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  • Texas -- a failed state


    Brisketexan

    I think that it’s now safe to say that we Texans now live in a failed state.  30 years of GOP rule, setting our own standard, living the “Texas Dream,” which they’ve bragged about relentlessly…and let’s see where we are:

    A majority of the state in complete failure, unable to deliver the most BASIC of services (things that are called “utilities,” not “luxuries,” for a reason).  No power.  No water.  No means of clearing roads (that one, I can’t fault the state so much….but it wouldn’t be as big a crisis if people weren’t stuck in their homes with no power and water).  So citizens are stuck in their homes, some of them dying there. 

    Water resource planning?  After pretending for decades that a drought would never happen again, and not doing ANYTHING to develop resources in the state water plan (a document actually developed using science and mathematical projections), we had several locations, including actual cities, down to a few days of water supply.  We’ve finally gotten on our horse a bit, but it may be too late if the next drought comes anytime soon.  

    State rank in key categories:

    Education – 34

    Health Care - 37

    Infrastructure - 33

    Opportunity - 39

    Environment - 44

    Infrastructure - 33 

    In overall quality of life ranking by US News, we are now #38, down from #36 just two years ago.  At that rate, we’ll be in the bottom 3 within ten years.

    We are SUPER independent, and FUCK the feds….but we have requested federal disaster assistance more than any other state in the past decade or so.

    But hey, our economy is ranked #15!

    That’s right, we have a “roaring economy” and the “Texas Miracle!”  But we can’t deliver the basics for our citizens.  The economy is VERY efficient at funneling bazillions to the very few…..with little of it “trickling down” to most Texans.  Yeah, the people on this board generally do fine, but face the facts – we’re the top 10% or so.  We are educated, older, and fortunate.

    Our federal system allows for state-by-state experiments.  Texas is the poster child for near anarcho-capitalism and zero regulation or oversight.  We have tested that approach, for over a generation now (30 years of Republican rule).  That approach is a failure.  The evidence is undeniable, and overwhelming.  It doesn’t matter how many River Oaks millionaires you produce if the rest of your people are dying in their homes.  Shit, some of those River Oaks millionaires might be freezing to death today, too.

    The kids of a middle class family can hardly afford to go to a good state school.  Their prospects for employment are mediocre.  Their prospects of suffering crippling medical debt at some point are significant.  Their chances of not having basic utilities needed for life safety at some point – all but certain.  Their chances of becoming ill or dying from a pollution-caused illness are material.

    What’s the result?  Our leaders have sold Texas as a paradise – move here!  Bring your business here!  And some businesses have done so, adding opportunity…..but providing little to no tax support for the infrastructure we all depend on.  To the contrary, over the past few years, I know more and more people – educated people, people who can do their jobs elsewhere, who are looking to bail on this state.  It’s people with young kids, who want them to grow up in a better place.  It’s people in their working years, who simply want a better path.  It’s retirees, who want a safe and secure place to live.

    We have consumed our seed stock.  We have burned through our reserves.  We are now consuming ourselves.  The ability to pitch Texas as the land of opportunity is done.  Seeing what we have become, the tentative thought/plan my wife and I had of wrapping up our careers here and then getting the hell out of Dodge is becoming much more concrete.  My children are already unlikely to make their future in this state.  Now we are, too.

    But the response from the Republican leadership and their sycophants – “how are you gonna pay for it?  Taxes?  That’s socialism!  You want that stuff, you have to pay for it!”

    Fuck yes I do, and I’m okay with that.  I want groceries…so I have to pay HEB.  I want a car…so I have to pay Ford.  I want clothes…..so I have to pay Dillards.  I want my population educated….so I have to pay the school district.  I want electricity, with enough capacity to keep us running when we need it…..so I have to pay my bill, maybe with a capacity surcharge.  I want water to come out of the taps….so I have to pay for development of resources and maintenance of infrastructure.  I want roads….so I pay taxes to build and maintain them.  YES, I have to pay for all of those things, and “nothing is free” – no fucking shit.  So, let’s pay for it.  We have the #15 economy….we HAVE the funds in this state.  An economy with the flow of funds that ours has can produce and maintain all of those results.  But we have chosen a different path; funnel all the dollars to the top, and spend next to nothing for the public good.  We have privatized profit….we have socialized the costs.  And we are dying because of it.

    My fellow Texans are dying in their homes….and there’s nothing I can do about it today.  And I am enraged.

