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12 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

It took me an hour to beat into the head of an aggy friend of mine why it wouldn’t work splitting the county in half again.  Reminding him that Ga says fuck you, AZ says fuck you, and many times LA and FL says fuck you wasn’t enough. Oh yeah, TX solidly on the way to saying fuck your red ass, too.  So then we looked into the economies of these states.  Texas makes some money, but can’t even pay for our own shit, much less support the rest of the lesser producing states.  Still not convinced.  Oh yeah, Mexico probably coming back for their land.  Aggy -fuuuuuck

eta: he wasnt impressed when I reminded him he’s in a pure blue county.  How about you work on getting your county the way you want it, before suggesting we split the fucking country in half dipshit. 

Bottom line, we're dealing with a large chunk of people who think that, instead of even conceiving of the possibility that the other side may have some decent policy ideas, and MAYBE trying to find compromises, the viable path is instead "I quit, I'm taking my ball and going home, and am willing to spark a bloody war against the very country I claim to love to do it."

Fucking hell.

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21 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

It took me an hour to beat into the head of an aggy friend of mine why it wouldn’t work splitting the county in half again.  Reminding him that Ga says fuck you, AZ says fuck you, and many times LA and FL says fuck you wasn’t enough. Oh yeah, TX solidly on the way to saying fuck your red ass, too.  So then we looked into the economies of these states.  Texas makes some money, but can’t even pay for our own shit, much less support the rest of the lesser producing states.  Still not convinced.  Oh yeah, Mexico probably coming back for their land.  Aggy -fuuuuuck

eta: he wasnt impressed when I reminded him he’s in a pure blue county.  How about you work on getting your county the way you want it, before suggesting we split the fucking country in half dipshit. 

Reminds me of the dipshits in eastern Oregon who want to be part of Idaho because of their government.  Like you said, either work on getting your state the way you want it to be.... or leave.  There is no scenario where "I love my house and my land RIGHT HERE where it is, but only if another government is running it" is feasible. 

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18 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Bottom line, we're dealing with a large chunk of people who think that, instead of even conceiving of the possibility that the other side may have some decent policy ideas, and MAYBE trying to find compromises, the viable path is instead "I quit, I'm taking my ball and going home, and am willing to spark a bloody war against the very country I claim to love to do it."

Fucking hell.

Yeah, I don’t get it.  Dude is a very intelligent engineer, makes great $$ and owns a business, and lives a normal life. I’m sure he’s upset about taxes and paying for others, etc but it’s not like he’s hurting at the moment. And if that’s the case why do you live in a deep blue area?   And the part about Mexico taking over, if it read that way, I didn’t mean to imply anything racial about it. Dude isn’t a racist, no jacked up truck, not even really a gun guy (has like 2-3 shotguns only).   I honestly think it has more to do with lack of critical thinking than anything else.  Like said above, the companies would gtfo in a hurry if that ever happened. 
 

Eta: I don’t think the fact there would likely be blood spilt even occurred to him. Just that Texas, FL (currently), and   Bama are red, and here’s a pretty easy line to cut across the bottom half of the US.  Let’s be red and the blues can fuck off north.  Just an astounding lack of thought out into it for someone I’ve always respected because he make sense of letters and symbols in math work. 

Edited by fattyflattie
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Texas rules as it is, no need to leave. A lot of good HQ's and businesses are coming here anyways and our property values and opportunities in the major DMA's are exploding. All the goodness of the rest of the country seem to want to Calexit or NYexit to come to Texas. This will be good for business, our individual pocketbooks and 401ks', and probably serve politically to mute a bit and temper some of the bright red (and speed up the purpling of the state!), which should be a win/win for you all here.

The one knock about Texas from where I stand is the lack of even a roadmap or visibility to legal marijuana.

The closest analogy I can think of to Texit would be like what's happened in Afghanistan. You'd have the US "pull out" of Texas and then immediately Texas is vulnerable to internal fighting/civil war and Mexico fueled with drug cartel war chest money that would come in and unofficially conquer everything up to San Antonio almost overnight. Within 6 months they would have infiltrated the GOP or Q or whoever takes Presidency of the US and Texas would be a drug trafficking state full of cryptomillionaires, like a Cyber Wild West where law and order would be very bleak.

