Texas Gets Its Report Card
April 16, 2013 9:00 AM Subscribe
While a bit parochial, this post reveals some things worth pondering if you are considering relocating to Texas...
The Texas Legislative Study Group released its 2013 “Texas on the Brink” report at the end of last week. The report is an annual study to determine Texas’ rankings among the 50 states and the District of Columbia on health care, education, and the environment. How’s Texas doing? Not so great: The state ranks 50th in high school graduation rate, first in amount of carbon emissions, first in hazardous waste produced, last in voter turnout, first in percentage of people without health insurance, and second in percentage of uninsured kids... - via The Texas Observer
The Texas Legislative Study Group released its 2013 “Texas on the Brink” report at the end of last week. The report is an annual study to determine Texas’ rankings among the 50 states and the District of Columbia on health care, education, and the environment. How’s Texas doing? Not so great: The state ranks 50th in high school graduation rate, first in amount of carbon emissions, first in hazardous waste produced, last in voter turnout, first in percentage of people without health insurance, and second in percentage of uninsured kids... - via The Texas Observer
USA! USA! USA!
posted by bardic at 9:04 AM on April 16, 2013 [7 favorites]
posted by bardic at 9:04 AM on April 16, 2013 [7 favorites]
BUT IT'S NUMBER ONE FOR BUSINESS!
posted by entropicamericana at 9:05 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by entropicamericana at 9:05 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
They'll pry high school graduation into their cold, dead hands!
posted by DU at 9:06 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by DU at 9:06 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
don'treadonme
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 9:08 AM on April 16, 2013 [14 favorites]
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 9:08 AM on April 16, 2013 [14 favorites]
Also I can report Austin is a horrible wasteland and nobody should ever move here, especially from California.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 9:08 AM on April 16, 2013 [32 favorites]
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 9:08 AM on April 16, 2013 [32 favorites]
USA! USA! USA!
Well if you have 50 states, one of them has to be the worst.
posted by delmoi at 9:09 AM on April 16, 2013
Well if you have 50 states, one of them has to be the worst.
posted by delmoi at 9:09 AM on April 16, 2013
As Molly Ivins observed, the portion of the gallery in the Texas Legislature where the corporate lobbyists sit is fondly known as The Owners Box...
posted by jim in austin at 9:10 AM on April 16, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by jim in austin at 9:10 AM on April 16, 2013 [3 favorites]
And yet, despite all that, Texas has a substantial net immigration from other parts of the US.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:11 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:11 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
And first in incarceration, I think.
Definitely first in executions, by, like, an order of magnitude
posted by delmoi at 9:11 AM on April 16, 2013
Definitely first in executions, by, like, an order of magnitude
posted by delmoi at 9:11 AM on April 16, 2013
How does it rank in percentage of corporate profits vs. corporate tax rates? That will explain much of the rest.
posted by Dreidl at 9:11 AM on April 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Dreidl at 9:11 AM on April 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
This is oddly reassuring, if only because I had assumed worse numbers and because when you're the only person in your circle who acknowledges "really guys, we are not doing so well in this state" you start to feel like a crazy ranter. In a weird way, it's nice to have a full collection of stats to back up my own observations/random bits of data I'd seen in news stories.
But most people will still look at the fact that on many measures, at least one other state (Mississippi, usually) is doing worse, and shrug. Sure none of us have savings and we're all dying sooner and all our kids have asthma and "pollen allergies" which of course can't possibly actually be pollution, and etc. etc. but hey, who are we to ask for more, we have jobs, just keep your head down and don't make a fuss.
Hard to crack that attitude.
posted by emjaybee at 9:12 AM on April 16, 2013 [7 favorites]
But most people will still look at the fact that on many measures, at least one other state (Mississippi, usually) is doing worse, and shrug. Sure none of us have savings and we're all dying sooner and all our kids have asthma and "pollen allergies" which of course can't possibly actually be pollution, and etc. etc. but hey, who are we to ask for more, we have jobs, just keep your head down and don't make a fuss.
Hard to crack that attitude.
posted by emjaybee at 9:12 AM on April 16, 2013 [7 favorites]
As Molly Ivins observed...
I also liked her description of Texas as "The National Laboratory for Bad Government"
(although there is plenty of competition in that regard, especially here in the southeast.)
posted by TedW at 9:14 AM on April 16, 2013 [7 favorites]
I also liked her description of Texas as "The National Laboratory for Bad Government"
(although there is plenty of competition in that regard, especially here in the southeast.)
posted by TedW at 9:14 AM on April 16, 2013 [7 favorites]
Definitely first in executions, by, like, an order of magnitude
Hell, Harris County (Houston) alone executes more people than any of the other states.
posted by TedW at 9:17 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
Hell, Harris County (Houston) alone executes more people than any of the other states.
posted by TedW at 9:17 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
In Texas, only 51% of students earn a bachelor’s degree within six years, meaning that only 17% of Texans will earn a bachelor’s degree
Is it just me or is this statistic missing something..??
