Flores says the preponderance of low-paying jobs stifles home ownership, which could generate property tax revenue. Laredo earns more tax receipts from its four international bridges than from property taxes, Flores said. It ranks high in job growth, output growth and population growth, but at the same time real per capita income is falling behind. In releasing the headcounts, Commerce Secretary Don Evans decided to use raw totals, which he called the most accurate measure available, instead of figures adjusted using statistical sampling. The Census Bureau estimates it missed 3.3 million Americans, mostly minorities, in its headcount.
Undercounted areas stand to lose political clout and federal aid dollars.
Border cities and metropolises like Houston and Dallas believe the 1990 undercount cost them millions of dollars, because thousands of community centers, social programs and hospitals depend on government money that is allocated by population density. The census forms, which for the first time allowed multiracial Americans to identify themselves in more than one category, will give a clearer picture of racial breakdowns but make comparisons to previous, less-specific headcounts difficult. For example, 2.4 million Texans identified themselves as black in 2000, with nearly 100,000 more saying they were black and at least one other race. Eventually, the data will lead to the redesign of local government entities like commissioners' courts and city councils, municipal utility and community college districts. One of the Legislature's main tasks is to carve out two new U.S. House districts.