This is EXACTLY why I love capitalism and the free enterprise system .... and did I mention why I LOVE Texas? Why Texas Is Our Future - By Tyler Cowen, Time Magazine Its not an accident that three of the five fastest growing cities are in Texas. Its more like destiny They say the Lone Star State has four seasons: drought, flood, blizzard and twister. This summer 97% of the state was in a persistent drought; in 2011 the Dallas-Fort Worth area experienced 40 straight days in July and August of temperatures of 100 degrees or higher. The states social services are thin. Welfare benefits are skimpy. Roughly a quarter of residents have no health insurance. Many of its schools are less than stellar. Property-crime rates are high. Rates of murder and other violent crimes are hardly sterling either. So why are more Americans moving to Texas than to any other state? Texas is Americas fastest-growing large state, with three of the top five fastest-growing cities in the country: Austin, Dallas and Houston. In 2012 alone, total migration to Texas from the other 49 states in the Union was 106,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Since 2000, 1 million more people have moved to Texas from other states than have left. As an economist and a libertarian, I have become convinced that whether they know it or not, these migrants are being pushed (and pulled) by the major economic forces that are reshaping the American economy as a whole: the hollowing out of the middle class, the increased costs of living in the U.S.s established population centers and the resulting search by many Americans for a radically cheaper way to live and do business. To a lot of Americans, Texas feels like the future. And I would argue that more than any other state, Texas looks like the future as well — offering us a glimpse of whats to come for the country at large in the decades ahead. America is experiencing ever greater economic inequality and the thinning of its middle class; Texas is already one of our most unequal states. Americas safety net is fraying under the weight of ballooning Social Security and Medicare costs; Texas safety net was built frayed. Americans are seeking out a cheaper cost of living and a less regulated climate in which to do business; Texas has that in spades. And did we mention theres no state income tax? Theres a bumper sticker sometimes seen around the state that proclaims, I WASNT BORN IN TEXAS, BUT I GOT HERE AS FAST AS I COULD. As the U.S. heads toward Texas, literally and metaphorically, its worth understanding why were headed there — both to see the pitfalls ahead and to catch a glimpse of the opportunities that await us if we make the journey in an intelligent fashion.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 00:25:52 +0000
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