Posted on 04/23/2010 9:01:14 PM PDT by antiobamacare
Once a separate nation, Texas has recently been behaving more like an independent economic republic than a regular state. While it hasn't been immune to the problems plaguing the nation, the Texas housing market, employment rate, and overall economic growth are relatively strong. Chalk some of this up to accidents of geology and geography. But Texan prosperity also reflects the conscious efforts of a once-parochial place to embrace globalization.
On several measures of economic stress, Texas is doing quite well. The state unemployment rate is 8.2 percent—high, but still one many states would envy. (California's is 12.5 percent; Michigan's is 14.1 percent.) It entered recession later than the rest of the country—Texas was adding jobs through August 2008—and started slowly adding jobs again last fall, thanks mostly to its great position in the largely recession-proof energy industry.
The Texas housing market also has fared better than many. The mortgage delinquency rate (the portion of borrowers three months behind on payments) is 5.78 percent, compared with 8.78 nationwide, according to First American CoreLogic. That's partly because relaxed zoning codes and abundant land kept both price appreciation and speculation down. "House prices didn't experience a bubble in the same way as the rest of the nation," said Anil Kumar, senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. But it's also because of two attributes not commonly associated with the Longhorn State: financial restraint and comparatively strong regulation. Unlike many of its neighbors, Texas has state laws that prohibited consumers from using home-equity lines of credit to increase borrowing to more than 80 percent of the value of their homes. The upshot: Dallas housing prices have fallen only 7 percent from their 2007 peak, according to the Case-Shiller index.
(Excerpt) Read more at thewoodwardreport.com ...
Texas has an advantage that is not available on such a large scale to other states.
Texas is full of Texans, while other states only have very limited numbers of Texans, so this is really not fair to compare other states to them.
I’ll grant you that. Tennesseans used to be as self-reliant, but I believe we are losing a good bit of that here.
Well up here in suck-ass Michigan I endured a debate of 5 GOP candidates yesterday but none could utter three simple words in a row:
“Right” “To” “Work”
Amen. We are the Antifornia! We’ll be independent, secede when necessary, and then whip ass for good measure. God Bless Texas!!
Amen brother. Texans are special.
I'm afraid I diluted the population of Texans a bit by moving to TX from CA. Sorry about that.
(But if it helps, my father was a Texan.)
Just don’t forget what a mess you left behind and vote for tax increases. Don’t vote for any school bond levies: the Superintendent will just use it to put her husband on the payroll.
Oh how I hate texas let me count the ways.... don’t take this wrong, it is not the state as much as it is the people, culture, climate, their materialism, geography, topography, environment, the superficial hospitality, their willingness to screw anyone in business regardless of their shallow (religion is for sundays) attitude, I despise. However, I like the food.
Since your father was a Texan, then we welcome you home!
You can always become a Texan.
I have talked to people that have never set foot in Texas that convinced me that they were Texans.
LOL! If Texas is so great, why do so many Texans live up here in OK.
I am amazed. Texas is doing well because they exercise fiscal restraint, have comparatively strong regulation, and only allow 80% equity lines of credit. Why didn’t the former Texas governor urge this upon the rest of the country.
Of course it doesn’t hurt that they have made a major gas shale find near Ft. Worth.
You are brilliant!
That’s OK. Glad to have you. Welcome.
You can apply for your “I’m not from Texas, but I got here as soon as I could” bumper sticker from many state agencies, beer bars, gun shops and BBQ shacks.
And what Utopia do you reside in?
I have a good Wisconsin friend that loves Texas and became a Texan forever when he lived there for about 3 or 4 years.
He refinishes, repairs, builds (yes, give him a leg and he will rebuild the entire piece around it) and sells antiques, he said that when he first arrived in Texas and heard the folksy speaking and the easy manners he saw dollar signs and knew that he would grow rich easily, he says that it wasn’t until he found himself shirtless for the third time that he figured out that he better figure Texans out.
Texas is tough and friendly at the same time but I never saw them as materialistic, in Houston, capitalism is the name of the game and all your friends are happy to hear about your raises and promotions, it is the only place where I never saw financial jealousy.
I was at a rich guys garage sell once during a terrible recession, he was selling vases for 3,000 dollars and such, I asked him how he felt about wiping out and he laughed and said that he had been rich and he would get rich again, and he seemed to truly take it in stride.
Texans have a humor and acceptance about recessions and down swings, even the elegant restaurants openly advertise recession specials, everybody seems to just roll with it, knowing that the good times will return. Texas has never known slow and steady, they still have the bust or boom spirit, that keeps them flexible and happy when the bad times hit, it also makes them non judgemental of you and whether you are rich or poor at any given time.
Texans are travelers and adventurers, you will find Texans all over the globe, and I don't mean tourists, I mean enclaves, like towns and communities that are largely Texans doing, or building, or developing something in the area.
Texans are goers and doers.
irrelevant. I am commenting on my experience living in texas, and meeting and doing business with them from all over the state. Understand, that what you believe is southern hospitality is actually pretty in authentic, status focused shallowness. You just do not recognize it because you swim in it. It tastes normal.
It comes out in many ways but the most common is the way you insult people with that little polite smirk, and add “bless his little heart” to the end.
Goes something like this.... “Well you know she has a large rear end,of course she won’t make the cheerleading team.....Bless her heart....
Or sure I screwed my partner out of millions of dollars, but hey it’s just business......
you have never seen texans as materialistic? You are then so blind to it you think it’s normal. It is all about appearance, what you have, what is expected, hide how you feel, make sure your kids don’t reveal the family secrets, pretend its all okay....
Check out these stats...
For example Dallas has the highest saturation of churches of anywhere in the country. It also has the highest divorce rate, infidelity rates, extremely high perscription drug abuse rates, domestic violence rates, suicide and an exploding homosexual population.
Tell me how that is possible if there isn’t a generally dis-ingenuousness in the culture?
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