February 9, 2007 6:26 AM

Thank God for Mississippi! Uh, wait....

It’s official. Texas worst place to live in US.

If you haven’t been paying attention, or your head has been stuck in the sand for the last 6 years, or you’ve been too busy working making ends meet and keeping your kids in school, then you probably haven’t notice that Texas is now the worst place to live in the United States.

Not being a Texas native, I get a kick out of listening to native Texans who’ve managed to convince themselves that they live in God’s Country, and if there’s a Heaven on Earth, it’s somewhere between El Paso and Beaumont. OK, Texas has a lot to offer, and it is possessed of areas of surpassing beauty. Once you can get past the reality that Dallas and Houston are armpits, Beaumont’s a swamp, and there’s a good reason why most of west Texas is deserted, it’s a lovely place. And it just keeps on getting better….

John Cobarruvias brings us the story of why Texas is now officially The Worst Place to Live in the United States.

YIPPEE!! We’re Number One!! And the numbers don’t lie:

Percentage of Uninsured Children: 1st

Income Inequality Between the Rich and the Poor: 2nd

Percentage of Population without Health Insurance: 1st

Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) Scores: 47th

Percentage of Population over 25 with a High School Diploma: 50th

Percentage of Non-Elderly Women with Health Insurance: 50th

Rate of Women Aged 40+ Who Receive Mammograms: 44th

Rate of Women Aged 18+ Who Receive Pap Smears: 47th

Cervical Cancer Rate: 5th

Women’s Voter Registration: 43rd

Women’s Voter Turnout: 49th

Percentage of Eligible Voters that Vote: 44th

Yes, I do realize that statistics can be made to say most anything one wants. Mere statistics are little more than a very one-dimensional snapshot of a much more complex whole. What these few statistics do tell us, I think, is that while Texas may to some still in fact be God’s Country, Texas does a damn poor job of taking care of it’s own- particularly those less affluent, less powerful, less healthy, or just…less.

If you’re a wealthy White male, yeah, Texas probably does feel like God’s Country. If you’re not…well, there’s a possibility that Texas may just feel a lot like Hell. The time may come when Texas will have a lot to pat itself on the back over. We’re a long ways from that, however, and until Republicans begin to realize that state government exists for more than merely greasing the skids for Big Business and the Religious Right, little will change.

Of course, we usually get exactly the quality of leadership we deserve, and, rememer, most of y’all did vote Republican. If you actually think Rick Perry is a leader…well, you certainly deserve the mediocrity you voted for. Nice going, eh??

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on February 9, 2007 6:26 AM.

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