California vs. Texas — SMACKDOWN!

RIDER COMMENT:  This is an unusually long post prepared by an ally — but most of it is in easily grasped graph form.  And that’s what I love about it.

“Soquel-by-the-creek” tracks many of the same California factors as I, but he excels (perhaps a pun — not sure) at putting out his info in more useful form — graphs.  He has some stuff I don’t, and my fact sheet has items that don’t translate well into his graph format.

All in all, I find his output first rate — FAR superior to my boring print format.  My best data feature is that mine prints up on a single piece of paper (front and back) — a limitation I try to retain for handout purposes.

Below are all kinds of comparisons of CA with TX — usually including the other states as well.  This info gets outdated, so you’d be wise to go to his blog to check for the latest versions.  I present here just the opening salvo.  Go to the link for the VERY full comparison.  It’s worth a visit.

Also included below are three John Stossel videos comparing CA with TX.  Two are complimentary of Texas, while the third concludes that — on property rights — The Golden State is actually superior to the Lone Star State.

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http://soquelbythecreek.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-great-texas-vs-california-smackdown.html

The Great Texas vs. California Smackdown

 

(or the Great “More Taxes” vs. “More Texas” Debate)

Recently, Texas Governor Rick Perry dared to challenge the All Great and Powerful Oz (aka, California Governor Jerry Brown) with a small radio advertising campaign inviting California businesses to “come check out Texas.”  The radio ad was apparently so inflammatory and so very dangerous (just listen) that it prompted a response by Governor Brown, who, always the adult, dismissed the ads as “barely a fart.”  Strangely, by even responding to the ads, California Governor Jerry Brown provided Texas with lots of valuable free advertising and publicity. 

Even the The Party Mouthpiece (aka, The Sacramento Bee) got in on the act with apoorly-researched editorial dissing Texas.  Now, before we go much farther, it’s important to know my biases.  I’m a fourth-generation native California who loves California’s natural beauty and many of its fine citizens.  However, I have no love for those fine, free-spending fools that occupy California’s capitol dome. 

Governor Brown, as any good cheerleader would, accentuates California’s positives.  I thought I’d do the same.  For example, thanks to Governor Brown’s, union-funded, big-government Proposition 30 tax hike, California now boasts the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 7th highest marginal state income tax rates in the nation. So what if it’s bad public policy and a complete abuse of the democratic initiative process.

Poor ol’ Texas.  Those fools in Texas don’t even have an income tax!

Similarly, Proposition 30 also raised California’s state sales tax, which was already the nation’s highest before Proposition 30.  Governor Brown just wanted to make sure we didn’t lose our first-place position.

In keeping with the theme, California has among the nation’s highest gasoline taxes …

… and among the nation’s highest diesel taxes.

 

Go to the URL below for the detailed, complete comparison:
http://soquelbythecreek.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-great-texas-vs-california-smackdown.html