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

No state income tax, a constitutional requirement to balance the state budget, a legislature that only meets every two years, preventing a heck of a lot of mischief, a diversified economy, not so dependent on energy, but buoyed by high energy prices... those are just some of the reasons why Texas is doing better than most of the nation.

Nice topic, and we don't produce tea!

 

No credit should ever be given to our legislature, they're a bunch of morons who treat their jobs like its a joke. Theyre all crooks in my mind.

 

lots of folks would say we should try this at the national level.

 

I placed credit with our state constitution allowing the legislature to meet only every two years (unless there is a special session), "preventing a heck of a lot of mischief", but it is also a frequent pain in the ass, and the reason dates back to the difficulty of low paid members getting from their districts in this far flung state to the capitol in Austin. Solution? Meet every two years and spare the horses.

"No credit should ever be given to our legislature, they're a bunch of morons who treat their jobs like its a joke. They're all crooks in my mind."

I challenge anyone to prove they have been more critical of our state government than I have here over the years, but your statement above is simply wrong, with all due respect. We have a lot of fine, hard working members of the Lege from the Democratic and Republican sides of the aisle. Seriously. I've met several and my significant other works with them every day. You would be amazed.

The worst political creature in Austin is the Governor. Put in someone like Bill White, or one of the several sane, hard working Republicans in the state house and senate, and things would improve dramatically. Sure, there are a lot of loons, fools, slobbering idiots, fanatics, radicals, and closet "fill in the blanks," but they are a minority. Most work hard and aren't paid diddly squat. Look it up. Diddly squat would be an improvement. Shoot, if we paid them a decent wage, maybe they wouldn't morph into lobbyists as soon as they can manage it.

 

I think at the national level, there are too many contingencies that occur that would need to be dealt with. Otherwise, you cede way too much power to the President to make those calls when Congress is not in session. (I do recognize that is what you'd prefer, assuming it was a Repub President... if it was a Dem President, you'd be in favor of Congress being in session full-time.)

I do think one thing that might make a difference is to pass two-year budgets. The amount of money and manpower the Federal gov would save from not having to close out the FY the way it's currently done every Sept, from not being in limbo until a new budget was passed, and from not having to allocate new dollars each year would be immense. Agencies could be more precise with their planning and projects. Not to mention the same savings would accrue to state and local governments who have to report on Fed funds and private groups who submit annual grants and such. So, same funding but half the bureaucratic costs.

If an emergency arose or something got way out of whack, you could always pass a supplemental, which is what happens now anyway.

 

Economic growth always has a money creation engine. In Texas for a couple of years before 2010 the engine has been the explosive growth of natural gas, primarily in the shales of North Texas. There were hundreds of over night millionaires and thousands of average homeowners that got $25,000 for their mineral rights. It led to jobs growth in drilling and production and cash flows that supported home prices and retail sales.

When gas was at $13 it was like money just shooting up out of the ground.

 

Just to clarify - every state has a requirement to balance their budget. I don't think the income tax has much to do with it - there isn't much correlation between economic success and who has state income taxes or what their rates are.

I think the key is the last part - the Texas economy is built primarily on commodities (energy, food) and technology. Tech has been the strongest sector during the recession, and during the 2008 part of the recession, energy was rocketing sky high. The amount of land also helps to keep home prices down by letting cities expand out instead of up, so that helped avoid that coastal bubble.

 

i'm no particular fan of republican presidents (tho i think on balance, they've been better presidents since the mid '70s.) i used to take a more expansive view of the the power of government, and yes, of a stomg executive, properly motivated, to push past what's typically an fairly intransigent congress.

as i've gotten older, the benefits of more limited government, in size and scope, have seemed clearer. i'd limit congress' sessions and terms, and would consider a single 6 year term for president, and limit her power when congress is not available to provide balance.

 

Related...

http://www.themoneyillusion.com/?p=4626

"For several decades the most dynamic part of the US economy has been Texas. Rich people, middle-class people, and working class people are voting with their feet and moving to Houston and Dallas and Austin. Whites, blacks and Hispanics are moving to Texas. Not because of oil wealth (Louisiana has even more oil per capita), and not because of climate (California and Florida are more pleasant), but rather because it best epitomizes the US economic model. And they are leaving states with fiscal policies more to the liking of progressives like Yglesias and Krugman. "


http://www.themoneyillusion.com/?p=4678

Progressives often portray Texas as a nightmarish place with savage inequalities, underfunded schools, a weak safety net, the death penalty, a high murder rate despite the death penalty, a gun in every pick-up truck, etc. These stereotypes are probably partly true and partly false. But the fact remains that Texas is a very appealing place for migrants. Not just for selfish rich people escaping high tax states. It is also appealing to working class whites, Hispanics, even for 100,000 poor black refugees from Katrina (who were welcomed by Houston with open arms—something the liberals in my hometown would never do.)

