Best and Worst Run States

[Lewkowski]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-be...150415625.html

Worst-Run States:

50. California

> Debt per capita: $4,008 (18th highest)
> Budget deficit: 20.7% (17th largest)
> Unemployment: 11.7% (2nd highest)
> Median household income: $57,287 (10th highest)
> Pct. below poverty line: 16.6% (18th highest)

California is 24/7 Wall St.’s “Worst Run State” for the second year in a row. Due to high levels of debt, the state’s S&P credit rating is the worst of all states, while its Moody’s credit rating is the second-worst. Much of California’s fiscal woes involve the economic downturn. Home prices plunged by 33.6% between 2006 and 2011, worse than all states except for three. The state’s foreclosure rate and unemployment rate were the third- and second-highest in the country, respectively. But efforts to get finances on track are moving forward. State voters passed a ballot initiative to raise sales taxes as well as income taxes for people who make at least $250,000 a year. While median income is the 10th-highest in the country, the state also has one of the highest tax burdens on income. According to the Tax Foundation, the state also has the third-worst business tax climate in the country.



Anyone really surprised?

[Crowheart]

Our weather is awesome though.

[Ziggy Stardust]

California... knows how to party
Shake it Cali
Shake it shake it baby

[Flixy]

California über alles, über alles, California!

[Aimless]

I'm surprised Saudi Arabia isn't topping that list

[Flixy]

That's a US state, now? I knew they had soldiers there, but still..

[Hazir]

Isn't California the state that just escaped from the stranglehold of the GOP tax-crazies?

[Dreadnaught]

Minor Rule 12 violation with this post.

EDIT: [I then proceeded to make this post. But then realized it was in the wrong thread. Because of the drinks. Sorry.]

[LittleFuzzy]

Isn't California the state that just escaped from the stranglehold of the GOP tax-crazies?

No? If you choose to think the California tax and budget problems are because of a supermajority requirement in the legislature than I guess you could say this since the Dems now have such a supermajority. But that was and is not the real source of the problems and the Dem supermajority isn't going to help.

[Lewkowski]

Minor Rule 12 violation with this post.

EDIT: [I then proceeded to make this post. But then realized it was in the wrong thread. Because of the drinks. Sorry.]

Rule 12?

[Lewkowski]

Isn't California the state that just escaped from the stranglehold of the GOP tax-crazies?

Uh California has one of the highest state tax rates in the entire country.

[RandBlade]

Rule 12?

Do not post while drunk. It's a joke rule Dread added to the 11 real rules at the CC many, many moons ago.

[Timbuk2]

I always thought Rule 12 was a universal 'net rule, along the lines of Godwin, and the rule that states "if it exists, there is porn of it".

EDIT: Indeed, I can find no other reference to Rule 12 beyond these here walls.

[RandBlade]

Yeah Dread created it and added it to my FAQ. Rule 11 itself wasn't a real rule either, there were 10 original rules from Atari - Rule 11 I added into the FAQ simply said "Have fun", Dread made it 12.

[Timbuk2]

Shows that I spend too much time here.

[Flixy]

I always thought Rule 12 was a universal 'net rule, along the lines of Godwin, and the rule that states "if it exists, there is porn of it".

EDIT: Indeed, I can find no other reference to Rule 12 beyond these here walls.

I think that's #34!

[Loki]

Do not post while drunk. It's a joke rule Dread added to the 11 real rules at the CC many, many moons ago.

Pretty sure I came up with that one, possibly to deal with Dread's drunken posts.

[Ominous Gamer]

I think that's #34!

correct, rule 12 is dont date coworkers.

[Aimless]

I think you have that confused with rule 1.2 "Don't date Quakers". "Don't date coworkers" isn't a rule, it's a classic relationship epitaph.

[Ominous Gamer]

Tell that to Gibbs

[Flixy]

[RandBlade]

Pretty sure I came up with that one, possibly to deal with Dread's drunken posts.

My apologies

And I think at the time I was one of the ones you targeted with it too - even if I am a sober old man now

[GGT]

The hyperlink about America's Poorest States was more interesting and important.

[Dreadnaught]

I was actually talking about porn.

[GGT]

Back on topic. Let's take a look at how Texas operates, using additional facts:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/us...s.html?hp&_r=0

The free flow of tax breaks and subsidies in Texas makes it particularly fertile ground to examine these economic development deals and the fundamental trade-off behind them: the more states give to businesses, the less they have available in the short term to spend on basic services, a calculation made more stark by the recession.

To help balance its budget last year, Texas cut public education spending by $5.4 billion — a significant decrease considering that it already ranked 11th from the bottom among all states in per-pupil financing, according to recent data from the Census Bureau. Yet highly profitable companies like Dow Chemical and Texas Instruments continue to enjoy hefty discounts on their school tax bills through one of the state’s economic development programs.

[agamemnus]

Aside: Massachusetts and 4 other states want to add 300 more hours to students' education... stated reason being because poor students are too stupid... so let's edumacate them more by making them sit in class till the morrow, and punish everyone else.

[LittleFuzzy]

Aside: Massachusetts and 4 other states want to add 300 more hours to students' education... stated reason being because poor students are too stupid... so let's edumacate them more by making them sit in class till the morrow, and punish everyone else.

Who cares what their stated reason is. Our school hours are ridiculously low and we should welcome any attempt to raise them.

[Veldan Rath]

Who cares what their stated reason is. Our school hours are ridiculously low and we should welcome any attempt to raise them.

Yep.

We need longer school years. Wonder how Mrs. Winegarten would react to that.

[Aimless]

Aside: Massachusetts and 4 other states want to add 300 more hours to students' education... stated reason being because poor students are too stupid... so let's edumacate them more by making them sit in class till the morrow, and punish everyone else.

There's fairly good evidence that more school days and fewer breaks is generally better for kids' school education. Poor kids aren't stupid, but they tend to lag behind their more well-off peers over breaks. More school days will be both good and fair.

[Loki]

Aside: Massachusetts and 4 other states want to add 300 more hours to students' education... stated reason being because poor students are too stupid... so let's edumacate them more by making them sit in class till the morrow, and punish everyone else.

I don't think you realize just how damaging summer vacation is in terms of knowledge retention.