1 Reaction to Oral Health Capacity and Infrastructure in the States F. Scott McCown Executive Director Center for Public Policy Priorities Austin, Texas Texas Oral Health Summit: Advocacy, Equity & Access Austin, Texas September 9-10, 2004

Oral Health Care September 2004 F. Scott McCown, Executive Director 900 Lydia Street - Austin, Texas Phone (512) – fax (512)

3 The Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery Boerne, Texas Founders of the Center for Public Policy Priorities, 1985

4 Child Population Growth  Fastest growing child population in U.S. between  350,000 additional children  183,000 more than California  75,000 more than Florida  Second largest child population in U.S.  By 2040, school enrollment projected to double

5 Indicators of Need Texas US Average Texasrank % of Population under 18, %25.3% 3 rd Child Poverty Rate, % 16.7% 16.7% 6 th Under-65 Population with No Health Insurance, %17.2% 1 st Source: Congressional Quarterly’s State Fact Finder 2004.

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7 State Spending and the Economy

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11 Indicators of Ability to Pay Texas US Average Texasrank Per Capita Personal Income, 2002 $28,401$30, th State and Local Taxes as a Percent of Personal Income, %11.2% 46 th Percent Change in State/Local Taxes as % of Personal Income, %-4.2% 6 th largest drop Source: Congressional Quarterly’s State Fact Finder 2004.

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13 Cigarettes, Alcohol  Increase cigarette tax by $1.00 per pack, from current 41 cents per pack  Would raise $850 million per year  Would discourage teen-age smoking  Beer is now taxed at 19.4 cents per gallon; an increase to $1.00 per gallon would raise $374 million a year