/confused
posted by skyper at 9:18 AM on April 16, 2013
Is it just me or is this statistic missing something..??
/confused
posted by skyper at 9:18 AM on April 16, 2013
The state ranks 50th in high school graduation rate
I hope the poor education rankings aren't a result of their textbook choices. Because as the single biggest purchaser of textbooks in the US, whatever Texas chooses many other states get stuck with.
posted by Kabanos at 9:23 AM on April 16, 2013 [3 favorites]
I hope the poor education rankings aren't a result of their textbook choices. Because as the single biggest purchaser of textbooks in the US, whatever Texas chooses many other states get stuck with.
posted by Kabanos at 9:23 AM on April 16, 2013 [3 favorites]
"And first in incarceration, I think."In absolute numbers sure, but in terms of prisoners per 100,000 people Texas is a distant fourth
posted by Blasdelb at 9:24 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
In Texas, only 51% of students earn a bachelor’s degree within six years, meaning that only 17% of Texans will earn a bachelor’s degree.
Presumably the missing thing is that only 34% of Texans go to college, although it's remarkably poorly written even if we assume that.
posted by jaduncan at 9:31 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
Presumably the missing thing is that only 34% of Texans go to college, although it's remarkably poorly written even if we assume that.
posted by jaduncan at 9:31 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
Also I can report Austin is a horrible wasteland and nobody should ever move here, especially from California.
I'd always heard groovy, semi-awesome things about Austin. Then a great friend of mine was transferred down there to be the General Manager for a nutty crunchy, for the most part, sit-down restaurant chain. This is after years of experience in various geographic areas in F&B management by the way. I've worked for and beside him and he came up through the ranks and has a high level of empathy for workers, especially in F&B.
Anyway, he said it was hands down the worst place to get employees. He said the labor pool was categorically the most worthless he had ever dealt with. He literally couldn't get people who would show a modicum of effort or reliability. This is after dealing with normal 'college town' employees elsewhere as well. He left after quite a few months after he realized it was a hopeless case.
That combined with some of the reverse social-snobbery I've heard people mention here as well and... yea, Austin doesn't sound like the groovy place of fun and hip people that I've heard it characterized as.
posted by RolandOfEld at 9:31 AM on April 16, 2013 [7 favorites]
I'd always heard groovy, semi-awesome things about Austin. Then a great friend of mine was transferred down there to be the General Manager for a nutty crunchy, for the most part, sit-down restaurant chain. This is after years of experience in various geographic areas in F&B management by the way. I've worked for and beside him and he came up through the ranks and has a high level of empathy for workers, especially in F&B.
Anyway, he said it was hands down the worst place to get employees. He said the labor pool was categorically the most worthless he had ever dealt with. He literally couldn't get people who would show a modicum of effort or reliability. This is after dealing with normal 'college town' employees elsewhere as well. He left after quite a few months after he realized it was a hopeless case.
That combined with some of the reverse social-snobbery I've heard people mention here as well and... yea, Austin doesn't sound like the groovy place of fun and hip people that I've heard it characterized as.
posted by RolandOfEld at 9:31 AM on April 16, 2013 [7 favorites]
I don't think that graduation-rate data is accurate. They are "estimating" the rate. In fact, the Department of Education released their rankings last fall and Texas was 4th in the US.
http://www.texastribune.org/texas-education/public-education/us-dept-ed-texas-has-3rd-highest-graduation-rate/
"New preliminary data released by the U.S. Department of Education shows that Texas — along with five other states — ranks fourth in the nation for its four-year high school graduation rates. With an overall rate of 86 percent in the 2010-11 school year, the state follows Iowa, with 88 percent, and Wisconsin and Vermont, both at 87 percent."
This looks like a biased report that is going out of it's way to crap on Texas.
Also, I worked on creating textbooks for Texas (and other states) and the "we-get-stuck-with-Texas-textbooks" thing is simply not true, especially now that most states (except Texas) align their curriculum to the common core standards.
posted by mattbucher at 9:32 AM on April 16, 2013 [7 favorites]
http://www.texastribune.org/texas-education/public-education/us-dept-ed-texas-has-3rd-highest-graduation-rate/
"New preliminary data released by the U.S. Department of Education shows that Texas — along with five other states — ranks fourth in the nation for its four-year high school graduation rates. With an overall rate of 86 percent in the 2010-11 school year, the state follows Iowa, with 88 percent, and Wisconsin and Vermont, both at 87 percent."
This looks like a biased report that is going out of it's way to crap on Texas.