It actually sounds pretty fatalistic and exciting, in a devil-may-care sort of way, now that I've typed it out. A whole new frontier and wild west. Sounds like a lot of great opportunity for genius sociopaths to make a name for themselves and go from outhouse to penthouse in a single generation and/or lots of fun for cocaine-fueled bros in their 20's. Not a lot of value for old family men like me, which is why I guess there is truly no country for old men.

Edited by DonkeyCigars
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2 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

No sure you want Colorado, dawg. Sure, it's gorgeous, seems plenty blue, and is a logical choice. But they're just now getting their taste of wildfires that will probably become pretty commonplace on that side of the rockies moving forward. I'd be a bit cautious. 

Yep, heard a long podcast on the near future of these states.  The rust belt and new england are where one wants to be 20 years from now.  The West is going to be global warmed over Mad Max country. 

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1 minute ago, tantric superman said:

Yep, heard a long podcast on the near future of these states.  The rust belt and new england are where one wants to be 20 years from now.  The West is going to be global warmed over Mad Max country. 

Truly enjoying CO summers in Denver - wildfire smoke + temp inversions making it impossible to breath during the best months to be outside. 😓

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25 minutes ago, DonkeyCigars said:

A lot of good HQ's and businesses are coming here anyways and our property values and opportunities in the major DMA's are exploding.

Trailing indicator.  Past performance is no guarantee of future performance.

Can Texas keep the lights on so your business can run?  Can it keep the lights on so your valuable employees don't die in their homes?  Are Texas policies friendly or unfriendly to the most valuable, highest-yield employees: highly educated people (who skew female these days, by the way)?  Will Texas have enough water to meet the needs of future residents and businesses?

If you're sitting in a board room thinking of relocation, Texas has a LOT of strikes building against it.  Tax-friendliness only gets you so far -- when you can't draw and keep talent, when people don't want to relocate here so they'll leave and take another job, when you have no assurances that you'll be able to - literally - keep the lights on.....those are some big "cons" on the board.  We are already seeing the early signs of a cooling in the business relocation market.  At some point, Texas's negatives will overwhelm the positives -- and our current direction is busy stacking up the negatives like that stupid-ass milk crate challenge.

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5 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Trailing indicator.  Past performance is no guarantee of future performance.

Can Texas keep the lights on so your business can run?  Can it keep the lights on so your valuable employees don't die in their homes?  Are Texas policies friendly or unfriendly to the most valuable, highest-yield employees: highly educated people (who skew female these days, by the way)?  Will Texas have enough water to meet the needs of future residents and businesses?

If you're sitting in a board room thinking of relocation, Texas has a LOT of strikes building against it.  Tax-friendliness only gets you so far -- when you can't draw and keep talent, when people don't want to relocate here so they'll leave and take another job, when you have no assurances that you'll be able to - literally - keep the lights on.....those are some big "cons" on the board.  We are already seeing the early signs of a cooling in the business relocation market.  At some point, Texas's negatives will overwhelm the positives -- and our current direction is busy stacking up the negatives like that stupid-ass milk crate challenge.

You admit to be naive. A hopeless romantic, maybe. Maybe a "hope springs eternal" and "optimist to a fault". Wait, not the last one as your pessimism has become your online brand. Anyways, my point is, you seem to have come around to the idea that your way of thinking (e.g. "things OUGHT to be" and "things SHOULD be") is reasonable and rational but not practical because your way of thinking doesn't play out in the irrational and rowdy marketplace that is reality. You've owned that and I agree with you-- you are out of touch in that way.

I say that to say, take your best instincts and logical thinking and any forecasting or opinions you arrive at from your best thinking...and tilt it like 90 degrees and flip it upside down, and you'll be closer to the target.

I'm not saying you are wrong in your analysis here, I'm just saying that I think it's too early to be hinting that a power grid situation that's happened 2x in 20 years is going to a) register on the board level meetings and relo evaluations (and if they do, get weighted to matter) and b) is something you are going to be able to set your watch to. 

