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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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    6 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:


     

    he’ll get appointed to am or ut board of regents is my 2nd guess 

    He’ll run for SBOE, nobody has done more to protect SE Texans from viewing online porn.

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    18 minutes ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

    They abandoned Houston because Houston votes Dem. It's fucking easy.


    enough voters in Houston to sway every state election, just have to show up to the polls

     

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    3 hours ago, closetohumping said:

    Can we still make fun of the California rolling blackouts?

    Hot Wheels and Lt Dan will definitely do that next time they have the opportunity, they have no shame.

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    6 hours ago, closetohumping said:

    Can we still make fun of the California rolling blackouts?

    Of course we can. Rolling blackouts are for pussies. We do it bigger and better in Texas. 

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    7 hours ago, Captainant said:

    KHOU put out some good reporting on this actually 

    https://www.khou.com/article/news/investigations/centerpoint-bill-hurricane-beryl/285-9ae6118f-51f6-40b4-bd75-a9d8894cff11

    "If I spend $1 on prevention, tree maintenance, cutting the trees down, I make two or three cents," Hirs said. "But if I spent $100 on disaster recovery, I'm going to make a significantly much greater profit. Therefore, we (utilities) kind of wait for disaster to strike."

    Turns out where they make pennies on the dollar for investing in prevention, they can make fat multiples in profit by jacking up rates after a storm to """pay for repairs""". They've been compounding rate increases since 2021 now

    How is this not criminal? (Looks at thread title). Oh. 

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    7 hours ago, Captainant said:

    KHOU put out some good reporting on this actually 

    https://www.khou.com/article/news/investigations/centerpoint-bill-hurricane-beryl/285-9ae6118f-51f6-40b4-bd75-a9d8894cff11

    "If I spend $1 on prevention, tree maintenance, cutting the trees down, I make two or three cents," Hirs said. "But if I spent $100 on disaster recovery, I'm going to make a significantly much greater profit. Therefore, we (utilities) kind of wait for disaster to strike."

    Turns out where they make pennies on the dollar for investing in prevention, they can make fat multiples in profit by jacking up rates after a storm to """pay for repairs""". They've been compounding rate increases since 2021 now


    this is what one party rule gets you 

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    3 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

     

    Don’t forget that Greg wasn’t alone in his foreign trip during Beryl. One of the people with him was a top exec of CenterPoint who was representing them with foreign business interests.

    He’s not going to do anything to centerpoint that centerpoint won’t agree to behind closed doors.

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    Don’t forget that Greg wasn’t alone in his foreign trip during Beryl. One of the people with him was a top exec of CenterPoint who was representing them with foreign business interests.
    He’s not going to do anything to centerpoint that centerpoint won’t agree to behind closed doors.

    This. Your Texas government is a wholly owned subsidiary of interests whose sole interest in you is how much money they can extract from your wallet (with 0% interest in actually providing you necessary services). And you keep choosing that path because…I dunno, Mexicans are scary or whatnot.
    Do y’all remember this many massive grid failures and similar infrastructure disasters back when public utilities were actually…public utilities? No? Hmmmm….
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    On 7/11/2024 at 11:34 AM, Ghost of LL said:

    The problem here isn't deregulation.  This is entirely a failure by Centerpoint, which is a transmission-and-delivery utility.

    Electric generators are deregulated, as are retail utilities.  But the issue here isn't with the electric generators.  Unlike during the 2021 winter storm, there's plenty of electricity being generated.  And the problem isn't with the retailers--all they do is read your meter and bill you anyway.

    The problem this go-around is entirely with Centerpoint.  And TDUs like Centerpoint are still regulated.  They still operate under a certificate of convenience and necessity, which delineates a territory in which they have a monopoly.  The PUC has to approve Centerpoint's rates; Centerpoint can't get a rate increase without getting the approval of the PUC.

    Of course, that approval is typically forthcoming because . . . well, you know--this is Texas.  Regulators aren't really there to regulate industry so much as facilitate the regulated industry's fleecing of the citizenry.

    So yeah--this isn't about deregulation.  This is about the failure of Greg Abbott's appointed regulators.

    Have the Texas power utilities always been investor-owned, or mostly so?  Referring to Centerpoint and Oncor here?  They used to be more traditional utilities in the form of HP&L and DP&L, respectively.  I just don't know if they were investor-owned at that point.