 

Would have to agree there

from the article

Take out the bloated overcompensated middle man that federal bureaucracy can be, and the people can react a little more smoothly and responsive to needed changes and trends. If wind turbines can help the local economy and job growth, well then get right to it if its not going to poison the environment.

Its the opposite of California full of regulations, over-unionized public sector, taxes and "mischievous" legislature.

Legislative salaries 2007
http://www.empirecenter.org/html/legislative_salaries.cfm
California $113,098/year
Texas $7,200/year

That doesn't mean one is automatically is worse than the other. Just indicates that one is showing they're trying to stay the heck out of the way. And the other isn't by a long shot.

 

Yes, to balance their budget, but that excludes the state debt. Look at California, which is struggling with servicing over $60 billion in state debt. While Texas can "thank" Rick Perry for almost doubling our state debt since coming to office in 2000, $34.08 billion in outstanding bonds and notes as of Aug. 31, at least in Texas the vast majority of that debt is self-supporting... interest on student loans, tolls on tollways, and the like. While California can barely keep its head above water, we're in pretty good shape. I'm not going to argue about the effect of not having a state income tax. I think it makes a significant difference in making the state attractive to individuals and businesses. You are free to disagree. Having said that, I also believe we are undertaxed. It has been an age since we increased the tax on gasoline, for instance, which could have paid for much of the billions Perry has pushed to borrow for his pet road projects.

 

Some would say that they got it backwards. The Texas Legislature should meet for 2 days every 140 years. :grin:

 

I would like to point out that Texas is in a unique position with regards to electrical production and transmission within the state. While almost every state (heck, maybe every other state) has to share in one form or another, getting it from other states, or producing it and sending it to other states, while also receiving it, Texas has its own electric grid. We don't share electricity across the state line and we don't take electricity from other states. That's an incredible advantage in the current climate. It gives us the freedom to create wind farms in parts of Texas, build transmission lines to the cities, and not have to ask our neighbors whether it's OK. There are other advantages, as well. If there is a widespread blackout in the country, we are relatively unaffected.

We're a pretty freaky state.

 

I hear ya! It's kinda crazy. At least every other summer, folks who work for the Lege have a chance to take the comp time they earned while doing two years worth of work in less than a year. Those long vacations can be nice! Folks just need to remember that they are well deserved.

 

Texas does and always has benefited from natural blessings through pure luck and coincidence. We have oil and gas, fairly abundant water, no natural barriers to development like mountains or deserts, a benign climate, and lots and lots of land, most of it arable.

Be smug all you want, but it would take pure stupidity for government to screw up here; although California does prove it can be done. I think the difference is the lack of populist sentiment. It arose in California out of the shared plight of the Dust Bowl immigrants and continued with the influx of WW2 factory workers. Whereas Texas immigrants don't come en mass and are assimilated into the existing culture.

(yes I tend to be a Populist but every ideal must be compromised to exist with reality, Capitalism and Populism. Basically, men always have to balance unlimited need with limited supply)

 

Texas - Conservative Principals
California - Liberal Principals

Texas = Doing Great Economically
California = Greece size collapse

California is the perfect example of politicians screwing it up big time. California has just as many natural resources as Texas except throw in the high taxes (ranked 2nd highest tax burden in 2010) and social entitlement programs it's a recipe for disaster.

Also I just want to state this is not a Democrat vs Republican thing. They are almost the same these days. A democrat in Texas is probably more fiscially conservative than a Republican in California. Texas has a huge history of Democratic Governors. It's more about the underlying principals. Texas has generally been considered a very conservative state while California is one of the most liberal. OF course this isnt the only factor for why California is in the mess it is now but it definitely has somethign to do with it.

 

It's kind of funny how the only parts of California that are doing well are the most liberal ones.

 

Dude, this again? Your simplistic take was roundly disproven in this thread. California is a perfect ****storm of liberal and conservative idiocy.

 

as far as texas relates to california, of course cost of living has a lot to do with it, but a lot of that has to do with cost of land. texas is a relatively cheap state before you even start to talk about taxes.

that combined with the oil field service jobs, and the tech jobs makes it an economically sound place to live.

you still have the refining industry down here, and yes you can talk about how conservative politics help that industry thrive, but for better or worst its a big industry. plus the port of houston is the second largest port in this country in terms of tonnage of traffic, most people don't even realize that.