Things about Texas you didn't know

[justfollowingtheelections]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-moore/whats-left-of-texas_b_188033.html

1)   49th in teacher pay
2)   1st in the percentage of people over 25 without a high school diploma
3)   41st in high school graduation rate
4)   46th in SAT scores
5)   1st in percentage of uninsured children
6)   1st in percentage of population uninsured
7)   1st in percentage of non-elderly uninsured
   3rd in percentage of people living below the poverty level
9)   49th in average Women Infant and Children benefit payments
10)   1st in teenage birth rate
11)   50th in average credit scores for loan applicants
12)   1st in air pollution emissions
13)   1st in volume of volatile organic compounds released into the air
14)   1st in amount of toxic chemicals released into water
15)   1st in amount of recognized cancer-causing carcinogens released into air
16)   1st in amount of carbon dioxide emissions
17)   50th in homeowners' insurance affordability
18)   50th in percentage of voting age population that votes
19)   1st in annual number of executions

[justfollowingtheelections]

It looks like governor Perry got his wish:

[Aizen]

This is why I wouldn't shed a tear if they were to secede.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Sounds like the perfect capitalist state to me.

[Mint]

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That sounds so bad I might just move there.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Sounds like the perfect capitalist state to me.

Hey, not all states can be as beautiful and as clean as a state like Ohio, where life is so good people are fleeing to be in a place where they can experience hardship again!

[The Man From G.O.P.]

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That sounds so bad I might just move there.

Wait... didn't you just see the other posts above? Texas is terrible when it comes to providing welfare services.... OH OH you mean you have a job and tend to look after yourself? Plan to attend one of the great Tier 1 Universities in Texas?


You greedy racist capitalist pig you.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Looks like Texas is good for big businesses. Woohoo.

Good economic numbers don't necessarily translate to good overall living conditions, as should be evident by the US economy in general under most of Bush's administration. Record profits for businesses, new highs on the stock market, booming industries.

All the while, people were losing their wages, and poverty rates were rising. Texas' economic prosperity can not only be defined as unequal but can largely be summed up in one word: Oil.

Texas has it's fair share of problems that can't be covered up by big businesses propping up the economic numbers. As said above in the original post, Texas has a variety of issues that a bunch of wealthy people don't compensate for. What do good economic numbers do for the poor? What do they do for the elderly? What do they do to pay teachers? What do they do to help people without healthcare? The answer is simple: Nothing.

[The Man From G.O.P.]

Looks like Texas is good for big businesses. Woohoo.

Good economic numbers don't necessarily translate to good overall living conditions, as should be evident by the US economy in general under most of Bush's administration. Record profits for businesses, new highs on the stock market, booming industries.

All the while, people were losing their wages, and poverty rates were rising. Texas' economic prosperity can not only be defined as unequal but can largely be summed up in one word: Oil.

Texas has it's fair share of problems that can't be covered up by big businesses propping up the economic numbers. As said above in the original post, Texas has a variety of issues that a bunch of wealthy people don't compensate for. What do good economic numbers do for the poor? What do they do for the elderly? What do they do to pay teachers? What do they do to help people without healthcare? The answer is simple: Nothing.

Oil has very little to do with it in the last 15 years, and living conditions are more that at par with other areas of the country.... indeed.... WHAT state would you say is a utopia? that doesn't have its share of blight and pleasant suburbs? Really?

[The Man From G.O.P.]

Looks like Texas is good for big businesses. Woohoo.

Good economic numbers don't necessarily translate to good overall living conditions, as should be evident by the US economy in general under most of Bush's administration. Record profits for businesses, new highs on the stock market, booming industries.

All the while, people were losing their wages, and poverty rates were rising. Texas' economic prosperity can not only be defined as unequal but can largely be summed up in one word: Oil.

Texas has it's fair share of problems that can't be covered up by big businesses propping up the economic numbers. As said above in the original post, Texas has a variety of issues that a bunch of wealthy people don't compensate for. What do good economic numbers do for the poor? What do they do for the elderly? What do they do to pay teachers? What do they do to help people without healthcare? The answer is simple: Nothing.

Oil has very little to do with it in the last 15 years, and living conditions are more that at par with other areas of the country.... indeed.... WHAT state would you say is a utopia? that doesn't have its share of blight and pleasant suburbs? Really?

And... let's be clear... the state has been in the control of Democrats since the time began, and only came out of it in the last decade. Even as we speak a Democrat controlled Texas House is debating the budget. (Yes the divide is 76-74 REP, but it is Democrat controlled) Not really important, but what is important is that your claim about "living conditions" is totally baseless. States like Mississippi and Louisiana can be said to have generally poor living conditions. But every state has it's great parts and bad parts. If you've been to Texas you'd know that most of the "living conditions" are more than adequate. Especially since you're typing from Ohio, which has some notorious urban areas.

