Our State. Our Voice. Our Future.

In Texas, there’s more that unites us than divides us.

Regardless of our race, gender, or socioeconomic status, Texans of all backgrounds know our worth. We are worth a quality public education, affordable health care, dignified jobs, and a fair shot at prosperity. Since 1985, Every Texan has engaged in research, policy analysis, and advocacy to increase equity and opportunity for Texans of all backgrounds. Our "why" has always been, "Texans."

When we changed our name to Every Texan, we knew we had to live up to being an organization for each and EVERY Texan. Over the past year, we have been working thoughtfully and strategically on how to show up and contribute meaningfully to the transformation Texas needs most.
Our state’s greatest resource is our people and policymaking in our state should reflect that. For too long, the elite few have not been listening to the needs of everyday Texans. They are choosing not to invest in our people and future.

We can change that. It’s time to invest in policy solutions that work for every Texan. It’s time to create a state budget that invests in our communities and reflects our shared values. The Texas we all deserve is achievable through our people-led power.

When Texans come together, we can make our voices heard and achieve the solutions we need to thrive. Every Texan will advance a policy agenda rooted in racial and gender equity using an all-inclusive, people-centered state policy roadmap — The People’s Budget.
The People's Budget aims to establish a people-centered policy agenda for our state while engaging and mobilizing the power of everyday Texans. The People’s Budget focuses on community investments that the State of Texas can make for the people of Texas.

The People’s Budget vehicle is supported by four key strategies:
We’re known for our fact-based research and policy analysis. To strengthen our work, we need to think Texas-big and center our state's greatest resource — our people.

Partners

We engage in diverse policy issues and bring folks together. It’s time to think strategically about who is missing from the table across race, place, and background.

Engagement

Our “why” has always been "Texans." Our work is more powerful when we center our communities. Everyday Texans should inform and partner on our work.

Narrative

The race-class narrative is an empirically-tested narrative that neutralizes the use of dog-whistle racism to win on the issues we care about and changes voter perceptions of what is possible in Texas.

We will work with the community on a proactive public investment and tax equity agenda that mobilizes everyday Texans year-round, supported by our expert analysis and partners.
We, the people, believe:

Together, we will lift Texas from having the highest uninsured rate in the nation to being the number one state for quality, affordable health care. Texas families should never struggle to receive or keep their health coverage. We’re worth more than forgoing needed care, struggling to pay medical bills, and navigating other barriers that make it hard for us to access care. We are worth comprehensive health coverage that is accessible, affordable, and affirming. Together, we must demand that leaders across Texas pass these policy solutions and fund our healthcare system so all Texans are healthy and cared for.

  • Ensure all Texans, including immigrants, have truly affordable health coverage and can access the health care they need, when and where they need it, without financial hardship.
  • Accept billions in federal funds to provide coverage for Texans by saying yes to Medicaid Expansion.
  • Make enrollment in health coverage programs easy and accessible for all Texans including immigrants.
  • Recognize racism as a public health crisis and dedicate funding to address its negative impacts on health.
  • Address racial disparities so that babies and moms don’t merely survive, but can thrive no matter where they live in Texas.
  • Protect the right of all Texans to make their own medical decisions, whether they are to start a family, end a pregnancy, or receive gender-affirming care.

In Texas, no one should ever go hungry. Every Texan is worthy of access to secure, accessible, and nutritious foods for ourselves and our families. Together, we will break down barriers that keep Texans from accessing food. We are worth access to quality, nutritious food and well-funded, accessible programs that help Texans feed themselves and their families. Together, we demand that leaders across Texas invest in these policy solutions to ensure that no Texan goes hungry.

  • Provide healthy school meals for free to all children year-round.
  • Provide food benefits to college students in need.
  • Fully fund and staff state programs that serve Texans needing help paying for food.
  • Increase food aid to families when schools close for the summer.
  • Make securing healthy meals easy and affordable for all Texans, including immigrants, by removing harmful barriers to food assistance.

