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>> A July study from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School estimated that municipalities and other public entities in Texas paid between $303 million

>> A July study from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School estimated that municipalities and other public entities in Texas paid between $303 million and $532 million more in interest on the $32 billion they borrowed during the first eight months after the anti-ESG laws Texas enacted in 2021 took effect and some large banks had to cease bond underwriting. So they're forcing tax payers to pay hundreds of millions more in interest fees, than they otherwise would have, just to achieve some political grandstanding?? Whether you believe in free markets, small government, or any other ideology this doesn't make sense at all to me?!

elliekelly 4y ago
Otherwise the taxpayers are forced to pay hundreds of millions, probably even billions, more in counteracting the negative externalities these companies create for society as a whole. It’s a net benefit for the taxpayer.
eddyfromtheblok 4y ago
who says that they are going to raise taxes? they cut public services instead.
- MadcapJake 4y ago
  No one said that. They are paying more in interest due to not being allowed to pick the best interest rates due to this policy.
hbossy 4y ago
Isn't that what all environment-related polices are?
rayiner 4y ago
It’s not political grandstanding. There’s a real economic interest. Go visit east Texas. Tons of working class prosperity from the availability of jobs at refineries. New malls and restaurants, big shiny pickup trucks, big families, etc. (Also lots of economic integration between whites and Latinos, because these well paying jobs are readily available to immigrants without college degrees or ESL. The complete opposite of SF or NYC.) Now I believe in climate change, and I don’t think those communities are sustainable long term. But there’s real pragmatic reasons for Texas to not want the oil gravy train to stop. The state is legislating in its material interests.
- Wyoming23 4y ago
  Which, to be clear, the interests of the Texas Republican legislators have absolutely nothing to do with the working class refinery jobs and everything to do with the billionaires who own them. Move a little west and you'll find that central Texas is also a powerhouse for solar and wind, and there are plenty of racially diverse folks building and installing wind turbines in Texas. But the Texas Republican legislators threw them under the bus with a misinformation campaign after the grid failure (which was caused by natural gas power plants not being properly winterized) and they continue to barely tolerate the industry as long as it continues to make money.
  - rayiner 4y ago
    > Which, to be clear, the interests of the Texas Republican legislators have absolutely nothing to do with the working class refinery jobs and everything to do with the billionaires who own them. An individual's interests are multifaceted, and align or deviate along different dimensions. Workers have conflicting interests with their employers at a workplace level (e.g. over safety regulations) but convergent interests with their employers at an industry level. Politics is downstream of economic interests. Democratic rhetoric was positive about midwestern factory workers even as economic dynamics recentered the party around tech and knowledge workers who benefit from globalization. The negative impacts of that hit not only those factory workers (who have been rebranded as "deplorables" as a result of that new economic calculus) but also the local business owners who used to own those factories that are now in China. > Move a little west and you'll find that central Texas is also a powerhouse for solar and wind, and there are plenty of racially diverse folks building and installing wind turbines in Texas. Installing Chinese-made solar panels and wind turbines is a huge downgrade from drilling, refining, and exporting American oil. It creates fewer jobs and those jobs are lower on the value chain.
  - JamesBarney 4y ago
    It was both the natural gas plants not being winterized and the wind turbines energy production being intermittent. And how much each is responsible depends on how you do the analysis.

elliekelly 4y ago

Otherwise the taxpayers are forced to pay hundreds of millions, probably even billions, more in counteracting the negative externalities these companies create for society as a whole. It’s a net benefit for the taxpayer.

eddyfromtheblok 4y ago

who says that they are going to raise taxes? they cut public services instead.

MadcapJake 4y ago
No one said that. They are paying more in interest due to not being allowed to pick the best interest rates due to this policy.

hbossy 4y ago

Isn't that what all environment-related polices are?

rayiner 4y ago

It’s not political grandstanding. There’s a real economic interest. Go visit east Texas. Tons of working class prosperity from the availability of jobs at refineries. New malls and restaurants, big shiny pickup trucks, big families, etc. (Also lots of economic integration between whites and Latinos, because these well paying jobs are readily available to immigrants without college degrees or ESL. The complete opposite of SF or NYC.) Now I believe in climate change, and I don’t think those communities are sustainable long term. But there’s real pragmatic reasons for Texas to not want the oil gravy train to stop. The state is legislating in its material interests.

Wyoming23 4y ago
Which, to be clear, the interests of the Texas Republican legislators have absolutely nothing to do with the working class refinery jobs and everything to do with the billionaires who own them. Move a little west and you'll find that central Texas is also a powerhouse for solar and wind, and there are plenty of racially diverse folks building and installing wind turbines in Texas. But the Texas Republican legislators threw them under the bus with a misinformation campaign after the grid failure (which was caused by natural gas power plants not being properly winterized) and they continue to barely tolerate the industry as long as it continues to make money.
- rayiner 4y ago
  > Which, to be clear, the interests of the Texas Republican legislators have absolutely nothing to do with the working class refinery jobs and everything to do with the billionaires who own them. An individual's interests are multifaceted, and align or deviate along different dimensions. Workers have conflicting interests with their employers at a workplace level (e.g. over safety regulations) but convergent interests with their employers at an industry level. Politics is downstream of economic interests. Democratic rhetoric was positive about midwestern factory workers even as economic dynamics recentered the party around tech and knowledge workers who benefit from globalization. The negative impacts of that hit not only those factory workers (who have been rebranded as "deplorables" as a result of that new economic calculus) but also the local business owners who used to own those factories that are now in China. > Move a little west and you'll find that central Texas is also a powerhouse for solar and wind, and there are plenty of racially diverse folks building and installing wind turbines in Texas. Installing Chinese-made solar panels and wind turbines is a huge downgrade from drilling, refining, and exporting American oil. It creates fewer jobs and those jobs are lower on the value chain.
- JamesBarney 4y ago
  It was both the natural gas plants not being winterized and the wind turbines energy production being intermittent. And how much each is responsible depends on how you do the analysis.