[minionofmidas]

12)   1st in air pollution emissions
13)   1st in volume of volatile organic compounds released into the air
14)   1st in amount of toxic chemicals released into water
15)   1st in amount of recognized cancer-causing carcinogens released into air
16)   1st in amount of carbon dioxide emissions
18)   50th in percentage of voting age population that votes
19)   1st in annual number of executions

I didn't think anybody didn't know that.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Looks like Texas is good for big businesses. Woohoo.

Good economic numbers don't necessarily translate to good overall living conditions, as should be evident by the US economy in general under most of Bush's administration. Record profits for businesses, new highs on the stock market, booming industries.

All the while, people were losing their wages, and poverty rates were rising. Texas' economic prosperity can not only be defined as unequal but can largely be summed up in one word: Oil.

Texas has it's fair share of problems that can't be covered up by big businesses propping up the economic numbers. As said above in the original post, Texas has a variety of issues that a bunch of wealthy people don't compensate for. What do good economic numbers do for the poor? What do they do for the elderly? What do they do to pay teachers? What do they do to help people without healthcare? The answer is simple: Nothing.

Oil has very little to do with it in the last 15 years, and living conditions are more that at par with other areas of the country.... indeed.... WHAT state would you say is a utopia? that doesn't have its share of blight and pleasant suburbs? Really?

I'm just saying that, for a state supposedly doing so well economically, there seems to be a serious lack of care for those at the bottom (children, the uninsured, the elderly) or those in under appreciated fields (education/teachers) as well as a distinct lack of care for how the environment is treated. Not to mention other societal issues like graduates or teen births. These problems aren't difficult to deal with for the most part, but no one touches them and let's them fall, likely because the economic numbers are good for the state.

And trust me, I'm not defending my state, I don't even live near urban areas and I know how trashy they are.

My point is that I judge a state based on how it treats its worse off, the underprivileged, how they care for the environment. Take a state like Massachusetts, for example. It's economy may grow slower than average and it's rate of growth is lower than the national average, but it has a fairly low poverty rate, is a leader in education, and mandated health care for every resident. (As well as having sane policies towards marijuana and civil rights.)

Or a state like Minnesota, one of the healthiest states in the country, with more people insured than almost any other state in the country, and some of the longest life expectancies. It's also one of the best educated in terms of high school education rates (unlike Texas) and also has a lower than average poverty rate. Yet not some sort of booming state either. Both of these states pay more in taxes than they receive in federal assistance, unlike many red states.

I would much rather live in Massachusetts or Minnesota, because I know I, and many others like me, will be taken care of if something bad should happen or we're not as lucky, or that I'm in a better environment for success. Minnesota is a healthy state with high insurance coverage rates, Texas has the lowest insurance rate in the country. Massachusetts has a far better educated populace than many states, Texas has the lowest high school graduation rate in the country. Minnesota and Massachusetts rival one another for some of the, arguably, lowest poverty rates in the country. Texas, by some statistics, is in the top ten in terms of poverty rates. Not even Ohio is that bad!

Keep your economic boom, someday I'll live in a state that treats me better, far better, than Texas.

[Marokai Backbeat]

12)   1st in air pollution emissions
13)   1st in volume of volatile organic compounds released into the air
14)   1st in amount of toxic chemicals released into water
15)   1st in amount of recognized cancer-causing carcinogens released into air
16)   1st in amount of carbon dioxide emissions
18)   50th in percentage of voting age population that votes
19)   1st in annual number of executions

I didn't think anybody didn't know that.

And here I didn't even think to compare Texas to other states in terms of pollution in my above post. Shame.

[Sbane]

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That sounds so bad I might just move there.

Its a great place to live if you make enough money. If not then you are ed. And that wonderful Houston air!!! You can literally drink it in. It is also hilarious that most of the rich parts of town are on the west side and most of the redneck and mexican parts are on the east and right by the refineries. Hmm I wonder why that is.

[jamestroll]

A lot of these statistics are due to the very high minority population in Texas.. sorry to say.

[paul718]

A lot of these statistics are due to the very high minority population in Texas.. sorry to say.

I was actually thinking it had more to do with the high illegal immigrant population.  Especially with regard to the following categories:

1st in the percentage of people over 25 without a high school diploma
1st in percentage of uninsured children
1st in percentage of population uninsured
1st in percentage of non-elderly uninsured
3rd in percentage of people living below the poverty level
50th in percentage of voting age population that votes


And I'd guess that the following are due to the oil refining industry that's so prevalent in Texas:

1st in volume of volatile organic compounds released into the air
1st in amount of toxic chemicals released into water
1st in amount of recognized cancer-causing carcinogens released into air
1st in amount of carbon dioxide emissions

[Sam Spade]

Wow, more Texas-bashing f****ts.
Point #1:  Texas doesn't have a social services net, which explains a lot of the figures in the top half of your column.  Part of the reason why is because Texas has to balance its budget every year according to the Constitution. 

