You're definitely challenging yourself trying to debate someone uninterested in anything but drive bys and stupid quips. Haha. Buena suerte!
Texas is about the least green state I have lived in. Texas is so large and abundant in resources I think the residents after awhile take it for granted. When I lived in Houston I knew of one large repair shop that worked on commercial semis and dumped 100% of their waste directly into the bayou. They had a 1000 gallon tub they collected all the oil, diesel, radiator fluid, transmission fluid and steering fluid into. When it filled up they would roll it over to the bayou abutting their shop and dump it directly down the concrete side of the bayou that funneled into the water supply. I asked a guy I knew that lived by and he said the shop had been doing it for 20 years. I am sure it contaminated the ground water, soil, caused the spread of poisonous waste materials which killed wildlife and likely caused birth defects and organ failure... but he could rebuild your transmission for only $500 and did great work.
I have lived in quite a few blue states, as well as red ones.. I have even lived in Europe and no where I have been can touch Texas, and especially Houston, when it comes to the ability to make a good living, raise a family and become wealthy. The amount of opportunities in Texas are amazing and the overall cost of living is excellent. If you want to argue about the lack of environmental concern in Texas, I am with you. However when it comes to economic opportunity for it's citizens, Houston in particular and the state of Texas, is a giant. In the case of my business I have very little competition regardless of my physical location, but Texas was like shooting fish Ina barrel.
In this particular thread, my arguments were more focused on getting people to realize green state does not equal economic train-wreck. To pull that out, I did have to rag on Texas a bit, but only because other people had been ragging on states doing good in my opinion, and well, sometimes you need to push some of that medicine back. all in all, I'm sure it's a great place to live. had a friend who worked for TI, he had a great time, and I'd probably consider it too (though my industry of choice and hopefully future is based in Cali).
Fair response. Obviously eventually destroying the environment will catch up with you and Texas is no exception. Right now the state is so large and abundant that it doesn't matter. Whether Texas is a great state to live in is debatable. However, when it comes to economic opportunities, it is Ina completely different level in my experience. I have lived in California, Ohio, Massachusetts, Illinois, Texas, Washington and all over Europe.
I'll play. IMHO, if you intended "tossing" to be a gerund (allowing the use of the possessive adjective "your"), then you should have used the adjective "lazy" (in place of "lazily") and inserted "of" before "median". Anyhow... Texas is great at making money, but by a lot of measures of health and quality of life (you know, the point of growing the economy in the first place), we're lagging.
Your experience is all dependent on your field of work. Would a software engineer have more opportunity in Massachusetts or in Texas? I'm banking on Mass. Would someone seeking a manufacturing labor job have better opportunity in Texas or in Mass? Probably Texas.
People living in southern states "miserable" Despite having the lowest cost of living, new report shows people living in southern states are not happy. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/02/happiest-states-_n_3696160.html Very sad. Hang in there frends.
Is it just a coincidence that the red states states are unhappy when someone like Obama is in office??????
My field of work is dependent on the health of other industries. My firm handles contracts and litigation for a variety of industries. The lower taxes, low cost of living, abundant land, resources and labor force make Houston extremely attractive for those trying to be wealthy. There are always going to be particular industries stronger in particular states. Hell if you want a job manufacturing parts, move to Cleveland. You want to work on tractors, move to Southern Illinois. If you want to argue QUALITY of life, or worker rights or any of a host of other areas so be it.