    Investor ownership creates something of a conflict of interest, but is fairly common nationwide.

    But, you are correct that the PUC has rules that seem to favor utility owners/managers over customers by allowing them to recoup losses from ratepayers, losses for which their own mismanagement is mostly responsible.

    I haven't thought about this in a while, but utilities as a class of stocks are supposed to have pretty steady, if small, growth or dividend rates because they are an incumbent monopoly (which should guarantee profitable operation), the profits of which are mostly regulated.

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    8 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

    Have the Texas power utilities always been investor-owned, or mostly so?  Referring to Centerpoint and Oncor here?  They used to be more traditional utilities in the form of HP&L and DP&L, respectively.  I just don't know if they were investor-owned at that point.

    Investor ownership creates something of a conflict of interest, but is fairly common nationwide.

    But, you are correct that the PUC has rules that seem to favor utility owners/managers over customers by allowing them to recoup losses from ratepayers, losses for which their own mismanagement is mostly responsible.

    I haven't thought about this in a while, but utilities as a class of stocks are supposed to have pretty steady, if small, growth or dividend rates because they are an incumbent monopoly (which should guarantee profitable operation), the profits of which are mostly regulated.

    Back when they were HL&P, they were owned by the City of Houston. But at some point, the City divested itself and it became an IOU.

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    The brown invasion has stretched our infrastructure past its capacity obviously

    Too many DEI hires at Centerpoint, Harris County, and the City of Houston. City of Austin’s homeless population also impacted service along with defunding police.
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    24 minutes ago, miguelito said:

    Does Greg count as a DEI hire?

     
    yes 

    Every job application you can state if you’re handicapped or not 

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    https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/article/texas-teachers-spend-school-supplies-states-19604960.php?sid=5eb35f0cd14307791d11019c&ss=A&st_rid=2fa7d4dd-6d4f-48a7-81ac-0fdb75dd3d65&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=&utm_campaign=HC_The713

    Quote

    Texas teachers outspend their counterparts from all 50 states on yearly school supply purchases for their classrooms, according to survey released Monday as educators prepare for the 2024-25 school year.

    The survey, which sampled 50 teachers from each state for 2,500 teachers nationwide, found that educators in Texas spend on average $1,396 per year on school supplies for their classrooms, compared to the nationwide average of $915. 

    According to the survey, 93% of teachers dip into their own money for school supplies, including pens, paper, ink, classroom decorations, educational aids, cleaning supplies and even snacks. 

    While teachers are not required by law to purchase their own supplies, many do so anyway out of fear that their classroom learning environment would suffer if they didn’t -- a statement that 77% of survey respondents agreed with.

    While this is a survey and not backed up with receipts, I'm not surprised that our teachers are shelling out this much because Texas and the ISDs fail to adequately supply the teachers and students. But then they blame those same teachers when the students don't score high enough on an exam. 

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    3 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

    https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/article/texas-teachers-spend-school-supplies-states-19604960.php?sid=5eb35f0cd14307791d11019c&ss=A&st_rid=2fa7d4dd-6d4f-48a7-81ac-0fdb75dd3d65&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=&utm_campaign=HC_The713

    While this is a survey and not backed up with receipts, I'm not surprised that our teachers are shelling out this much because Texas and the ISDs fail to adequately supply the teachers and students. But then they blame those same teachers when the students don't score high enough on an exam. 

    And teachers get a whole $250 tax deduction on all of those personally purchased supplies too!

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    Cross posting but holy shit

    I knew the Houston school takeover was not a good situation, I just didn’t realize the extent of the damage being done and how urgent something needs to change. The hearing today solidified my understanding of the situation. We listened to three hours of testimony from parents, teachers, community members and even a researcher, and I have provided some of the highlights below. Thank you to Rep. Christina Morales for pulling this hearing together, and for all of the Reps who participated. 

    -Teaching in HISD became unbearable due to the toxic/hostile work environment. 

    -Teachers were bullied. One teacher had his desk taken away. 

    -Nearly 4,600 staff left HISD since the takeover one year ago. 

    -Half the principals have been removed. Some had recently earned recognition for their work. 

    -A teacher was fired in front of a classroom of kids because one student had a phone out during class.

    -A disproportionate number of black teachers have been let go (fired). 

    -30 out of 40 teachers in an A-rated school left.

    -Teachers experiencing depression and anxiety. 

