Quote:
Originally Posted by Avian001
I don't want to get into an argument. All I'm saying is that while Texas is a good place for business, the state still ranks at or near the bottom in many, many categories that compromise quality of life, in spite of the presence of some of the world's largest corporations. And it's due in part to the fact that there is no state income tax. Yes it works for business, but it affects quality of life issues. Believe me, I don't hate Texas at all. You wanted me to expand on the comment and I hesitate because I don't want to come across as a basher. This info comes from several studies, including a study commissioned by the state itself which found these serious problems:
* Texas flunks environmental protection standards
* Contents itself with educational mediocrity
* Spent billions on a huge penal system that has not delivered low crime rates
* Percentage of Uninsured Children: Ranks 1st
* Income Inequality Between the Rich and the Poor: Ranks 2nd
* Percentage of Population without Health Insurance: Ranks 1st
* Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) Scores: 47th in US
* Percentage of Population over 25 with a High School Diploma: 50th in US
* Women's Voter Registration: 43rd in US
* Women's Voter Turnout: 49th in US
* Percentage of Eligible Voters that Vote: 44th in US
Additional conclusions state: "If Texas was a country, the Lone Star state would rank sixth dirtiest nation in the world when it comes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It’s a bigger emitter than the UK or Canada or Italy or France. Texas houses some of the nation’s dirtiest utilities and it emits more greenhouse gases from power production sources than any other state....Nearly two thirds of Texans live in areas that fail to meet federal air quality standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)."
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That's my Texas! By the way, we just recently passed California as the number one in wind generated energy in the country. Plus, Houston is building a several new skyscrapers downtown and one of them has a wind turbines at the top of it! Yes, plural. Not to mention that Houston has fallen out of the number one ranking as the dirtiest city in America. Not to mention, as far as the other standards that we flunked at, we also had 200,000+ people from New Orleans arrive overnight...and they won't leave! There is a direct correlation between them and our statistics.