State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee in the Texas governor’s race, rolled up her sleeves and got to work Thursday morning in San Antonio to promote her new economic platform.
During a stop at Adelita Tamales and Tortillas, Hinojosa helped spread masa on corn husks as she spoke with the small business’ owners and employees about the impact of rising prices on their day-to-day operations.
“What I am hearing from business owners across the state is they’re struggling to keep their doors open, that inflation has impacted our small businesses much more than it has … big business,” Hinojosa told the Current during the visit. “For small businesses, they operate on the margins, and we don’t give help to our small businesses in this state.”
The stop at the tamale business is one of many Hinojosa is undertaking as she stumps for an economic platform centered around giving every Texas household a one-time payment of $1,500. The Austin-based rep argues the funds are necessary to help families such as the ones behind Adelita’s and other small enterprises.
Hinojosa’s plan would use the state’s $27 billion “rainy day fund,” formally known as the Economic Stabilization Fund, to finance the direct payments to Texas families. Originally created in 1988 to respond to fluctuations in Texas’ economy, the fund has grown substantially over the years but the state’s Republican leadership has seldom tapped into it.
To draw from the fund, Hinojosa would need legislative approval. And if she gets the green light, the plan would use up roughly two-thirds of the stockpile, costing the state an estimated $17 billion dollars, according to her campaign. However, based on projections by the state comptroller, the account will gradually expand back to its earlier level.
“Right now, people are struggling. People need that money,” Hinojosa said. “If we’re not going to spend it — and we haven’t spent it in years — then we need to return it to the people of Texas who know how to spend it better.”
Hinojosa spoke with Adelina’s manager Robert Anthony Borrego IV, great-grandson of the tamale business’ founder. He explained that the family owned shop has been selling tortillas and tamales since 1938, but rising prices and inflation have driven up costs, forcing the family to increase their prices.
The price of meat has gone up by almost 30% during the past couple of months, Borrego told Hinojosa. The business also is paying more for corn husks.
“To know that the cost of the husks has gone up almost 200% in the last few years, that’s something that this family has to eat. They have to be able to still sell that product that people can buy,” Hinojosa told the Current. “And so they’ve just had to go with less.”
Hinojosa’s Republican opponent, Gov. Greg Abbott is campaigning on a promise to slash property taxes — something he’s made a centerpiece of his previous runs. However, Hinojosa cautioned that the incumbent has shown little interest in helping ordinary people weather the economic storm.
“The cost of everything has gone up considerably, and we know that in large part it is the government. It is because of Greg Abbott’s corruption tax,” Hinojosa said. “The economic development plan of Greg Abbott is to invest in global corporations, but it is our small businesses that hire people from the community and that put the money back in the community.”
Both candidates are racing against the clock to sell Texans on their platforms before November’s midterm elections. However, the well-funded Abbott currently holds a 7 point lead, according to a June poll from the Texas Politics Project.
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