Also, I worked on creating textbooks for Texas (and other states) and the "we-get-stuck-with-Texas-textbooks" thing is simply not true, especially now that most states (except Texas) align their curriculum to the common core standards.
posted by mattbucher at 9:32 AM on April 16, 2013 [7 favorites]
I've heard conservative radio types drawing a dichotomy between Texas and California, saying that California's budget crisis brought about by wasteful handouts contrasts with Texas's responsible budget trimming, low taxes and low unemployment. These statistics give better context to those assertions.
posted by Sleeper at 9:33 AM on April 16, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by Sleeper at 9:33 AM on April 16, 2013 [3 favorites]
He literally couldn't get people who would show a modicum of effort or reliability
Sounds perfect for working at Kerbey Lane!
(Was it actually Kerbey Lane? I would laugh so hard if it was.)
posted by kmz at 9:37 AM on April 16, 2013 [11 favorites]
Sounds perfect for working at Kerbey Lane!
(Was it actually Kerbey Lane? I would laugh so hard if it was.)
posted by kmz at 9:37 AM on April 16, 2013 [11 favorites]
Have Alabama and Mississippi suddenly improved?
posted by Area Man at 9:38 AM on April 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Area Man at 9:38 AM on April 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
I don't think that graduation-rate data is accurate.
The 50th ranking in the report apparently refers to the percentage of the population that has graduated from high school...
posted by jim in austin at 9:42 AM on April 16, 2013
The 50th ranking in the report apparently refers to the percentage of the population that has graduated from high school...
posted by jim in austin at 9:42 AM on April 16, 2013
Have Alabama and Mississippi suddenly improved?
We won the national championship in college football. That count?
In all seriousness though.... Texas sucks.
posted by RolandOfEld at 9:49 AM on April 16, 2013
We won the national championship in college football. That count?
In all seriousness though.... Texas sucks.
posted by RolandOfEld at 9:49 AM on April 16, 2013
kmz: you have memail disabled or I'd answer you there, can't just dox them on the internets any more than I already have.
*edited to use ambiguous pronoun, jeeze*
posted by RolandOfEld at 9:50 AM on April 16, 2013
*edited to use ambiguous pronoun, jeeze*
posted by RolandOfEld at 9:50 AM on April 16, 2013
In all seriousness though.... Texas sucks.
That is indeed a serious and worthy observation.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 9:51 AM on April 16, 2013 [12 favorites]
That is indeed a serious and worthy observation.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 9:51 AM on April 16, 2013 [12 favorites]
On the one, hand, this sounds pretty awful:
The poorest 20 percent of Texan Families pay 12.6 percent of their income in taxes, the fifth highest percentage in the nation, while the top 1 percent only pay 3.2 percent of their income in taxes.
On the other, this sounds pretty okay given what I know about Texas' cost of living:
The personal per capita income for Texans in 2011 was $40,147.
The voter turnout is interesting too. Given that Texas is often used as a prime example of gerrymandering, it must be indicative of something that they're dead last in % who vote. I wonder if the districting is the cause of low turnout, or if relies on low turnout to work - and if so, how much of an increased turnout it could absorb.
posted by postcommunism at 9:51 AM on April 16, 2013
The poorest 20 percent of Texan Families pay 12.6 percent of their income in taxes, the fifth highest percentage in the nation, while the top 1 percent only pay 3.2 percent of their income in taxes.
On the other, this sounds pretty okay given what I know about Texas' cost of living:
The personal per capita income for Texans in 2011 was $40,147.
The voter turnout is interesting too. Given that Texas is often used as a prime example of gerrymandering, it must be indicative of something that they're dead last in % who vote. I wonder if the districting is the cause of low turnout, or if relies on low turnout to work - and if so, how much of an increased turnout it could absorb.
posted by postcommunism at 9:51 AM on April 16, 2013
He literally couldn't get people who would show a modicum of effort or reliability
Yeah, Austin is "laid-back" which means everybody wants to continue to sit around and do as little as possible all the time. And do fucking jello shots, when you're pushing 40. And just generally act like a college kid, as if they don't have enough of those already.
posted by nushustu at 9:53 AM on April 16, 2013 [4 favorites]
Yeah, Austin is "laid-back" which means everybody wants to continue to sit around and do as little as possible all the time. And do fucking jello shots, when you're pushing 40. And just generally act like a college kid, as if they don't have enough of those already.
posted by nushustu at 9:53 AM on April 16, 2013 [4 favorites]
Anyway, he said it was hands down the worst place to get employees. He said the labor pool was categorically the most worthless he had ever dealt with. He literally couldn't get people who would show a modicum of effort or reliability.Did he try paying people more money? "Wah, people in Austin aren't willing to work as hard for the same shitty wages I pay in other cities" is hardly a damming indictment of a place. It actually means things are pretty good for the people actually living there.
In fact looking at the unemployment rate for Austin, TX it's only 4.6%. Which is would be good in normal times, but during the current slump it's actually extraordinary. The unemployment rate for the US right now is 8.1%.
Of all the things to complain about a city, that is probably about the dumbest.
