[Slate.com] Why Texas is doing so much better economically than the rest of the natio

Texas should be proud of its business leaders, I did a term paper in College on how Austin became a leading technology area in the seventies. it was definitely a concerted effort by business leaders, politicians, and UT to make the town what it has become. its no coincidence

 

Texas had a $3.5 billion budget hole in 2009, genius.

 

do you live in California???

out of the top major cities
San Diego and Irvine (Orange County) are considered more conservative and are doing a whole lot better than SF or LA. SF being the most liberal and of coruse they are propped up by Sillicon Valley.

Also there is only so much a city can do regarding fiscal policies.

 

I think your posts provide evidence that poster locale is not indicative of accuracy or relevance.

 

How was anything I said disproven in that thread? I think the original OPs claims were the one that was disproven in that thread. You and some other nuts derailed that thread from its original topic. The OP was the one that made the outlandish claim that California was in a fiscal mess because of CONSERVATIVES. I found that the most ridiculous statement. California is one of the most liberal leaning states and you cant deny it. The only other claim I made in that thread was California has one of the highest tax burdens in the nation. (WHICH IS TRUE AGAIN) California pays the highest sales tax, highest gas taxes and the second-highest income tax rates in the nation.

I also claimed in this thread this was not a democratic vs republican thing and that both are responsible for the mess in California. But you cant deny that California is not a liberal leaning state with liberal policies. And there is a reason why Texas has the stereotype of the gun clinging conservatives.

 

well how hell does he know which cities are doing well. Especially since his claim was completely unfounded, wrong and false.

If you look at election results and which areas generally lean conservative San Diego and Irvine are much more conservative than LA or SF.

If you really want to bring that argument in here lets look at El Centro which is nearly all registered Democrats. Hmm the unemployment rate out there is over 20%+!!!

Again I already claimed this argument is stupid because there is only so much a city can do.

 

True. So were your claims. Thus the comment of liberal and conservative policies. Did you read my post?

hrmmmmm

There are several conservative policies that have played a rather large role in CA's inability to cope with massive revenue shortfalls. This was made abundantly clear previously.

I never have.

Your point was made moot in that thread. I suggest you read it.

Well yes, but then...

Your attempts to portray non-bias are humorous... but it really makes understanding your points difficult. Simply stating that the state tends to lean very liberal and ranting about people "staying at home collecting welfare checks" really does not lend credibility to any of your counterpoints. IMO.

 

With the exception of Michigan -- this was primarily a housing bubble/credit based recession. Places with goofy lending rules (California, Arizona, Florida) got hit hard. Texas did not.

Had oil gone to $30 Texas would not have faired so well.

 

Again this was not a Democrat vs Republican thing. California does lean very liberal. This is a fact! Texas does lean towards conservative policies. This is a fact! No one can deny this!

How is stating a fact being biased?
This has nothing to do with the parties. There are democrats who are more fiscally conservative than Republicans. I was only stating general state policies and trends and those facts can't be denied. Now is that the main cause of the situations the states are facing? NO it's not but you have to admit it definitely influences and has a role.

Back to the tax burden arguement. It is not a moot point. Let's just look at income taxes. Out of college (BS in EE) I got a job in San Diego that paid me 78k. My buddy who graduated same year as me got a job at Texas Instrument who paid him 75k. Not looking at social security, federal income taxes and let's just keep it simple. My take home pay was 70k after state taxes while his is still at 75k. Hmmm Not sure where everyone else situation is but 5k is a lot money each year and goes quite a long way for a lot of people. That is not even factoring in sales and gas taxes. So texas has higher property taxes in terms of percentage but with property values being several times higher out here thats a wash.

Anyways I am not ranting or maybe I am but I make a lot more now than I use to out of college so I don't have a problem paying my fair share of taxes. It only makes my blood boil when I see what our elected officials waste it on. Also you really have to start your own business out here to see how much you have to pay. It really is quite crazy with all the taxes, fees, etc you have to pay to just startup your own business out here. These policies definitely discourage small business which creates jobs for others.

 

Your statements above are also true. California has defintiely suffered from the huge housing bubble crisis, which is why I said in my earlier posts it really is a combination of policies and other factors.

 

Might I suggest we peruse your comments for the breadth this "role" takes in your worldview and just how consistent you are....

^^^^lol really?

You're not consistent at all. You know why? Because you always start out with the extremist "IT'S THE LIBERALS AAAAAARRRRRGHHHHH!!!!11" and then get exposed. Then you back off and revert to suggesting correlations sans facts. Rinse, repeat.

 

The biggest things affecting the economic well being of CA would be the housing bubble and ridiculous rules requiring a 2/3 vote from the state legislators on matters of budget and taxes which makes it hard to deal with the budget crisis at hand.

In addition the fact that people can vote on any number of mandates here that have to be paid for are huge. That is especially true when some of the ways these things and other parts of our budget are supposed to be paid for come from property taxes which fall because of the housing bubble, and foreclosures.

The housing bubble and foreclosures also hit SF, and LA harder than it did San Diego and OC.

 

Exactly. California is Toqueville's America on steroids. Everybody wants everything and nobody wants to pay for it. That by itself is rather natural, but in CA it's been institutionalized. Think about it - you can vote for a myriad of mandates that cost major $$$, and then turn around and use the 2/3 rule to avoid taxes. Kablooie!!!

 

You guys are forgetting that Texans killed California when Enron and ilk rigged the energy markets and bilked the state out of billions. This was set up by Cons deregulating the energy biz to a fault in the 1990's.

Also, people forget that not too long ago, California was a reliably Republican state, dominated by Orange County Repubs and putting Reagan into the WH. From 1968 to 1988 CA voted for the Repub Presidential candidate every time.