Happy Furry Puppy Story Time with Norbizness

Anybody Know Any Good Thrift Stores?

Talking about the rampant inequities, unnecessary cruelties, and petty bullshit that pervades Texas government never seems to get old. However, most of this carping is purely anecdotal; thankfully, we occasionally rank ourselves using the Comptroller's "Texas: Where we Stand series of statistics. Apparently, an advance copy of the 2005 atrocities have been made available to a select few, including Byron over at Burnt Orange Report. By the way, if anybody knows of the states (usual suspects: Alabama and Mississippi) who actually rank lower than us in some of these Third World indicators, please let me know so I don't accidentally move there:

-- In short, we are a low-tax, low-service, high-death state. Texas is 49th Tax Revenue and Total Expenditures (broken down, that's 45th in Public Health spending, 46th in Mental Health spending, 48th in Child Protection spending, and 49th in spending on Water Quality).

-- Looking to breathe and hydrate? Sorry, we're 1st in the both Toxic and Cancerous Manufacturing Emissions and Number of Clean Water Permit Violations. Looking for a high-quality education? Good luck, we're 50th in High School Graduation Rates and 48th in SAT Scores. Looking for your poor ass not to die? I'm most dreadfully apologetic, but we're 50th in % of Population with Health Insurance, 50th in %of Insured Low-Income Children, and 48th in % of the Poor Covered by Medicaid.

-- And, thanks to one-party rule, rampant redistricting to produce ultra-safe incumbents, and the oppressive heat, things aren't likely to change any time soon. We're 44th in % of Eligible Voters that are Registered, and 47th in % of Eligible Voters that go to the Polls.

To give you an idea of the smooth operation that comes from a decade of all-GOP leadership, here's a nice study in priorities that comes from our current school finance implosion: But because of this year’s school finance fiasco, lawmakers haven't set aside the money to buy those books. So Texas students’ textbooks are sitting in warehouses, already ordered and ready to be shipped, with no way to foot the bill.

However, time was made for one prominent Texas politician to go into the studio and cut a few tracks: House Speaker Tom Craddick is running radio advertisements across Texas attacking the Senate's position on school finance reform, an unusual move for a man who says he considers himself a representative of his Midland-based district and not a statewide officeholder.

If you take perverse delight in seeing us backwards motherfuckers struggle with principles of basic governance, please continue to check out invaluable Texas resources like In the Pink Texas, Off the Kuff, Grits for Breakfast, and Pink Dome. Masochists all.

Posted by Norbizness at August 16, 2005 06:45 AM