That means they have to be "fiscally responsible", an uncommon word in today's US society.  Because, in case you haven't noticed, social service nets cost money, lots of it, and, now particularly, they're funded by money the state doesn't have.  Maybe you can raise taxes a lot to make up for it or go into debt like crazy, but in a depression with plummeting tax receipts and an interest rate spike that's bound to happen eventually, don't count on this solution.

Which reminds me - other big states with large minority (especially foreign) populations and social services nets:  1) California - ****ed.  Royally.  Rapidly turning into a third-world country.  They're eventually going to default, it's only a matter of when the Feds can't throw them more money; 2) New York - They're going to try and tax/fee the hell out of everyone.  Naturally, businesses and high-income taxpayers are going to run (or go underground), if they can, and if, for high-income taxpayers, their jobs haven't been ****-canned.  Basically, NY's chances depend on whether the financial services sector can return to where it was before.  You know my opinion on that.  Otherwise, ****ed.  Royally.

Point #2:  I was going to make a long diatribe on education, but I decided not to.  One of the key things I wanted to point out is that the Texas large minority population (which btw, constitutes a lot of the school system) assimilates better into this nation's culture than any other state with similar issues in this country.  By far.

Point #3:  As some of you may or may not know, I grew up on the east side of Houston (my parents still live there) along with the other assorted rednecks and mainly Mexicans.  Some of the best and most normal people I've been around.  Sure, the air was terrible, but I survived, and so did everyone else. 

More importantly, these folks recognized it was necessary too.  Because without that industry and the accompanying jobs, most wouldn't have a livelihood, a way to make money and a way to improve their lives for their kids.  They're not stupid.  And I tell you, I'm shocked, shocked that the rich people actually don't live near this.  I swear that's never happened before in society, and surely isn't happening now, especially not where these pretentious Huffington Post f****ts live...  Couldn't be...

And, instead of lamenting the causes of the east side of Houston, maybe you should remind yourselves that without the industry there, this country would be royally ****ed.  Look at gas prices anytime a major hurricane gets close.  But go on ahead, place your hope in green jobs or carbon taxes or some other way to waste taxpayer money and screw poor people.

You see, it's a good, relevant time to bring this part up, especially to those who say polluting industries = bad, and who equally put their fingers in their ears and go "la la la la la la" whenever someone reminds them that these industries are essential, that they go somewhere (either to Texas or more likely China), and that without them, eventually things blow up.

You can't just push paper (whether it be derivatives, carbon credits) or consume (whether it be housing, cars, flat-screen TVs) or generally engage your economy in non-productive things but eventually it'll bite you in the ass.  That time, most likely, is now.

[/rant]

Have a nice day...

[jamestroll]

Sam Spade,

You will not convince me to move to Texas. I am happy in the Midwest.. yall can have your capitalists, mexican illegal terrorists, bible thumpers, and large insects.

[jamestroll]

And I am not a f****t, I go both ways. I have a muslim turkish girlfriend now. Sure her friends in the middle east are pissed, but who cares?

[The Man From G.O.P.]

Well done Sam, may people like to point out the poor points of Texas, but everyone is collectively happy, just because the people who refuse to work are ultimately dumped out of the system doesn't mean anyone else suffers. Everyone else tends to excel actually.

[Sam Spade]

And I am not a f****t, I go both ways. I have a muslim turkish girlfriend now. Sure her friends in the middle east are pissed, but who cares?

lol

[Marokai Backbeat]

Spade, your post is one big (insulting) "Yeah this kinda sucks but-" in regards to Texas' problems.

"Yeah there's a metric-f**k-ton of pollution in Texas, but-!"
"Yeah the education system has it's fatal flaws, but-!"
"Yeah there's garbage for a safety net, but-!"
"Yeah the health care in Texas is in bad shape, but-!"

I'm not discounting the economic numbers, nor am I discounting the unfortunate necessity of the industries there. But caring for the people of the state and having crucial industry is not a mutually exclusive feat.

Now with regards to the other states you mentioned, these states are going through some tough times and are resorting to regrettable measures because they're practically forced to. Over the course of the last few decades, the burden on state governments has risen under the philosophy that states should be left to their own devices. Not only has the debt as a percentage of the GDP of state and local government increased almost ten-fold in the last 30 or so years, increasing the most under the last Republican administration, but state and local government spending as a whole has increased consistently, to rival federal government direct expenditures for the very first time.



It's because of the increased burden placed on state governments that these sort of actions (tax increases, new fees, etc) are necessary in order for states to not collapse in certain areas like Texas has already ceded. Health care, education, battling poverty. These are all areas Texas is doing terribly in, but other states, less economically vibrant, are doing far better. If Texas wasn't blessed with natural resources, it would pretty much be a poverty and crime infested wasteland, filled with illegal immigrants.