    -New teachers being hired no longer need to be certified.

    -They don’t have the resources to follow IEPs.

    -Administrators are unresponsive and lack a connection to the schools. 

    -Problems revealed in the data showing improvements in student performance. 

    -Mike Miles has lied and there has been retaliation against teachers who speak up. 

    -Schools are in chaos.

    -Spanish is discouraged. The dual language program doesn’t exist, but is still getting funded. Where is that funding going?

    -Libraries have been closed. They were turned into detention centers, now called “team centers.” What happened to the $7 million meant for purchasing books? 

    -Kids were reprimanded for going to the restroom. Some would drink less water so they could last all day without going to the restroom. One child got a urinary tract infection as a result. 

    -Extracurriculars are no longer funded: debate, UIL, drama, speech.

    -Students have lost all motivation to learn.

    -Quote from a parent: “What Miles is doing is wrong for our schools.” 

    I felt heartbroken for the teachers, students and families dealing with such a massive mess in HISD. We must fix this! #txlege

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    On 7/14/2024 at 11:29 AM, Evil Bill Obrien said:

    Guess it makes sense why he stayed about as far away on the planet as one could from the storm hitting his state knocking down trees, worried one might finish the job…
     

    Do we really know that's Greg Abbott?  Some people say there are doubts.

    What Happened in Waco? A Timeline of David Koresh and the FBI Raid -  Netflix Tudum

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    3 hours ago, Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand said:

    I wonder how much my home insurance goes up this year?

    Insurance? EL oh el!

    They are pulling out faster than a Jr on prom night.

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    Dump of a few Texas noteworthy items lately.

    survey that 70% of Texans support school vouchers. Perhaps Dems and rural republicans need to get somewhat onboard with Abbott to at least get something their way. Fighting the inevitable can be a losing cause for your constituents. (I’m not a fan of vouchers but can accept reality.)

    https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/article/two-thirds-texans-support-school-vouchers-new-19604424.php
     

    while I hate him, I give Lt. Patrick props that he met with the Chronicle to provide his side of the story why Texas responded the way it did with Beryl. Seems legit and he didn’t need this interview. I actually like that Texas at least says it doesn’t need FEMA for a few days.

    https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/dan-patrick-beryl-fema-texas-a-m-kidd-19610240.php
     

    On the more positive front, here is a west Texas oil worker worth a follow on TikTok. Looks like his channel points out how poor of a job by the industry and railroad commission. The environment is a disaster. While the situation is negative, we need him pointing out the problems. EDIT: he’s exploring a run for RRC.

    https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTNbLAN35/

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    6 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

    Dump of a few Texas noteworthy items lately.

    survey that 70% of Texans support school vouchers. Perhaps Dems and rural republicans need to get somewhat onboard with Abbott to at least get something their way. Fighting the inevitable can be a losing cause for your constituents. (I’m not a fan of vouchers but can accept reality.)

    https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/article/two-thirds-texans-support-school-vouchers-new-19604424.php
     

    while I hate him, I give Lt. Patrick props that he met with the Chronicle to provide his side of the story why Texas responded the way it did with Beryl. Seems legit and he didn’t need this interview. I actually like that Texas at least says it doesn’t need FEMA for a few days.

    https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/dan-patrick-beryl-fema-texas-a-m-kidd-19610240.php
     

    On the more positive front, here is a west Texas oil worker worth a follow on TikTok. Looks like his channel points out how poor of a job by the industry and railroad commission. The environment is a disaster. While the situation is negative, we need him pointing out the problems. EDIT: he’s exploring a run for RRC.

    https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTNbLAN35/

    I think a lot of parents have warmed to the idea of sending their kids to schools that don’t have to accept “problem kids.” If they can get help from the state to send their kids to Prestonwood, Jesuit or Midland Classical, then all the better. Who cares that public schools must carry the weight that privates could care less about.

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    On 8/6/2024 at 2:49 PM, Satchel said:

    I think a lot of parents have warmed to the idea of sending their kids to schools that don’t have to accept “problem kids.” If they can get help from the state to send their kids to Prestonwood, Jesuit or Midland Classical, then all the better. Who cares that public schools must carry the weight that privates could care less about.

    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. 

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    15 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. 

    Seriously… talk about a classic fuck around and find out situation. Or admit but then triple the tuitions kind of deal.

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    26 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. 


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

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