    I love Texas.  I am 6th generation here.  My ancestors have Texas historical markers on their graves.  We helped make this state, and this state helped make us.  It educated us (back when college was affordable).  But it’s time to face the fact – this state is a failure, and on its current path, with its current leadership and philosophy, it will only get worse.  This state has a terrible future, unless we dramatically change our path.   Chances of that happening?  0.0% -- because we’ll continue to vote for the guys who make our leadership priorities bathroom bills, and transgender sports, and requiring the national anthem be played at certain events.  Any bill that has been proposed to improve emergency preparedness of gov’t entities has been crushed by the Republicans controlling the lege….but we will definitely stick with those guys.  No taxes.  No government functionality.

    What we are seeing happening right now is our system working EXACTLY AS IT WAS DESIGNED AND INTENDED TO WORK.  And we will, I guarantee it, collectively decide to stick with that.  This state is in free-fall, and anyone with eyes can see it.  And anyone with a brain is starting to think of ways to make their life elsewhere.  It breaks my goddamned heart to see us commit collective suicide, but here we are.

     

     


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    28 minutes ago, MrBig said:

    Parents like this don’t understand that while school vouchers make it a possibility to send your child to an expensive private school, there is no law requiring these schools to accept students who are trying to use the vouchers. 

     

    1 minute ago, tx 3 putt said:

    if you couldn’t afford that private school before vouchers , you won’t be able to afford it after vouchers 

    Exactly. Just look at how private schools in Arkansas reacted to their voucher program--they simply raised tuition.

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    6 minutes ago, bolverk said:

     

    Exactly. Just look at how private schools in Arkansas reacted to their voucher program--they simply raised tuition.

    How much did they raise tuition?

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    54 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

    How much did they raise tuition?

    I can't find the article about Arkansas that reported it last year, but here are examples in other states (quick google):

    Iowa (30-40%): https://www.kcrg.com/2023/04/20/amid-efforts-make-private-schools-affordable-handful-schools-increase-tuition-prices/

    Indiana (20%): https://flaglerlive.com/as-florida-floods-private-schools/

    Arizona (10-20%): https://hechingerreport.org/arizona-gave-families-public-money-for-private-schools-then-private-schools-raised-tuition/

    Arkansas: https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2023/09/01/arkansas-learns-is-designed-to-make-rich-parents-richer

    I'm sure you're aware, as has been discussed in this or the education thread, that the proposed voucher program in Texas would actually give more money in vouchers to private schools on a per-student basis than it allots for each student in a public school.

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    1 hour ago, bolverk said:

    I can't find the article about Arkansas that reported it last year, but here are examples in other states (quick google):

    Seems reasonable that a state voucher program should track tuition increases and remove the school from eligibility if they appear to be gaming the system.  

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    3 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

    Seems reasonable that a state voucher program should track tuition increases and remove the school from eligibility if they appear to be gaming the system.  

    Well, yeah, I agree, but I honestly don't think the governor or our legislature gives a damn. If they were concerned about private school tuition rates, why would they give more for a kid to go to private schools than public schools? 

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    Also no accountability of spending, no state standards for students, no requirement for special need students.

    Edited by Kel Varnsen
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    8 minutes ago, bolverk said:

    Well, yeah, I agree, but I honestly don't think the governor or our legislature gives a damn.

     

    I'd much rather them spend the time, energy, and effort on fixing the recapture system. 

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    16 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

    I'd much rather them spend the time, energy, and effort on fixing the recapture system. 

    Again, I agree, but the problem is that they want to pump public tax dollars into religious privates and charters and want public schools to fail. Take a gander at what's going on with Houston ISD, or consider how much Robin Hood is draining from Austin ISD. If the end result isn't killing the state's public education system, we may well have the most incompetent state leadership in the country.

    But, of course, we also know about the massive contribution that guy from Pennsylvania contributed to Abbott, so all of this could also just be chalked up to rampant corruption.

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    3 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

    if you couldn’t afford that private school before vouchers , you won’t be able to afford it after vouchers 

    3 hours ago, texasdago said:

    Not sure but 95% of those using the voucher system were not using the public school system before.

    Shocking...

    https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2023/10/11/arkansas-learns-report-95-of-voucher-students-did-not-attend-public-school-last-year

    I’ve been telling friend and relatives for a while who are outside of the major cities/suburbs, but still back this, that they aren’t going to get some fancy private school for their kids in Bumfuck, Texas - instead they’re going to help increase revenue for private schools in Sugar Land, and Katy, and Dallas, and Austin, and San Antonio, etc.

    Some of these people are too fucking stupid to realize they are going to help subsidize schools in the more liberal areas of the state, schools that would never take their kids.