Ultimately, I think you are naive in that Tax-friendliness over every other thing is the top reason--no the top 1, 2 and 3 reasons-- that matter more than anything else. Nothing else, not ESB-friendly politics or Corp-B friendly values, not politics, not DEI, not water/electricity even compare (especially in a distributed workforce world-- one where employees are fighting to be paid the same no matter their COL tier based on zip codes).

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The Governor’s Economic Development and Tourism office said in September there’s been a “tremendous increase” in companies reaching out since the pandemic hit, with 237 relocation or expansion projects currently in the works

Oracle moved its headquarters to Austin, Texas late last year. Tesla is also building its new Gigafactory there, and Apple will house its second-largest campus in Texas’ capital city. This Big Tech influx has raised chatter about Texas potentially becoming a business hub that could rival Silicon Valley.

CBRE and Charles Schwab relocated their headquarters from California to the Dallas area in recent months, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise is headed to Houston. Texas has also attracted wealthy individuals like Joe Rogan, Elon Musk, Dropbox CEO Drew Houston and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale.

But it’s not just big businesses and the wealthy who are moving to Texas. In 2020, Texas added more residents than any other state. This comes as California’s population and job growth have slowed to a trickle.

 

Texit is stupid.

We should be talking about Texas a PE firm, amassing port co's in order to grow our upper middle class. That is the story.

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Texit?

 

cons:

insurgency

war with the US

infiltration by the mexican drug cartels

devastating economic misery

collapsing health care system

3rd world electrical grid

extreme weather events with no federal aid

thousands of miles of border with newly hostile neighbors

 

 

pros:

owning the libs!

 

edit: Out of all the other states, I'd guess Oklahoma would probably be the most likely to texit with us. Not sure if the texit morons would consider that a pro or a con.

 

 

Edited by High Plains Drifter
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1 minute ago, DonkeyCigars said:

I'm not saying you are wrong in your analysis here, I'm just saying that I think it's too early to be hinting that a power grid situation that's happened 2x in 20 years is going to a) register on the board level meetings and relo evaluations (and if they do, get weighted to matter) and b) is something you are going to be able to set your watch to. 

I've been involved in discussions of this particular issue with some of the folks who are responsible for the second level policies at issue (not the people at the top, who ensure that we remain stuck with the same grid/market design, but rather, the people who have to implement it), and I can assure you that the state's ability to reliably provide power -- and the reaction of business to that uncertainty -- is at the forefront of their discussions and concerns.  And they're not making up those concerns -- these are things they are getting as direct feedback.

And you vastly overstate the near-term future of a distributed workforce.  Relocations involve people.  If you are a young, educated person working in silicon valley, are you going to be excited about a move to Greg Abbott's Texas?  Nope.  Talent is an asset, and losing that  asset is a money-loser.  Texas has believed its own bullshit for a long time, but the flip-side of anarcho-capitalist-friendly policies to the extreme is that those policies don't tend to make for the most livable place.  Eventually, it catches up with you.  Same old theme.  Lots of fucking around.  Then, the finding out.

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5 minutes ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

Texit?

 

cons:

insurgency

war with the US

infiltration by the mexican drug cartels

devastating economic misery

collapsing health care system

3rd world electrical grid

extreme weather events with no federal aid

thousands of miles of border with newly hostile neighbors

 

 

pros:

owning the libs!

 

And with that, you just explained why Texit is, going away, the most favored choice among the GQP.  Nothing else matters but that pro.

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18 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

texumrepublic.thumb.jpg.208e5f1096b3c725046edc4b6215863c.jpg

 

I'd be good with this so long as the new state is not part of the USA

 

No deal unless we can get rid pretty much everything east of I-45 from Dallas to Houston ... and they go ahead and euthanize Gohmert, cuz I'm no going to listen to him bitch about the outcome once the deal is done.

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5 minutes ago, Gap03 said:

No deal unless we can get rid pretty much everything east of I-45 from Dallas to Houston ... and they go ahead and euthanize Gohmert, cuz I'm no going to listen to him bitch about the outcome once the deal is done.

oh fair point - fold that shit into Arkansas and Louisiana as appropriate

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26 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

I've been involved in discussions of this particular issue with some of the folks who are responsible for the second level policies at issue (not the people at the top, who ensure that we remain stuck with the same grid/market design, but rather, the people who have to implement it), and I can assure you that the state's ability to reliably provide power -- and the reaction of business to that uncertainty -- is at the forefront of their discussions and concerns.  And they're not making up those concerns -- these are things they are getting as direct feedback.

