What's So Great About Texas?

     Texas is one of those states, which after a significant period of Republicant control, has thrived and prospered during the Obama recession. It has always flummoxed me how people can be convinced that Conservative principles are bad and Liberal ones are good, especially in light of over-whelming evidence to the contrary. Those who have intellectual courage will acknowledge the budget surpluses in Conservative-run states like Indiana and Texas, and the dire economic circumstances in Liberal-run states like California and Michigan. Although Republicant Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan is slowly recovering his state from the financial Armageddon of the last 50 years of Democrat control.
      What is so great about Texas is that with no state income tax, more dollars stay in the private sector where they can be invested in businesses that create jobs. With more people working, there is less strain on public sector programs. This results in less need for public sector employees whose salaries and benefits have nearly bankrupted other states and cities. Because Texas has no corporate tax, they attract more businesses into the state, which is good for everyone. California-based companies such as Facebook, Apple and eBay have all made plans to move more of their operations to the state of Texas. This, of course, is bad news for California which seems hell-bent on chasing business out of their state by adding 130 thousand dollars a year just in state regulatory compliance costs. Another business-friendly practice of Texas is its shortened permitting process. The necessary permits to start construction on a strip mall in Texas averages four to five months, by comparison in California, it takes four to five years.
      As the nation begins its odyssey towards health care rationing and out-of-control costs with the implementation of ObamaCare, Texas is a shining example of what legitimate and beneficial health care reform should emulate. The tort reforms that Governor Rick Perry and the state legislature implemented, have caused an influx of doctors and other health care providers into Texas and an exodus of lawyers. No critical thinker can argue that health care is somehow better with more lawyers than doctors. Tort reform, along with other free market reforms, has caused a decrease in Texas health care costs and a symbiotic rise in the quality of care.
     The biggest Liberal knock on Texas is that it is good for the rich, but the poor suffer more than in the compassionate land of California. This argument is as empty of facts as any other Liberal position. The fact is that while California houses 1/8 of the country's population, they dole out 1/3 of all the welfare benefits. Liberals also point to a higher minimum wage in California than in Texas, eight dollars an hour compared to seven and a quarter respectively. But when cost of living is factored in, the Texas minimum wage shoots up to eight and quarter dollars an hour and California's drops to six. So even lower income earners do better in Texas.
     When the above mentioned benefits are added to an environment of less government control in everything from gun control to private property rights, Texas is much closer to the kind of society that the founders advocated for and outlined in our founding documents. One more little tidbit, call it a parenthetical aside, Texas has an eight billion dollar surplus. But they better keep that a secret or President Obama may sneak into Texas under the cover of darkness and break into and empty their piggy bank.