Texas vs. California Roundup: October 2, 2012

Time for another Texas vs. California roundup. First up: The man who moved from one to the other:

  • Chuck DeVore examines the differences between California and Texas. Scariest takeaway? “With one-eighth of the nation’s population, California has one-third of America’s welfare recipients.”
  • A review of the book Crazifornia. Pay special attention to the California bridge tester who couldn’t test bridges because he was up on child sex crime charges.
  • More on how California has underestimated their debt obligations. By an order of magnitude.
  • City College of San Francisco is perilously close to bankruptcy, in part because it employs nearly twice as many faculty as similar colleges and pays them better – yet educates no more students on average, says a new financial analysis of the state’s largest public school. The college got into trouble because, unlike other colleges, it failed to make the budget cuts necessary to keep up with reductions in state funding, never set aside money for its growing retirement obligations, and ‘has provided salary increases and generous benefits with no discernible means to pay for them.'” So it’s like the State of California in miniature. Bonus: Its current budge assumes the passage of Proposition 30.
  • And speaking of propositions, Prop 37, requiring the labeling of genetically modified food, will be a windfall for trial lawyers.
  • Atwater is the latest California town having layoffs and considering bankruptcy.
  • The city manager of Stockton explains why the city had to declare bankruptcy. It’s filled with special pleading for vested union interests: “Nor can we leave the CalPERS state pension system. CalPERS should be reformed, but if Stockton didn’t offer an industry-standard pension plan, we simply would not be able to staff an already challenged police department. It is unrealistic for creditors to posit that Stockton reject existing pension obligations.” Attention anyone thinking of buying California bonds: When it comes to paying you or paying union cronies, you’re going to get the short end of the stick, no matter what the law says.
  • What other California cities could declare bankruptcy? How about San Diego and Los Angeles?
  • More signs the Texas economy is outpacing the rest of the nation.
  • Texas bonds are outperforming the rest of the nation.
  • Texas adds more construction jobs than any other state.
  • Texas cuts crime more than the rest of the nation.
  • (Hat tip: Willisms, City Journal, others.)

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    One Response to “Texas vs. California Roundup: October 2, 2012”

    1. Holly Hansen says:

      Good Stuff- as always!

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