And you vastly overstate the near-term future of a distributed workforce.  Relocations involve people.  If you are a young, educated person working in silicon valley, are you going to be excited about a move to Greg Abbott's Texas?  Nope.  Talent is an asset, and losing that  asset is a money-loser.  Texas has believed its own bullshit for a long time, but the flip-side of anarcho-capitalist-friendly policies to the extreme is that those policies don't tend to make for the most livable place.  Eventually, it catches up with you.  Same old theme.  Lots of fucking around.  Then, the finding out.

I understand your position, I just disagree. Also what's in disagreement is the aforementioned 237 relocation projects and expansions currently in the works. Not in the past, but forward-looking and being planned for future use.

And I don't think either one of us can say for certain, but I think you are wrong on the distributed workforce dynamic. I think COVID-19 was the event needed to fundamentally change how and where we work (knowledge/white collar workers, that is) and that will be played out in the coming months/years to the benefit of those who would live and work from anywhere (e.g. work for a Silicon Valley HQ'd company but live in Florida for COL and tax purposes, etc.).

Here is a read about how workers are fighting to normalize maintaining a NY or SF or DC adjusted salary even if you relocate to Omaha or Boise or Tulsa: 

In the pre-pandemic era, the following was a given with little-to-no debate: Work outside a major metro area and your salary will be adjusted accordingly. Now, remote work largely rules the business world, and workers are increasingly demanding equal pay for equal output, no matter where they log in from. One economist tells The Wall Street Journal firms will "eventually" have to pay these workers the same or face losing them. In other words, employee expectations have drastically changed, and employers must adapt. https://www.wsj.com/articles/workers-want-to-do-their-jobs-from-anywhere-and-keep-their-big-city-salaries-11631282375?mod=hp_lead_pos11

Quote

One of the thorniest issues facing people who want to work from anywhere is whether they'll get to keep their salary or be forced to take a pay cut.

Some companies are arguing that cities with cheaper costs of living should require a compensation adjustment. Some workers are finding that life outside New York City and San Francisco isn't as inexpensive as they initially thought. (Hello Austin, Texas!)

Now, more people (and compensation experts) are making the case for paying workers according to their skills and productivity, not their geographic coordinates.

“If workers can be as productive working from Houston or Utah as they can working from the Bay Area, the firm will eventually have to pay them the same. Firms may not like it. They may think it’s only fair they get paid less if they live in a less expensive place, but that’s not how markets work,” says one Carnegie Mellon University economist who studies labor markets and the effects of demographic change on economics.

I'll say it again for you:

Texit is STUPID

We should be talking about Texas a PE firm, amassing port co's in order to grow our upper middle class. That is the winning story we should be telling.

Edited by DonkeyCigars
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8 minutes ago, DonkeyCigars said:

We should be talking about Texas a PE firm, amassing port co's in order to grow our upper middle class. That is the winning story we should be telling.

"Grow our upper middle class."  You mean the upper middle class that would be sending their kids to schools our state government is actively trying to kill, both literally and financially?  The schools that can't even find enough teachers because of how hostile our state is to education and educators?  You mean the upper middle class, who are mostly educated people, who may not be super-hyped about being transferred to a state that puts as its highest legislative priorities shitting on women and minorities?

Texas is still attractive to oligarchs who want to shelter their mega-incomes from taxes (see, Elon Musk).  It's not terribly attractive to the talent they need to make money.  You are talking like the gal who was smoke till she turned 40.  You're talking like you're Texas football.  You think we're hot shit because of what we WERE, and as evidence, you point to the line of guys who'd still like to bang you, you point to ticket sales at DKR.....but you ignore that the line ain't what it was even a few years ago, that those tickets are selling on the secondary market for $10.

Our arrogance and hubris, simmered in a pot of our utter stupidity, are going to be our undoing.