I've heard conservative radio types drawing a dichotomy between Texas and California, saying that California's budget crisis brought about by wasteful handouts contrasts with Texas's responsible budget trimming, low taxes and low unemployment. These statistics give better context to those assertions.California's budget "crisis" is gone. it actually had a surplus this year.
posted by delmoi at 9:57 AM on April 16, 2013 [5 favorites]
It's quite like they think the State of Texas is supposed to be nothing more than the Texas Department for Welfare, Redistribution, and Leniency for Murderers. The report says literally nothing about the economic growth environment which is leading businesses (and jobs, and people) to relocate to Texas in droves.
What's nutty is that even the most liberal of successful cities (New York, Boston) would never in million years think of themselves in such toxic terms. They are basically advocating a self-concept worthy of Detroit.
posted by MattD at 9:59 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
What's nutty is that even the most liberal of successful cities (New York, Boston) would never in million years think of themselves in such toxic terms. They are basically advocating a self-concept worthy of Detroit.
posted by MattD at 9:59 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
Did he try paying people more money?
Yep, he paid above average wages for F&B industry. So unless your question was more of a rhetorical question about wage disparity in the US in general then it really isn't valid in this case. Like I said, he came up through the ranks and is very sympathetic to the common woes that front and back of house staff faces. More so than any other F&B person I've ever seen in a management role, and I've seen a few.
He had plenty of applicants too for what that's worth with respect to the unemployed population (or lack thereof), just none of them could be counted on once they were hired in.
posted by RolandOfEld at 10:02 AM on April 16, 2013
Yep, he paid above average wages for F&B industry. So unless your question was more of a rhetorical question about wage disparity in the US in general then it really isn't valid in this case. Like I said, he came up through the ranks and is very sympathetic to the common woes that front and back of house staff faces. More so than any other F&B person I've ever seen in a management role, and I've seen a few.
He had plenty of applicants too for what that's worth with respect to the unemployed population (or lack thereof), just none of them could be counted on once they were hired in.
posted by RolandOfEld at 10:02 AM on April 16, 2013
He said the labor pool was categorically the most worthless he had ever dealt with. He literally couldn't get people who would show a modicum of effort or reliability.
Yeah, there's a reason Richard Linklater's first movie was called Slacker and not, say, Movers and Shakers. (Actually, the laid-backness of the town is a feature, not a bug.)
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:02 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
Yeah, there's a reason Richard Linklater's first movie was called Slacker and not, say, Movers and Shakers. (Actually, the laid-backness of the town is a feature, not a bug.)
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:02 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
Texas, Our Texas, all hail the mighty State
Texas, Our Texas so wonderful so great
Boldest and grandest, withstanding ev'ry test
O Empire wide and glorious, you stand supremely blest
Texas, O Texas, your freeborn single star
Sends out its radiance to nations near and far
Emblem of Freedom, it set our hearts aglow
With thoughts of San Jacinto and glorious Alamo
Texas, dear Texas, from tyrant grip now free
Shines forth in splendor, your star of destiny
Mother of heroes, we come your children true
Proclaiming our allegiance, our faith, our love for you
God bless you Texas, and keep you brave and strong,
That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long
God bless you Texas, and keep you brave and strong
That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long
posted by mudpuppie at 10:15 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
Texas, Our Texas so wonderful so great
Boldest and grandest, withstanding ev'ry test
O Empire wide and glorious, you stand supremely blest
Texas, O Texas, your freeborn single star
Sends out its radiance to nations near and far
Emblem of Freedom, it set our hearts aglow
With thoughts of San Jacinto and glorious Alamo
Texas, dear Texas, from tyrant grip now free
Shines forth in splendor, your star of destiny
Mother of heroes, we come your children true
Proclaiming our allegiance, our faith, our love for you
God bless you Texas, and keep you brave and strong,
That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long
God bless you Texas, and keep you brave and strong
That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long
posted by mudpuppie at 10:15 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
You forgot the raspberry at the end, mudpuppie.
Roland, tell him to come up to Fort Worth, our rich people eat out a lot and most people here will show up for work.
My completely uninformed guess about your friend's experience in Austin is that the poorest types who really need work and will show up were pushed out by rising rents and lack of good public transit to wherever the restaurant was. That leaves your trust-fund kiddies and assorted hangers-on working for beer money.
posted by emjaybee at 10:21 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
Roland, tell him to come up to Fort Worth, our rich people eat out a lot and most people here will show up for work.
My completely uninformed guess about your friend's experience in Austin is that the poorest types who really need work and will show up were pushed out by rising rents and lack of good public transit to wherever the restaurant was. That leaves your trust-fund kiddies and assorted hangers-on working for beer money.
posted by emjaybee at 10:21 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
Given that Texas is often used as a prime example of gerrymandering...
I'm sure that Lloyd Doggett might have a few observations about Texas gerrymandering...
posted by jim in austin at 10:22 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
I'm sure that Lloyd Doggett might have a few observations about Texas gerrymandering...
posted by jim in austin at 10:22 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
You forgot the raspberry at the end, mudpuppie.
