Gion Thomas: A True Progressive For Houston
Gion Thomas has a true progressive platform, which is why Lone Star Left is endorsing him for TX38.
Gion Thomas has long been an advocate for community engagement and political activism. Gion is most well-known in Houston for engaging in community leadership and volunteering with organizations such as Katy Democrats, Powered by the People, and the Urban League.
“Progressive policy will move the masses to vote.” - Gion Thomas
This is a statement I have long agreed with, knowing how many leftists in Texas have become disengaged or unwilling to vote for a Corporate Democrat. Of course, it’s a long-running argument in Texas on what it takes to flip a seat. I have always been on the side of the argument that Texas Democrats, in whole, should embrace progressivism over the middle.
Read the article I wrote back in July, “Why Texas Democrats Must Focus On An Urban First Strategy And Embrace Progressivism.”
Gion’s issues and platform are genuinely progressive, making economic and social sense. Let’s talk about his key issues, why this is the direction I think Texas should be headed, and why I’m endorsing Gion Thomas for Texas’ Congressional District 38.
Universal Healthcare.
While there are still a few Democrats left who think that the for-profit medical system is viable, most Liberals and Progressives agree that it’s time to join the rest of the world and provide healthcare as a human right.
The right to health was recognized as a human right in the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Since then, other international human rights treaties have recognized or referred to the right to health or elements of it, such as the right to medical care.
In 2018, the U.N. Committee on Civil and Political Rights said the right to life cannot exist without equal access to affordable healthcare services (including in prisons), mental health services, and access to abortion. The U.N. committee mentioned health more than a dozen times in its statement on the right to life.
Progressive Americans have been pushing for equal and available healthcare since Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed it in 1944.
There is much more to Universal Healthcare than the moral implications. A recent study found that in 2020 alone, Universal Healthcare would have saved 212,000 lives and $459 billion. Other studies by think tanks and government agencies have analyzed single-payer proposals at the state and federal levels. Most found Medicare for All would reduce our total healthcare spending.
In Texas, an average of 730 people die every year because they don’t have access to healthcare.
Increasing the minimum wage.
The current minimum wage in Texas is $7.25. Although many other states have raised their minimum wage, Texas seems unwanting or unwilling. The federal minimum wage hasn’t been raised since 2009, and it’s way past time. Business groups have argued that raising the minimum wage forces business owners to fire workers, a claim echoed by Republicans and CEOs. However, a recent report from the Center for American Progress showed how small businesses get a boost from a $15 Minimum wage.
The argument we hear most often is how shoppers and customers will ultimately end up paying for pay raises. However, the most overlooked fact currently is how society already subsidizes low-income workers who earn poverty wages, like $7.25 per hour. You can read more about that in this U.S. Government accountability report, “Millions of Full-Time Workers Rely on Federal Health Care and Food Assistance Programs.”
Businesses support and benefit from raising the minimum wage. It would give a considerable boost to the economy, and it would elevate people out of poverty.
Renewable Jobs and Eco-Friendly Technology.
According to Gion Thomas, Congressional District 38 has faced the harsh realities of climate change, including the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey and the Houston Tax Day flood. We must transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources to mitigate climate change and secure a sustainable future. It’s a transition that can be made without costing a single person their job.
Gion wants to provide comprehensive training for workers in the oil industry as they shift to new positions in the renewable energy sector.
The climate emergency in Texas will be terrible in the next few decades if we don’t do something now.
Unless you’re ready for mass migrations, we need people in Congress who are taking climate change seriously and willing to act on it like the emergency it is. Gion Thomas is one of those people.
Remove Corporate Money From Politics
This should go without saying, but so many in office are profiting from passing corporate agendas while the people suffer. From campaign finance reform to overturning Citizens United, Gion has made taking corporate money out of politics one of his key issues.
Super PACs allow billionaires to pour unlimited amounts into campaigns, drowning out the voices of ordinary Americans. Dark money groups mask the identities of their donors, preventing voters from knowing who’s trying to influence them. And races for a congressional seat regularly attract tens of millions in spending. Enough is enough.
Our democracy shouldn’t be bought and paid for by the wealthy and powerful. Corporate donations harm society. It’s important for us to have people in Congress who acknowledge this and work diligently to end it.
It’s for all these reasons that Lone Star Left is endorsing Gion Thomas for Texas’ Congressional District 38.
You can visit Gion’s website to read his full platform or check him out on Instagram and Facebook.