We’re Number One! Tops in the nation! More people moved to Texas last year than moved to any other state. The Houston area alone added 16,100 jobs in May, bringing total employment in the region to nearly 3.5 million, a record. The Lone Star State is the best among the 49 others for technology and innovation. Texas also ranked second for its economy, which is now the eighth-largest in the world — surpassing Russia, Canada, and Italy. And in quality of life we’re. . . . Oops. Among the 50 states we’re dead last.
According to CNBC, for the second year in a row we are the very worst place to live in America. At this point we may get defensive and counter: If we’re so bad, why is it that everyone else wants to come here? People pour in from other states, and along the southern border we have to put up razor wire and rubber duckies to keep them out? Just ask Elon Musk. So there.
Well, I have some good news and some bad news and, as usual, I have a solution. Let’s start with the bad news, but hold your fire. CNBC, a financial network, makes an annual analysis of America’s Top States for Business, and the rankings seem to be influential among business types. When it comes strictly to doing business, our state has the best workforce in the nation, a healthy economy and a low cost for businesses (and weak labor unions), according to CNBC, making Texas third overall. Virginia ranked as America’s top state for business in 2024 with North Carolina in second place. Texas coming in third in this specific category – doing business — is actually an improvement over 2023. It goes like this: Texas held the top spot in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2018. But we fell to the country’s sixth-best state for business last year, the first time the state had fallen out of the top five since CNBC began conducting this analysis in 2007.
Why aren’t we Number One overall? It’s that quality of life thing, which businesses heavily consider when looking to relocate or expand their company. CNBC wrote: “Companies seeking to attract great employees like to set up shop in states that offer a great quality of life.” CNBC said we came in dead last in per capita crime rates, health care, child care, environmental quality, worker protections, legal safeguards against discrimination and personal freedom, including reproductive rights. Surveys show half of younger workers “would not live in a state that bans abortion,” and Texas has the strictest abortion ban in the nation. That law needs changing. For infrastructure, we ranked 26th among all states falling from 24th for the category in last year’s ranking. The state also “has power grid issues.”
I am not sure if Texas’ crime rate rank is influenced by the 260,000 cases the Houston Police Dept. never got around to investigate. Fortunately for us, in January of this year Gov. Greg Abbott vowed, Texas “will work tirelessly to make sure that we eliminate all rapists from the streets.” Unfortunately, that vow was followed by a study that estimated more than 26,000 rape-related pregnancies in Texas in the 16 months since the state outlawed abortion. We must hope Gov. Abbot doesn’t abolish murder, burglary and robberies or the number of those crimes would balloon.
CNBC also considered healthcare. Texas leads the nation in the number of residents without health insurance. Why is that? Also a national women’s health organization, The Commonwealth Fund, analyzed data on maternal mortality, insurance access and other factors in all 50 states and Washington D.C. Texas ranked 50th. Next to the bottom. As we Texans like to say, “Thank God for Mississippi.”
Another saying that goes back awhile is: “Texas is heaven for men and dogs, but a hell for women and oxen.” Nothing’s changed, except today we take better care of our oxen. Worker protection was a category where we dropped the ball — we have a history of failure (even though we have the best workforce?), so change the laws. Environmental quality? Experts, except Republicans, say our increase in devastating hurricanes is due to climate change caused by dirty air. We do our part. The U.S. Energy Information Administration shows Texas is the largest producer of carbon dioxide emissions in the country. Environment America ranks Texas first for toxic discharges into streams, rivers and lakes.
So the state’s overall standing was dragged down by its last-place ranking for quality of life, and it doesn’t have to be this way. Most of these problems and solutions could be changed by our lawmakers in Austin. Mark Twain is erroneously credited with saying: “Politicians are like diapers; they need to be changed often and for the same reason.” Hand me a fresh diaper.
Ashby ranks at ashby2@comcast.net.
Editor’s note: This column and its contents do not necessarily reflect the views of The Leader News, its staff, or its publisher. The Leader News welcomes opinion articles on matters of interest to Greater Heights residents. Publication is at the discretion of the editor.