We solemnly sang the state song once a week, every week, all year long, in 7th-grade Texas history class. A raspberry would have been a sure trip to the principal's office.
It was a very, very different time.
posted by mudpuppie at 10:24 AM on April 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
We solemnly sang the state song once a week, every week, all year long, in 7th-grade Texas history class. A raspberry would have been a sure trip to the principal's office.
It was a very, very different time.
posted by mudpuppie at 10:24 AM on April 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
While a bit parochial, this post reveals some things worth pondering if you are considering relocating to Texas...
This is relevant to my interests. Thanks! I'll take it with the grain of salt that some folks in this thread seem to be advocating for, but I'll still take a look.
posted by librarylis at 10:34 AM on April 16, 2013
This is relevant to my interests. Thanks! I'll take it with the grain of salt that some folks in this thread seem to be advocating for, but I'll still take a look.
posted by librarylis at 10:34 AM on April 16, 2013
Chocolate Pickle: "And yet, despite all that, Texas has a substantial net immigration from other parts of the US."
HHGTTG had the B-Ship. The US has the B-State.
posted by symbioid at 10:34 AM on April 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
HHGTTG had the B-Ship. The US has the B-State.
posted by symbioid at 10:34 AM on April 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
That was our thinking too emjaybee. Spot on.
posted by RolandOfEld at 10:40 AM on April 16, 2013
posted by RolandOfEld at 10:40 AM on April 16, 2013
Please don't say too much nice stuff about California. The whole "budget crisis" was just to keep Republicans from moving here, the state that elected Reagan and Schwarzenegger Governor.
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:43 AM on April 16, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:43 AM on April 16, 2013 [4 favorites]
The 50th ranking in the report apparently refers to the percentage of the population that has graduated from high school...
Well, given that Texas' public schools are apparently 4th in the nation in terms of graduation rate for the latest cohort, it would seem that the percentage-of-population-to-graduate must be due to other factors — unless Texas has been doing simply a phenomenal job of improving their schools lately.
E.g., it could be due to large numbers of immigrants who never graduated from high school, perhaps drawn to Texas by the types of jobs available. I don't know if that's the case, but it would explain the numbers and might not even be all that negative in what it says about TX.
posted by Kadin2048 at 11:04 AM on April 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
Well, given that Texas' public schools are apparently 4th in the nation in terms of graduation rate for the latest cohort, it would seem that the percentage-of-population-to-graduate must be due to other factors — unless Texas has been doing simply a phenomenal job of improving their schools lately.
E.g., it could be due to large numbers of immigrants who never graduated from high school, perhaps drawn to Texas by the types of jobs available. I don't know if that's the case, but it would explain the numbers and might not even be all that negative in what it says about TX.
posted by Kadin2048 at 11:04 AM on April 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
It's quite like they think the State of Texas is supposed to be nothing more than the Texas Department for Welfare, Redistribution, and Leniency for Murderers. The report says literally nothing about the economic growth environment which is leading businesses (and jobs, and people) to relocate to Texas in droves.Yeah man fuck the poor! No one is talking about how AWESOME Texas is if you're rich enough to afford to put your kids in private schools!
What's nutty is that even the most liberal of successful cities (New York, Boston) would never in million years think of themselves in such toxic terms. They are basically advocating a self-concept worthy of Detroit.God forbid anyone in the Texas government spend any time thinking about how the Texas government is failing to provide quality services like, I don't know, childhood education that all other states provide for their citizens.
posted by delmoi at 11:11 AM on April 16, 2013 [3 favorites]
In absolute numbers sure, but in terms of prisoners per 100,000 people Texas is a distant fourth
Behind Louisiana at 853/100,000! 1 out of every 117 Louisiana residents is currently in prison and that number doesn't include people in jail.
posted by Mitheral at 11:20 AM on April 16, 2013
Behind Louisiana at 853/100,000! 1 out of every 117 Louisiana residents is currently in prison and that number doesn't include people in jail.
posted by Mitheral at 11:20 AM on April 16, 2013
Kadin2048: Apparently the criteria is, "The percentage of students from the original cohort who graduated in four years with a regular high school diploma." http://goo.gl/1VwOm
posted by jim in austin at 11:21 AM on April 16, 2013
posted by jim in austin at 11:21 AM on April 16, 2013
"Don't Mess With Texas"
They don't need your help to make a mess of things.
posted by notyou at 11:38 AM on April 16, 2013 [3 favorites]
They don't need your help to make a mess of things.
posted by notyou at 11:38 AM on April 16, 2013 [3 favorites]
Austin
As near as I can tell, everything "awesome" about Austin is an internally generated delusion that they're extremely defensive about to the point of starting arguments with out-of-towner strangers about how much their home town sucks (seriously, every time I've been).