From Lubbock to Houston, from Uvalde to El Paso, every child in Texas deserves the freedom to learn and pursue their dreams. Together, we will demand that every child in Texas has access to accurate, safe, supportive, and fully funded schools. Texas wins when every student has access to a public education that prepares them for civic engagement and post-secondary success. As Texans, we demand that policy leaders fund our schools and ensure every child receives a quality, honest and safe education, no matter where they call home.

  • Ensure school funding counts every student, pays for an education system that leads to economic opportunity and social mobility, and keeps up with rising costs.
  • Fund early education opportunities for all Texas children that prepare them for life-long learning.
  • Strategically and equitably address systemic disinvestment in students, schools, and communities.
  • Pay teachers salaries that are worthy of the work they do and allow them to live in the communities where they work and to support their families.
  • Care for retired teachers by providing affordable health care and living wages. Offer intellectually honest and culturally relevant curriculums, taught by highly qualified educators.

Texans across race, place, and background are worthy of the opportunity to pursue quality higher education and postsecondary opportunities. All students must be free to learn through a world-class education grounded in truth, facts and diverse perspectives. When every Texas student has access to a public education that prepares them for civic engagement and post-secondary success, the whole state prospers. We must enact the following solutions to ensure Texas students have access to accurate, honest, supportive, and fully funded schools.

  • Fund aid programs for students that address food and housing insecurity, lack of child care, and unreliable transportation to remove barriers to attendance and completion.
  • Support students and address the cost of tuition and basic living expenses amid rising inflation.
  • Invest in robust physical and mental health care services for all students.
  • Invest in campus environments that promote the safety and success of every student.
  • Protect academic freedom in the classroom for students, educators, and institutions.
  • Fortify campus democracy and student-led decision making.
  • Increase investments in need-based financial aid.

No matter our race, gender, or place, Texans deserve dignified jobs that support thriving individuals and families. We raise the bar for every Texan living in our state when workers of all backgrounds earn living wages, experience safe working conditions, and access essential benefits like affordable health care coverage and paid family, medical, and sick leaves. Building worker power will balance the unfair advantage wealthy corporations hold over us — the people. Everyday Texans deserve to share in the prosperity their labor creates so we can thrive together. When power is balanced between the wealthiest corporations and workers, it raises the bar for all of us! Together we must enact the following solutions to ensure every worker in Texas is treated with dignity.

  • All workers and their families are paid a living wage and get paid family, medical, and sick leaves
  • All workers are safe while on the job and are protected from wage theft and misclassification.
  • Every worker and their family gets affordable childcare.
  • Every worker is able to join a union and bargain collectively over their salary, benefits, and working conditions.

The Texas tax system is upside down: the wealthiest pay the least percentage of their income, while working families pay the highest percentage of their income. When we work together, we can hold accountable the powerful elected officials for prioritizing their wealthy friends over everyday Texans. We must work across differences to enact the following solutions to get our tax system right side up.

  • Make the property tax system more fair.
  • Modernize the sales tax to reflect today’s economy.
  • Pass a state personal income tax to lower property taxes for working and middle-income families.

When we join together as voters, we can elect leaders who know our worth and chart a better future where every Texan has the freedom to thrive. We must enact the following solutions to ensure every Texan is heard and counted.

  • Invest in increasing voter participation, voter education, and training for poll workers.
  • Fund resources to properly register voters, distribute and collect mail-in ballots, and hold elections with minimal wait times and obstacles, especially for voters with disabilities and language barriers.
Together, we will demand that our state budget strengthens Texans of all backgrounds, no exceptions. Texans, regardless of where we’re born or what we look like, are demanding a state budget that works for all of us versus the wealthiest few. We’re working together to take back our state budget from the hands of greedy corporations and self-interested politicians — this is our people’s budget. Join us!

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