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3 hours ago, RomaVicta said:

Also, if Texas seceded, the morons leading the movement would soon find themselves outnumbered by those dirty messicans and subject to their governing. That would be a hoot! 

"Hey, what about the Alamo? Remember the Alamo!"

"We won that one, Karen. Thanks for giving us our own country, amigo."

"Yes, let's secede and we'll be a small Catholic nation with 20 million people (or less depending on how many leave) and a few tens of thousands of soldiers in our National Guard sitting right next to a large Hispanic Catholic nation with 130 million people and over a million soldiers. And drug cartels that will have more employees/guards/etc. combined than our National Guard.  And the United States military will not be between us and those cartels and that nation.  And OPEC can wipe out our economy at the drop of a turban.  Sounds awesome!"

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9 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

"Grow our upper middle class."  You mean the upper middle class that would be sending their kids to schools our state government is actively trying to kill, both literally and financially?  The schools that can't even find enough teachers because of how hostile our state is to education and educators?  You mean the upper middle class, who are mostly educated people, who may not be super-hyped about being transferred to a state that puts as its highest legislative priorities shitting on women and minorities?

First of all, you are grasping at straws. Not sure what this has to do with the price of tea in China as it pertains to the conversation I thought we were having, but I guess I'll try to address it: If the upper middle class want to send their kids to public school, they should know what they are going to be getting themselves into. I'm the wrong guy to ask, my kids go to private school so I can't comment nor care about the FUD you are trying to introduce here for some reason, which again is a weird thing to introduce at this stage in the discussion.

Quote

 

Texas is still attractive to oligarchs who want to shelter their mega-incomes from taxes (see, Elon Musk).  It's not terribly attractive to the talent they need to make money.  You are talking like the gal who was smoke till she turned 40.  You're talking like you're Texas football.  You think we're hot shit because of what we WERE, and as evidence, you point to the line of guys who'd still like to bang you, you point to ticket sales at DKR.....but you ignore that the line ain't what it was even a few years ago, that those tickets are selling on the secondary market for $10.

Our arrogance and hubris, simmered in a pot of our utter stupidity, are going to be our undoing.

 

I mean, I think the data says you are wrong. More people and businesses are moving to Texas than are leaving. Texas is growing and winning, despite of all the problems. Why is that do you think? Answer honestly.

I think it is because regardless of all the other garbage you cite (politics, weather, resources, powergrid, abortion, etc.) which I can see as garbage if I were in your or others political shoes, money talks and bullspit walks. A tale as old as time, as we are fond to say.

Edited by DonkeyCigars
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2 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

"Yes, let's secede and we'll be a small Catholic nation with 20 million people (or less depending on how many leave) and a few tens of thousands of soldiers in our National Guard sitting right next to a large Hispanic Catholic nation with 130 million people and over a million soldiers. And drug cartels that will have more employees/guards/etc. combined than our National Guard.  And the United States military will not be between us and those cartels and that nation.  And OPEC can wipe out our economy at the drop of a turban.  Sounds awesome!"

Exactamundo.

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2 minutes ago, DonkeyCigars said:

I mean, I think the data says you are wrong. More people and businesses are moving to Texas than are leaving. Texas is growing and winning, despite of all the problems. Why is that do you think? Answer honestly.

Because Texas represents a low regulation and tax environment while still affording the protections and stability of being in the United States of America.

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3 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

Because Texas represents a low regulation and tax environment while still affording the protections and stability of being in the United States of America.

Absolutely. I've said more than three times now that Texit is stupid because of the exact sentence you just wrote.

Brisket is trying to argue from a place of second-hand inside info, anecdote and emotion that the above sentence, along with the data and articles provided to corroborate that sentence as a thesis, is wrong. Despite admitting up and down this board that he is hopelessly wrong about everything because he's the smart one and everyone else are the stupid irrational ones (arguably he's right about that, depending on your stances).

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5 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

Because Texas represents a low regulation and tax environment while still affording the protections and stability of being in the United States of America.

That's a big one.  But even without that, low regulation and low taxes works great.....until it doesn't.  Donkey thinks that we can milk those things forever, no matter how unattractive the remainder becomes.  I think he's wrong.  Lots of things work....until you OD on them, and they don't anymore.