Don't even get me started on UT's highly-ranked art program.
posted by cmoj at 11:54 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
As near as I can tell, everything "awesome" about Austin is an internally generated delusion that they're extremely defensive about to the point of starting arguments with out-of-towner strangers about how much their home town sucks (seriously, every time I've been).
Don't even get me started on UT's highly-ranked art program.
posted by cmoj at 11:54 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
It looks to me like Texas is trying to do to the other 49 states what China (or maybe the BRIC countries) have done to the G7 countries. Eliminate government expenses and taxes to get businesses to enter the area. It's working, but I really wonder at the cost. It seems to sacrifice the future in order to win the present.
posted by Ambient Echo at 12:06 PM on April 16, 2013
posted by Ambient Echo at 12:06 PM on April 16, 2013
I don't know about any of this, but (a) I live in Houston and (b) it's fucking awesome. So there's that.
posted by uberchet at 12:11 PM on April 16, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by uberchet at 12:11 PM on April 16, 2013 [3 favorites]
GOP Attorney General Warns Dems Pose Greater Threat In Texas Than N. Korea
posted by zombieflanders at 12:20 PM on April 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by zombieflanders at 12:20 PM on April 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
If you're trying to convince someone that his hometown sucks, it might be you who started the argument.
posted by perhapsolutely at 12:23 PM on April 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by perhapsolutely at 12:23 PM on April 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
re: Work attitudes in Austin, and in Texas in general -- I'm from the Chicago area, worked as a carpenter/tradesman. Moved to Texas in early my 20s, then some back and forth from here and back to the Chicago area.
If you are late to the jobsite in the Chicago area, it's a huge, huge deal, everybody gets all frowny, look like they have gas etc. Late a couple of times and you're history, no way around it.
Texas? Often guys didn't even show up. (Try that one in Chicago -- you're fired.) Or they showed up late and no expectations of getting any grief about it.
Sum: It's just very, very different.
Oh, and one difference was that you made money in Chicago, which you didn't in Texas, not much, except in boom times, and even in them, so many guys were used to getting hosed that they just didn't have any expectations of making a good buck, and didn't look for it.
Now, however, very, very hard times in the Chicago area, harder than any I've ever seen, guys can't find *any* work and are willing to work for almost no money, a much closer approximation to what guys here face..
posted by dancestoblue at 12:46 PM on April 16, 2013
If you are late to the jobsite in the Chicago area, it's a huge, huge deal, everybody gets all frowny, look like they have gas etc. Late a couple of times and you're history, no way around it.
Texas? Often guys didn't even show up. (Try that one in Chicago -- you're fired.) Or they showed up late and no expectations of getting any grief about it.
Sum: It's just very, very different.
Oh, and one difference was that you made money in Chicago, which you didn't in Texas, not much, except in boom times, and even in them, so many guys were used to getting hosed that they just didn't have any expectations of making a good buck, and didn't look for it.
Now, however, very, very hard times in the Chicago area, harder than any I've ever seen, guys can't find *any* work and are willing to work for almost no money, a much closer approximation to what guys here face..
posted by dancestoblue at 12:46 PM on April 16, 2013
Texas better watch out, the North Carolina legislature is quickly making up ground in this race to the bottom!
posted by remo at 12:47 PM on April 16, 2013
posted by remo at 12:47 PM on April 16, 2013
Gerrymandering is pretty complex here in Texas because of the racial make-up of the state. My understanding is that every district sort of has to look the same racially (hence Doggett's crazy district), but that's not easy because of the many, many pockets of this and that race here and there, both in the big cities and in the rural areas. If it weren't and were just done by population, you would have far fewer Democrats and then only in the cities and along the border---everything else would be red. On the whole (since this is about the state as a whole), Democrats benefit far more from gerrymandering here than they suffer from it.
posted by resurrexit at 1:00 PM on April 16, 2013
posted by resurrexit at 1:00 PM on April 16, 2013
resurrexit: I can't speak for the state but the intent behind Doggett's elongated district was to remove him from much of his Austin/Travis County base and expose him to a heavily Latino electorate that knew almost nothing about him. The Texas GOP has been trying to kill Lloyd one way or the other for decades. Fortunately they failed yet again...
posted by jim in austin at 1:22 PM on April 16, 2013
posted by jim in austin at 1:22 PM on April 16, 2013
Also I can report Austin is a horrible wasteland and nobody should ever move here, especially from California.OK, guy-with-the-Oakland-nickname. If you did move there from the Bay Area, it seems you've already quite proficiently acquired the "F you, got mine" philosophy that underlies so many of your adopted state's problems.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 9:08 AM on April 16
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 1:28 PM on April 16, 2013
The report says literally nothing about the economic growth environment which is leading businesses (and jobs, and people) to relocate to Texas in droves.
Well, then why ain't you movin' to Texas, Mr. Big City?
posted by octobersurprise at 1:59 PM on April 16, 2013
Well, then why ain't you movin' to Texas, Mr. Big City?
posted by octobersurprise at 1:59 PM on April 16, 2013
delmoi: USA! USA! USA!It's not that they're worst.