Furthermore, the problem isn't people who put their fingers in their ears and go "la-la-la-la-la" whenever confronted with the necessity of these industries, but rather those in the industries going "la-la-la-la-la" whenever confronted with the damage they are causing. Once again you view this strictly in black and white, we either must have horrific levels of pollution or no industry. This is quite simple, Texas pollutes, alot. Texas shouldn't pollute. We don't have to dismantle industry to protect the environment.

As for screwing poor people, Texas seems to be doing a just fine job of that themselves already. Not only is Texas a polluted and unhealthy state, but it's poverty rate is high compared to other states and it has, as previously stated, some of the lowest health insurance coverage rates in the country. Spew all you feel like about more expensive, but clean, forms of energy, but screwing poor people seems to be going on already.

Point #2:  I was going to make a long diatribe on education, but I decided not to.

Yep, that's my Spade.

I realize that social safety nets are expensive, but many states, and many other countries, manage to run them effectively. (There are, of course, notable exceptions.) But the cost of inaction with dealing with the poor or the uninsured, can cost a great deal of money in their own right. Take for instance, the lack of a national health care program. Not only are healthcare costs a leading cause of bankruptcy in the country, sick people without care can afflict others, who will in turn, afflict others. People without health insurance place a burden on the public dime by abusing emergency room services, people who are forced to pay these obscene medical payments can go without food, or go bankrupt. People lose their homes, are forced on the streets or into the arms of family, placing more of a burden on society.

Even people with insurance aren't safe, as should be well known by now. Eventually, poverty rises, and poverty will eventually lead to crime. Non-discriminating national or state health care programs to subsidize health care costs (or just help with them) could avoid these problems, and all the side effects that could affect the public. Safety nets can be expensive, but can also sidestep a lot of issues that could potentially cause more problems if left untouched, and cost more in the long run, as we're seeing now. The same logic can be applied to a number of other areas. Texas is seeing the issues afflicting society because of the lack of government assistance or simple outreach programs to help those in need.

To end this long-winded rebuttal, the point is simple. Texas has alot of problems because they ignore the simple problems of the people of their state, unlike other states, and that it's unfair to point to the financial burden of states as an example of why social programs don't work (ironic considering Texas's terrible situation and notable lack of such programs) when the burden on states has allowed to become so bloated due to the federal government's inaction that state and local expenditures have started to rival federal spending. Social programs work, you can slow pollution without destroying industry, and doing nothing is worse than doing little.

What would I call the poor people who apparently care so much for? In Texas, I'd call them royally ****ed.

[jimrtex]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-moore/whats-left-of-texas_b_188033.html

1)   49th in teacher pay

Citation on this please?  AFT has Texas ranked 29th, about where it ranks in per capita income.  South Dakota is last.

2)  1st in the percentage of people over 25 without a high school diploma

This includes people without a HS diploma who moved into a State and excludes those who move from a State after getting a HS diploma, and thus is more a measure of things like immigration or race.

For example, California ranks 45th.  While Texas is 49th among all persons, it is 38th among persons born within the State.   Texas is 22nd among those born in another State - in general domestic immigrants are better educated in almost every State, with the exception of the Midwest, which tends to attract less well educated Americans.  Among Blacks, Texas is 15th ranking above Minnesota.   As is true with health, Blacks in Minnesota would be better off if their skin was white, their hair blonde, and eyes blue; or they moved to Texas.

4)   46th in SAT scores

Maine is 50th.  Mean SAT scores have a high (negative) correlation with participation rate.   Most students in the midwest take

   3rd in percentage of people living below the poverty level

Does not adjust for housing costs.  Who would invent a statistic that excludes the most expensive item for people (housing) and excludes some sources of income?

18)   50th in percentage of voting age population that votes

Texas does not permit non-citizens to vote.  This is also based on survey data from the current population data.  Respondents regularly over-report participation.  Presumably Texans are more honest than other persons, and thus less likely to fictitiously report voting.

19)   1st in annual number of executions

Texas has the 2nd highest population, and is 2nd in capital convictions.  The difference is that Texas carries out the executions, while California taunts its victims, its juries, and its convicted murders.

[ottermax]

Well, I'm sure Texas isn't all that bad, but seriously it has like the worst climate in the country. Is there anywhere in Texas where the weather is comfortable?

And Texas has that whole supersize culture stereotype; it may be a stereotype but that's just disgusting. too many mansions, too much obesity, too many bugs, too much oil.

[jamestroll]

And I am not a f****t, I go both ways. I have a muslim turkish girlfriend now. Sure her friends in the middle east are pissed, but who cares?

lol

Actually she is half turkish and half iraqi.. Her iraqi family is pissed.. but her turkish family; not so much.