Texas is OD'ing on anarcho-capitalism at the expense of any concept of the public good.  Basic fucking shit that people expect - electricity, water, schools, are all doubtful propositions in the Texas of tomorrow.  Not to mention the open hostility to the people who are the economic future of this country: educated people, heavily populated by women and minorities.

Continue to think that we've got a foolproof sales pitch, and that's a great way to see sales fall in the shitter.  I ain't telling you what's here. I'm telling you what's coming.  I am confident that you, and our current leadership, will 100% ignore that looming threat.  Just like I was ignored when I said "get used to the idea of President Trump," and I repeatedly warned that we were on the road to a violent insurrection against our government.  A whole lot of people who fall for believing that because things ARE a certain way, that's the way they'll stay.  That's folly.  It's already cost us a great deal.  It is going to cost us a lot more.

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9 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

That's a big one.  But even without that, low regulation and low taxes works great.....until it doesn't.  Donkey thinks that we can milk those things forever, no matter how unattractive the remainder becomes.  I think he's wrong.  Lots of things work....until you OD on them, and they don't anymore.

Texas is OD'ing on anarcho-capitalism at the expense of any concept of the public good.  Basic fucking shit that people expect - electricity, water, schools, are all doubtful propositions in the Texas of tomorrow.  Not to mention the open hostility to the people who are the economic future of this country: educated people, heavily populated by women and minorities.

Continue to think that we've got a foolproof sales pitch, and that's a great way to see sales fall in the shitter.  I ain't telling you what's here. I'm telling you what's coming.  I am confident that you, and our current leadership, will 100% ignore that looming threat.  Just like I was ignored when I said "get used to the idea of President Trump," and I repeatedly warned that we were on the road to a violent insurrection against our government.  A whole lot of people who fall for believing that because things ARE a certain way, that's the way they'll stay.  That's folly.  It's already cost us a great deal.  It is going to cost us a lot more.

What I think you are failing to consider in your forecast model built on emotion and faith in yourself as a prognosticator is the impact that the low regulation/low taxes mass influx will have.

We already know that Texas is booming and growing and companies and people are pouring in. We also know the demography of the said populations and from where they are coming from.

Maybe they come over here and there is something in the water and they take a hard right and change the political/personal beliefs and positions they had upon arrival.

Maybe, and what I think is more likely, they come and bring their own flavors to the mixing pot and the stew tastes a little less anarcho-capitalistic, as you characterize it, and more tempered and muted and palatable to old, mediocre, out of touch narcissists like me yourself.

But the bottom line is we agree on this: Texit is stupid. Right?

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20 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

Because Texas represents a low regulation and tax environment while still affording the protections and stability of being in the United States of America.

Also thanks for your answer, but the question is for @Brisketexan. Answer why you think it is that more people and businesses are moving to Texas than are leaving. Texas is growing and winning, despite of all the problems. Why Brisket?

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1 minute ago, DonkeyCigars said:

Also thanks for your answer, but the question is for @Brisketexan. Answer why you think it is that more people and businesses are moving to Texas than are leaving. Texas is growing and winning, despite of all the problems. Why Brisket?

Trailing.  Indicator.  Of a time when our pros easily outweighed our cons.  My hypothesis is not much more complicated than that.

When it comes to good policies and good will, we have been consuming our seed stock.  But now, if you look, you can see that the grain bin is getting low.  You are pointing to the fat and happy people still bellying up to the buffet, because there's still a bounty on the table.  I'm pointing to the dwindling supply of grain, with not-great prospects of future good harvests.

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Companies don’t relocate for taxes. Sure they’ll happily take tax cuts and other financial incentives if you’ll give them. In a survey of tech companies of why they move to Austin, taxes don’t make the top 10. It’s all about access to the hiring pool they need. That has way more to do with their profits than taxes. None of these companies are paying taxes anyway. Doesn’t make a shit where they’re located. Look at cities like Tulsa that will practically pay companies to move there and they still don’t because there’s not a big enough hiring pool.

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Texas has five years left -- give or take a few -- to persuade my wife and I to stick around once the youngest graduates HS. I despise what this state has become.