Well if you have 50 states, one of them has to be the worst.
It's that they try so hard to be the worst.
A lesser state might have sunk to the bottom, almost accidentally. Texas used it's impressive might, capital wealth, and electoral clout to muscle its way there, like a defensive tackle shoving grade-schools like Alabama and Arkansa out of the way to be first to the outhouse.
"A" for effort, Texas. Despite your shit-awful public educational system.
posted by IAmBroom at 4:01 PM on April 16, 2013
Also: Governor Rick Perry.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 4:15 PM on April 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Ursula Hitler at 4:15 PM on April 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
I lived in Texas from 1969 until 1986; first in Houston and then I moved to Austin in 1977 to go to UT. Houston was a big city with the Astrodome and Astroworld, the museums and NASA. Austin was (for me) a natural paradise… lakes and Barton Springs to swim in, hippie chicks, punks, and great music everywhere from Soap Creek to Club Foot.
I had to leave when it began to morph into Houston; crowded freeways, big skyscrapers and the outward creep of suburbs. Both places have great memories for me. I was also lucky to go to a good school district in West Houston followed by education at UT.
I'm sad to hear that Texas is in a decline and while I don't plan to move back in my lifetime, I have good friends and family ties there. Love it or hate it, the state is unique (and that's coming from someone who was born and raised in California).
posted by jabo at 6:28 PM on April 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
I had to leave when it began to morph into Houston; crowded freeways, big skyscrapers and the outward creep of suburbs. Both places have great memories for me. I was also lucky to go to a good school district in West Houston followed by education at UT.
I'm sad to hear that Texas is in a decline and while I don't plan to move back in my lifetime, I have good friends and family ties there. Love it or hate it, the state is unique (and that's coming from someone who was born and raised in California).
posted by jabo at 6:28 PM on April 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
Gerrymandering is pretty complex here in Texas because of the racial make-up of the state. My understanding is that every district sort of has to look the same racially...
That's not true. There's such a thing as a minority opportunity district, in compliance with the Voting Rights Act. Part of the controversy over last year's redistricting was that something like three quarters of the Texan population growth was Latino and the new maps intentionally diluted their potential for fair representation.
posted by psoas at 7:38 PM on April 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
That's not true. There's such a thing as a minority opportunity district, in compliance with the Voting Rights Act. Part of the controversy over last year's redistricting was that something like three quarters of the Texan population growth was Latino and the new maps intentionally diluted their potential for fair representation.
posted by psoas at 7:38 PM on April 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'm a young, single, straight, white male resident of Texas who isn't planning to settle here long term, and honestly financially it's great - no income tax, things are cheap, etc.... but I see professionals like the professors I work with getting screwed, not to mention kids (especially those with special needs) and minorities in general. Texas is really sort of a microcosm of the neoliberal (in the technical sense) dream becoming manifest before our eyes, and I'm really afraid the rest of the nation is going to go that way too.
posted by LukeLockhart at 11:03 PM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by LukeLockhart at 11:03 PM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
And yet, despite all that, Texas has a substantial net immigration from other parts of the US.
Short sighted people who move to where it is cheap.
Gerrymandering is pretty complex here in Texas because of the racial make-up of the state. My understanding is that every district sort of has to look the same racially (hence Doggett's crazy district), but that's not easy because of the many, many pockets of this and that race here and there, both in the big cities and in the rural areas. If it weren't and were just done by population, you would have far fewer Democrats and then only in the cities and along the border---everything else would be red. On the whole (since this is about the state as a whole), Democrats benefit far more from gerrymandering here than they suffer from it.
Depends on who is doing it. Each side tries to disenfranchise the other. If you are in power, you want a bunch of districts that are 55% your guys, and 45% their guys. Then you carve out a couple of monolithic districts to get a couple of minority districts with minority representatives to make it look sort of even. Where I live in Illinois, my district occasionally changes between the republican white guy emperor/puppet-for-life-or-until-the-trial and the democratic black guy emperor/puppet-for-life-or-until-the-trial. The vast majority of us aren't represented at all because our districts were chosen by the power brokers to be the token districts.
posted by gjc at 3:54 AM on April 17, 2013
Short sighted people who move to where it is cheap.
Gerrymandering is pretty complex here in Texas because of the racial make-up of the state. My understanding is that every district sort of has to look the same racially (hence Doggett's crazy district), but that's not easy because of the many, many pockets of this and that race here and there, both in the big cities and in the rural areas. If it weren't and were just done by population, you would have far fewer Democrats and then only in the cities and along the border---everything else would be red. On the whole (since this is about the state as a whole), Democrats benefit far more from gerrymandering here than they suffer from it.
