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The electricity problems are more or less self inflicted by the generators to loosen up wholesale rules. Texas has /plenty/ of energy. Water is a problem...a

The electricity problems are more or less self inflicted by the generators to loosen up wholesale rules. Texas has /plenty/ of energy. Water is a problem...a BIG problem. But...we have a large coastline, salinated deep water tables etc, so if it comes down to it we could expensively desalinate. That would be brutal, though. As far as schools -- the overall decline in public schools is counter-balanced by the rise of good charter schools. If you care about your kids' education there are options. The road situation is kind-of a pain but here in Austin and Central Texas area at least, we have improving public transportation. And there is the toll option (of which I am not a fan). But the tax policy is pretty nice. And Austin cannot be beat in terms of livability if you can stand the summer heat. I think we have a $20-25 billion surplus this year so we won't be going broke anytime soon.

techsupporter 14y ago
I find it amusing that you described Austin, the one big area of Texas that leans dramatically against the rest of the state, as the most liveable and put together. Kind of proves my point relative to the Legislature at large. For what it's worth, Texas has never had a $25bln surplus. In the 2011 biennium, the budget had to cover a $27bln shortfall. (Note that all Texas budgets are written to cover two years, as the Legislature meets for 140 days on every odd-numbered year.) This biennium's budget will start out with approximately $8bln in unspent revenue (mostly left over from dramatic cuts made in the 2011 two-year budget) and starting out with $5.3bln in "unpaid bills" around the Women's Health Insurance Program and natural disaster spending. (http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/texas-legislature/headlines/20130101-expected-surplus-wont-lessen-2013-texas-budget-fight.ece http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/texas-legislature/he...)

techsupporter 14y ago

I find it amusing that you described Austin, the one big area of Texas that leans dramatically against the rest of the state, as the most liveable and put together. Kind of proves my point relative to the Legislature at large. For what it's worth, Texas has never had a $25bln surplus. In the 2011 biennium, the budget had to cover a $27bln shortfall. (Note that all Texas budgets are written to cover two years, as the Legislature meets for 140 days on every odd-numbered year.) This biennium's budget will start out with approximately $8bln in unspent revenue (mostly left over from dramatic cuts made in the 2011 two-year budget) and starting out with $5.3bln in "unpaid bills" around the Women's Health Insurance Program and natural disaster spending. (http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/texas-legislature/headlines/20130101-expected-surplus-wont-lessen-2013-texas-budget-fight.ece http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/texas-legislature/he...)