Colorado, New Mexico, the Caribbean are all looking like nice alternatives to Texas at this point.

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8 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

Companies don’t relocate for taxes. Sure they’ll happily take tax cuts and other financial incentives if you’ll give them. In a survey of tech companies of why they move to Austin, taxes don’t make the top 10. It’s all about access to the hiring pool they need. That has way more to do with their profits than taxes. None of these companies are paying taxes anyway. Doesn’t make a shit where they’re located. Look at cities like Tulsa that will practically pay companies to move there and they still don’t because there’s not a big enough hiring pool.

This is true, but a big part of why local governments can give big tax breaks is because they'll just feed at the federal trough to make up for it. There is no more federal trough in a Texit scenario. And Texas would not be printing the world's reserve currency.

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21 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Trailing.  Indicator.  Of a time when our pros easily outweighed our cons.  My hypothesis is not much more complicated than that.

When it comes to good policies and good will, we have been consuming our seed stock.  But now, if you look, you can see that the grain bin is getting low.  You are pointing to the fat and happy people still bellying up to the buffet, because there's still a bounty on the table.  I'm pointing to the dwindling supply of grain, with not-great prospects of future good harvests.

What you are consistently failing to realize (or address) is the idea that, using your analogy, the grain bin is getting low but because the seeds were planted and fields are attractive, new farmers are emigrating from more liberal populations (CA, West Coast, etc.) to Texas to join in and add their seeds and livestock to the farm that's existing. It's necessarily, by almost certainty and physics, going to change the dynamic and the course that you are married to as the end result.

The end of the play hasn't been written. Texas is amazing. And it can get better for your tastes! Or worse, if you are one of those who say "Don't California my Austin".

And this is because we are a destination state. A city on a hill. A lighthouse. Because of our people and business/tax-friendly posture. Texit is stupid, something I think everyone on this thread agrees. Don't know how I wasted time arguing with Brisket when we agree. Briskettexan you should change your handle to Lokitexan or something; you are mischievous. 

Edited by DonkeyCigars
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3 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

I'd be willing to bet the chances of the rest of the old confederacy joining Texas would be greater than 50%...at least the other Gulf Coast states. Florida maybe not, but the other oil states like Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama would totally go for it. Maybe even Oklahoma and Arkansas.  We could call the new nation dumbfuckistan. And yes, I'd high tail it to New Mexico or Colorado ASAP. Shit, maybe even Old Mexico. The Mayan Riviera is pretty nice and if you could get your money out of the banking system, you'd live pretty great.  

Not sure Alabama's ever wanted to be its own country since 1861. Even then there were entire swaths of the state that said "You voted to do fucking what?"

The more famous recent shit-flinging in the 1960s was always about preserving some caste system so po' whites wouldn't get uppity and ask for decent wages-- why you need money, Clem? You're automatically better than some of your neighbors?

Now the vibe is more about cashing federal checks and watching local pro football. Compared to Aggyland, Alabama is Vermont.

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6 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Trailing.  Indicator.  Of a time when our pros easily outweighed our cons.  My hypothesis is not much more complicated than that.

When it comes to good policies and good will, we have been consuming our seed stock.  But now, if you look, you can see that the grain bin is getting low.  You are pointing to the fat and happy people still bellying up to the buffet, because there's still a bounty on the table.  I'm pointing to the dwindling supply of grain, with not-great prospects of future good harvests.

Also, as it stands, the "low taxes" doesn't really apply to workers, even white collar workers.  Property and sales taxes make a serious dent in everyone's take home pay, especially with Trump's "tax cut."  It's not enough to just say "we ain't got no income tax."

And while we may be importing "brains" to replace the ones we won't grow organically, some of those brains are finding it less than satisfactory here and some are going to start taking off with more bathroom bills and SB8 bullshit.

And then you have the impending problems of the electricity grid, water shortages, school deterioration, etc. and our not-so-humble state ain't lookin so good anymore.