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    17 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

    I’ve been telling friend and relatives for a while who are outside of the major cities/suburbs, but still back this, that they aren’t going to get some fancy private school for their kids in Bumfuck, Texas - instead they’re going to help increase revenue for private schools in Sugar Land, and Katy, and Dallas, and Austin, and San Antonio, etc.

    Some of these people are too fucking stupid to realize they are going to help subsidize schools in the more liberal areas of the state, schools that would never take their kids.


    they’re going to get a tele teacher from vietnam, with a local hired to babysit

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    31 minutes ago, bolverk said:

    Again, I agree, but the problem is that they want to pump public tax dollars into religious privates and charters and want public schools to fail.

    We should pump tax dollars into whatever educational systems can demonstrate performance on outcomes and objective measures of educational attainment. And I say that as one with three kids in the public school system. 

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    Can imagine if Walz was governor of Texas ???

     

    name one thing Abbott has improved in his 27 years in office 

    Edited by tx 3 putt
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    7 minutes ago, Willfully Horn said:

    Texas should invest in its teachers, and incentivize their best performance, and then get the fuck out of their classrooms.

    The pay difference between teachers vs Assistant Principals & Principals is ridiculous. My sister was a middle school teacher for 5 years making around $45K a year with a Masters Degree. She only taught because she wanted to become a Principal. So in her 6th year she got a job as a middle school AP and her salary jumped to around $70K and she was doing a lot less work because teaching is a lot of shit work. In her 8th year she finally got called up to the big show and became a high school principal and makes about $120K a year. If she was still a teacher in her 8th year she would be making around $65K.

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    1 hour ago, Willfully Horn said:

    Texas should invest in its teachers, and incentivize their best performance, and then get the fuck out of their classrooms.

    Ironically, George W Bush ran with this as a major part of his first gubernatorial campaign.

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    14 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

    Can imagine if Walz was governor of Texas ???

     

    name one thing Abbott has improved in his 27 years in office 

    The hillbilly reputation of Texas around the world.

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    22 minutes ago, mdmost said:

    Seriously, you gun nuts. Fuck off. 

     

    You know if the Texas Legislature forces the issue, there'll be a shitload of open-carry idiots that scare a lot of families away and screwing with the state fair in general.

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    23 hours ago, Willfully Horn said:

    Texas should invest in its teachers, and incentivize their best performance, and then get the fuck out of their classrooms.

    Maybe we should consider creating a state lottery to help fund education...

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    4 minutes ago, landman said:

    Maybe we should consider creating a state lottery to help fund education...


    open 2 casinos outside the top 10 biggest cities and this state is rolling in money 

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    2 hours ago, mdmost said:

    Seriously, you gun nuts. Fuck off. 

     

     

    2 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

    You know if the Texas Legislature forces the issue, there'll be a shitload of open-carry idiots that scare a lot of families away and screwing with the state fair in general.

    I guess I shouldn't have but I figured firearms were already banned at the fair seeing as you go through a metal detector and all. That's on me.

    The sad part is I agree with the @atomheartbevo - the attention called to this makes me think "Great, now dipshits are going to bring guns to the fair in droves."

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    1 hour ago, gmr548 said:

    The sad part is I agree with the @atomheartbevo - the attention called to this makes me think "Great, now dipshits are going to bring guns to the fair in droves."

    Like YGiFS said, it’s not the best atmosphere to begin with (one school’s fan got him nuts chowed down on by another school’s fan after the OU game) and mixing armed Okies and Texas fans and alcohol….

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    On 8/12/2024 at 9:26 PM, Anastasis said:

    Seems reasonable that a state voucher program should track tuition increases and remove the school from eligibility if they appear to be gaming the system.  

    How is following the laws of supply/demand gaming the system?

    It's an inevitability of creating the shitty system.

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    26 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

    Would the State Fair be considered an amusement park?

    No. The State Fair is a non-profit organization. They lease the buildings and grounds in Fair Park from the city of Dallas. I don't see how this is any different than the NRA banning guns from their convention at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas...which they lease from the Dallas Convention Bureau, a government run agency.  Seems the convention center is now managed by an outside group and not the city of Dallas but my point still stands. The city of Dallas built the thing with taxpayer funds. 

    Edited by mdmost
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    38 minutes ago, Brian Fantana said:

    Dumbest state in the Union.

    He most likely doesn't really care too much. It's just another example of Paxton using his office to continue to show how he's owning the libs. 