Depends on who is doing it. Each side tries to disenfranchise the other. If you are in power, you want a bunch of districts that are 55% your guys, and 45% their guys. Then you carve out a couple of monolithic districts to get a couple of minority districts with minority representatives to make it look sort of even. Where I live in Illinois, my district occasionally changes between the republican white guy emperor/puppet-for-life-or-until-the-trial and the democratic black guy emperor/puppet-for-life-or-until-the-trial. The vast majority of us aren't represented at all because our districts were chosen by the power brokers to be the token districts.
posted by gjc at 3:54 AM on April 17, 2013
I'd always heard groovy, semi-awesome things about Austin.
Categorically false. It is a wasteland of gated communities, single-wide trailer parks, above-ground swimming pools, strip centers, business parks and a sea of homeless wastrels. There is an Applebee's and a Racetrac on absolutlely every corner, and every vehicle on the road is either a Ford Excursion or a Fararri, none of which even function without the cell phone engaged. It hasn't rained in at least 4 years, the lakes are dry, the fish are dead, the rabid bats are getting hungry and the government is openly flouting their lizard-people credentials on public access TV, which is incidentally the only kind we get. Alex Jones was just elected mayor.
Anyway, he said it was hands down the worst place to get employees.
This is the one grain of truth in that pack of lies about Austin being a nice place to live.
My advice: St. Louis has lots of affordable housing and a lovely river walk, if you're considering moving anywhere at all, though I suggest you stay put, because the highways are unsafe.
posted by Devils Rancher at 10:25 AM on April 17, 2013 [3 favorites]
Categorically false. It is a wasteland of gated communities, single-wide trailer parks, above-ground swimming pools, strip centers, business parks and a sea of homeless wastrels. There is an Applebee's and a Racetrac on absolutlely every corner, and every vehicle on the road is either a Ford Excursion or a Fararri, none of which even function without the cell phone engaged. It hasn't rained in at least 4 years, the lakes are dry, the fish are dead, the rabid bats are getting hungry and the government is openly flouting their lizard-people credentials on public access TV, which is incidentally the only kind we get. Alex Jones was just elected mayor.
Anyway, he said it was hands down the worst place to get employees.
This is the one grain of truth in that pack of lies about Austin being a nice place to live.
My advice: St. Louis has lots of affordable housing and a lovely river walk, if you're considering moving anywhere at all, though I suggest you stay put, because the highways are unsafe.
posted by Devils Rancher at 10:25 AM on April 17, 2013 [3 favorites]
jabo: lakes (empty) and Barton Springs (covered in algae from over-fertalization of upstream country club) to swim in, hippie chicks, (moved to New Mexico? Cambridge?) punks, (dead of overdose or liver failure) and great music everywhere from Soap Creek (condo tower) to Club Foot (office tower).
posted by Devils Rancher at 10:33 AM on April 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Devils Rancher at 10:33 AM on April 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
This comment was made upthread about Austin. Could somebody in the know explain to me what this reverse social snobbery thing is all about?
It's not what you thought. They're talking more about the rural people hating on the hip starving artists who are hating on the rich tech workers and shit. it's like a chain. There's several levels of snobbery involved here.
Yeah, Austin is "laid-back" which means everybody wants to continue to sit around and do as little as possible all the time. And do fucking jello shots, when you're pushing 40. And just generally act like a college kid, as if they don't have enough of those already.
A friend of mine bailed the fuck out of there as fast as she could the instant she finished high school to get the fuck away from this shit. She realized it was basically a good place to live that lifestyle and do drugs, and not much else. I don't even know if she's gone back to visit since then. Everything I've heard from people who lived there just makes it sound like a college town that just kept growing and growing until it became an actual city, but it doesn't actually want to grow up and be a city and collectively would rather just... well, do everything you just listed.
I've always wanted to visit, but like a lot of college towns I've gone to when i was visiting friends, i doubt i'd want to stay more than a few days.
posted by emptythought at 1:30 AM on April 18, 2013
It's not what you thought. They're talking more about the rural people hating on the hip starving artists who are hating on the rich tech workers and shit. it's like a chain. There's several levels of snobbery involved here.
Yeah, Austin is "laid-back" which means everybody wants to continue to sit around and do as little as possible all the time. And do fucking jello shots, when you're pushing 40. And just generally act like a college kid, as if they don't have enough of those already.
A friend of mine bailed the fuck out of there as fast as she could the instant she finished high school to get the fuck away from this shit. She realized it was basically a good place to live that lifestyle and do drugs, and not much else. I don't even know if she's gone back to visit since then. Everything I've heard from people who lived there just makes it sound like a college town that just kept growing and growing until it became an actual city, but it doesn't actually want to grow up and be a city and collectively would rather just... well, do everything you just listed.
I've always wanted to visit, but like a lot of college towns I've gone to when i was visiting friends, i doubt i'd want to stay more than a few days.
posted by emptythought at 1:30 AM on April 18, 2013
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posted by grobstein at 9:03 AM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]