Save Texas: Let Texans Work – Letter to Governor Abbott

We agree with President Trump.  It’s time for a plan to get America back to work. Texas should be leading the way.

Texas has been the leading economic engine for the United States, but Texas and her citizens are under serious attack in three ways:

1. We have a public health crisis brewing and it’s not the Wuhan virus! Health care in Texas is being rationed. We are hearing from people who cannot receive health care treatments because they are not deemed “medically necessary.” Health care workers are being furloughed, medical doctors are sitting at home, and hospitals in parts of Texas may soon close because procedures dubbed not “medically necessary” have been delayed in order to save room for COVID-19 patients.  By now, we are all painfully aware of how wrong the predictive pandemic models have been because those flawed models triggered the shutdown. While we are happy the models were wrong regarding the number of predicted deaths, it’s time to open health care to all and bring valuable health care workers back to treating patients. Rationed health care is harming Texans and is likely costing lives.
2. We have a converging economic and global energy crisis. More than 760,000 Texans applied for unemployment benefits over the last four weeks, exceeding the numbers who filed for unemployment for all of 2019. The current Texas budget is based on oil selling in the $50-60 per barrel range through 2021. Per barrel oil prices are in the $20s and last week plummeted briefly to a low of $19 per barrel.  While President Trump and a group of US Senators, including Sen. Ted Cruz, worked on convincing the Saudis and Russia to cut production (along with Mexico), that won’t ultimately solve the problem.  Independent oil producers are being harmed by severely depressed demand due to the Wuhan virus shutdown. Until worldwide energy consumption goes up, our independent producers, related service companies, and the huge workforce they employ are in a world of hurt.  Meanwhile, supply chain breakdowns are causing manufacturing slowdowns, growers to plow under produce, dairy and poultry farmers to destroy milk and eggs, and ranchers to delay selling beef, bison, poultry, and pork. Food supply shortages and price increases (inflation) go together. A prolonged government-forced shutdown harms the ability of Texas families to provide for themselves and will irreparably erode the ability of many small businesses to recover.  
3. Attacks on liberty grow every single day. We hear mounting evidence that liberty is under attack by over-zealous, heavy-handed tin-horn tyrants who appear to be auditioning for their next political campaign. Churches and their members are threatened.  “Non-essential” businesses are ordered to shutter and send private-sector workers home, while it is rare to hear of any government furloughs. Dads are arrested in front of their children for being in a park.  People are ticketed for simply taking a drive.  Citizens are ordered to wear masks or risk criminal prosecution, while some local officials want to empty the jails!  Government officials tell citizens to watch neighbors and to call 911 for violations of social distancing.  Every time government control grows, liberty recedes. That is a dangerous and unacceptable pattern for Texas.

We believe Texas should be leading the nation with a smart plan to get our nation back to work.  Texas should lead from the front while leaning toward Liberty!

Thoughtful, science-based safety precautions can and will allow us to address public health challenges while stopping economic free fall and current rationing of health care in Texas, thus saving lives, families, small businesses, including our independent oil and gas producers who are vital for our nation’s energy independence and economic freedom.

Today, Grassroots America is pleased to join Direct Action Texas, Empower Texans, Gun Owners of America – Texas, the Saulsbury Family, Texas Home School Coalition, Texas Right to Life, True Texas Project and former State Representative Matt Rinaldi to spearhead a letter to Governor Abbott calling on him to enact a clearly communicated and citizen-driven plan to prudently and carefully return Texans to work, to church, and possibly back to school.  We are circulating this letter to our statewide Texas Conservative Grassroots Coalition with an invitation to local, regional and other statewide grassroots leaders and political influencers to join the letter.
 
We will send a second letter with the new Coalition signatures to Gov. Abbott by the end of the week. In the meantime, please like and share our posts @gawtp on Facebook and Twitter to show your support! Thank you!

For Liberty – for Texas,