas residents criticized the governor after reading about his proposals, as many on r/Texas simply questioned why none of these plans had been put into action before.
One user asked: “How long has he been in office? I haven’t noticed any affordability?” Someone else responded: “You’re right… in fact it’s gotten much worse for the regular non-millionaire citizen in Texas these last few decades.”
Others accused Abbott of only pretending to care about the cost of living because of the upcoming election: “That’s because republicans don’t care until election season. Everything wrong with Texas since 1994 has occurred under GOP rule. If Texas wants change; we need to vote them out.” This view was shared by multiple individuals: “Until he gets elected again, then it’s 30+ more years of Republicans continuing to dig the hole they’ve put us in.”
Abbott is set to face Democrat Gina Hinojosa in the November election, and he is the clear favorite, so it remains to be seen how reactions such as these could affect his standing in the polls.