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    On 8/12/2024 at 10:47 PM, tx 3 putt said:


    they’re going to get a tele teacher from vietnam, with a local hired to babysit

    If I were an amoral shitbag, I'd start an online school company, and get a big cross to hang around my neck and a couple American flag and cross lapel pins. Then I'd  hit every Baptist/Church of Christ/Evangelical strip mall church in rural Texas and tell them they can become a "Private School" for the purpose of collecting voucher money from the State of Texas. We will provide the learning platform, you provide a couple church ladies to make sure the kids are working and not sharing answers (wink, wink) and we'll split the money 60/40. The 60% is for me of course, because we're providing the "Learning platform". 

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    8 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

    If I were an amoral shitbag, I'd start an online school company, and get a big cross to hang around my neck and a couple American flag and cross lapel pins. Then I'd  hit every Baptist/Church of Christ/Evangelical strip mall church in rural Texas and tell them they can become a "Private School" for the purpose of collecting voucher money from the State of Texas. We will provide the learning platform, you provide a couple church ladies to make sure the kids are working and not sharing answers (wink, wink) and we'll split the money 60/40. The 60% is for me of course, because we're providing the "Learning platform". 

    don't be so greedy. 50/40/10 split.

    • 50 for you
    • 40 for the church
    • 10 to the pastor's brother-in-law.

     

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    14 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

    If I were an amoral shitbag, I'd start an online school company, and get a big cross to hang around my neck and a couple American flag and cross lapel pins. Then I'd  hit every Baptist/Church of Christ/Evangelical strip mall church in rural Texas and tell them they can become a "Private School" for the purpose of collecting voucher money from the State of Texas. We will provide the learning platform, you provide a couple church ladies to make sure the kids are working and not sharing answers (wink, wink) and we'll split the money 60/40. The 60% is for me of course, because we're providing the "Learning platform". 


    I’ll go recruit teachers for you in Vietnam !!!!

    Robin Williams Legend GIF

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    17 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

    If I were an amoral shitbag, I'd start an online school company, and get a big cross to hang around my neck and a couple American flag and cross lapel pins. Then I'd  hit every Baptist/Church of Christ/Evangelical strip mall church in rural Texas and tell them they can become a "Private School" for the purpose of collecting voucher money from the State of Texas. We will provide the learning platform, you provide a couple church ladies to make sure the kids are working and not sharing answers (wink, wink) and we'll split the money 60/40. The 60% is for me of course, because we're providing the "Learning platform". 

    If you allow bare handed spanking of little boys, you could get a 99/1 split from those Baptist preachers.

    spank steve brule GIF by Adult Swim

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    9 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

    don't be so greedy. 50/40/10 split.

    • 50 for you
    • 40 for the church
    • 10 to the pastor's brother-in-law.

     

    Fine, you drive a hard bargain. We'll go 50/50, but the Pastor has to pay his BIL out of his 50%. Call him the PE coach or something. 

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    40 minutes ago, Eskimohorn said:


    Or, hear me out. The objective measures strongly correlate with socioeconomics. For the most part, when the state test schools it’s measuring how where and how students live.

    Here’s a spoiler: schools with high number of struggling, homeless, ESL, kids do worse on tests and they need more resources.

    What if we hired someone to head the TEA who taught and lead public schools. Understand how they work and sought to help schools when they struggle? Then they could hire other people who know how schools operate. Also hire people that love public education and enjoy their work. Then have the state legislature provide funding at above average levels.

    I know. Crazy talk.

    All sounds reasonable to me. Throw in some accountability for performance and mechanisms for parents of children in failing schools to exercise options.

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    3 hours ago, Brian Fantana said:

    Dumbest state in the Union.

    How you motherfuckers didn't put a stake in his heart when you had the chance, I'll never understand.

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    Just now, Anastasis said:

    All sounds reasonable to me. Throw in some accountability for performance and mechanisms for parents of children in failing schools to exercise options.

    I can only speak annecodately but Dallas ISD allows parents of children in underperforming schools, I assume based on STAAR results, to transfer to different schools in the area if there is available space. I know parents who did that to get into the schools not too far from our neighborhood that are blue ribbon. Our local school that we passed on for a DISD montessori option sent us letters saying we could transfer to other schools before our local school improved. Previously, you had to lie about your address to register for a different school so grandparents addresses became home addresses for some students. DISD also offers a lot of magnet, TAG, and choice school options now. Pretty nice way to keep people away from private schools.

    I'm not sure if that same option is available in other school districts in the state. 

    1 minute ago, Chewbacca said:

    How you motherfuckers didn't put a stake in his heart when you had the chance, I'll never understand.

    Well the ultra cunt wing of the MAGA party pulled a bait and switch on the RINOs. 

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