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3 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

I'd be willing to bet the chances of the rest of the old confederacy joining Texas would be greater than 50%...at least the other Gulf Coast states. Florida maybe not, but the other oil states like Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama would totally go for it. Maybe even Oklahoma and Arkansas.  We could call the new nation dumbfuckistan. And yes, I'd high tail it to New Mexico or Colorado ASAP. Shit, maybe even Old Mexico. The Mayan Riviera is pretty nice and if you could get your money out of the banking system, you'd live pretty great.  

Surly exodus to Mehico about to begin...

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45 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

Companies don’t relocate for taxes. Sure they’ll happily take tax cuts and other financial incentives if you’ll give them. In a survey of tech companies of why they move to Austin, taxes don’t make the top 10. It’s all about access to the hiring pool they need. That has way more to do with their profits than taxes. None of these companies are paying taxes anyway. Doesn’t make a shit where they’re located. Look at cities like Tulsa that will practically pay companies to move there and they still don’t because there’s not a big enough hiring pool.

 

This is exactly right. These companies aren't relocating to Texas, they are relocating to Austin, or Dallas, or Houston, or San Antonio. Because that's where the young and educated are.

 

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4 minutes ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

This is exactly right. These companies aren't relocating to Texas, they are relocating to Austin, or Dallas, or Houston, or San Antonio. Because that's where the young and educated are.

 

Yep. And Texas isn't growing that population by itself. It's still attracting that demographic even though Texas does what it can to be as unappealing as possible.

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6 minutes ago, dingleberryswitzer said:

Brilliant idea.  How about we just take college station and let it be it’s own country.  We can call it the Monte Carlo of the brazos valley.  
the core of cadets can keep any furriners out of it.  

They are going to need some defensive fortifications.  The corps of cadets don't fare so well in open battle.


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When I went to my hometown in Texas last month I saw people with "Texas Secede" shirts on. I saw more Duck Dynasty beards at the weekly Cornball League (The state champion is from my hometown and I grew up with him. I don't think he cares one iota about politics, at all. He can BBQ and grill some amazing food though.) than I have seen in the rest of my life combined and I had a friend who had a pistol above his fireplace that I am hoping was just a gift and not something he had made himself. I had a BLM hat that I wear often that I was advised by a good friend to put away or it would cause a fight. I was not there for any of that so I just put on my Yankees hat. 

These people are grossly misinformed and are swimming in a sea of lies filled with grifters. I had not been home to visit, other than for my aunt's funeral in January, in almost 5 years. I cannot believe what I witnessed. That shirt though was just the height for me of how off things are there.

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4 hours ago, DonkeyCigars said:

Texas rules as it is, no need to leave. A lot of good HQ's and businesses are coming here anyways and our property values and opportunities in the major DMA's are exploding. All the goodness of the rest of the country seem to want to Calexit or NYexit to come to Texas. This will be good for business, our individual pocketbooks and 401ks', and probably serve politically to mute a bit and temper some of the bright red (and speed up the purpling of the state!), which should be a win/win for you all here.

The one knock about Texas from where I stand is the lack of even a roadmap or visibility to legal marijuana.

The closest analogy I can think of to Texit would be like what's happened in Afghanistan. You'd have the US "pull out" of Texas and then immediately Texas is vulnerable to internal fighting/civil war and Mexico fueled with drug cartel war chest money that would come in and unofficially conquer everything up to San Antonio almost overnight. Within 6 months they would have infiltrated the GOP or Q or whoever takes Presidency of the US and Texas would be a drug trafficking state full of cryptomillionaires, like a Cyber Wild West where law and order would be very bleak.

It actually sounds pretty fatalistic and exciting, in a devil-may-care sort of way, now that I've typed it out. A whole new frontier and wild west. Sounds like a lot of great opportunity for genius sociopaths to make a name for themselves and go from outhouse to penthouse in a single generation and/or lots of fun for cocaine-fueled bros in their 20's. Not a lot of value for old family men like me, which is why I guess there is truly no country for old men.

Texas is backward politically. That makes the state suck worse than it has to. It's a shame.

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2 hours ago, Huckleberry said:

Because Texas represents a low regulation and tax environment while still affording the protections and stability of being in the United States of America.

Is it really low regulation when you outlaw abortion, marijuana, and pass laws requiring private social media platforms to give voice to every slack jawed yokel with an opinion?

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