Texas is planning to make a huge public investment in space

"Further investment will cement Texas as the preeminent location for innovation."

See full article...

 

[BeowulfSchaeffer]

I found on the internet an earlier draft of Abbot's speech which clarifies what the commission will spend that $350 million dollars on.

"The commissioners will be appointed by me and will be spending the money in ways that will kick back millions of dollars into my existing and future campaigns, not to mention make my friends and associates incredibly wealthy which in turn will increase my own personal wealth."

/s

 

[Twisted metals]

Awesome

 

[jason8957]

Texas and outer space. Seriously? The only way I could see that working is if we start launching the religious loons instead of waiting on their bullshit rapture.

I often tell my daughter this to cheer her up. Even the red states like Texas are only slightly red (52.1% in 2020) and blue states are only slightly blue. I don't think it is fair to lump everyone into one color and dismiss the entire state regardless of your political persuasion. In 2020, approximately 5.9 million people out of a state of 29 million people voted for Trump and it is called a "red state".

 

[L0neW0lf]

Doesn't this come dangerously close to supporting science? I thought Republicans were against that (see the mRNA article).

But you see, once the possibility of self-enrichment is involved, any principles they claim to hold magically disappear.

 

[einnocent]

Bumper sticker: Don’t mess with Texas!

This comment thread: Messed with Texas.

 

[FreeRangeOrganicSoyLatteCappuccino]

From the article:
Texas has a historic budget surplus this year due to oil prices, inflation, and other factors driving economic growth. The state is projected to have $188.2 billion available in general revenue for funding the business of the state over the 2024–2025 period, a surplus of $32.7 billion over spending during the previous two years.


If that is true then why is our school district short on money:



https://communityimpact.com/houston.../fort-bend-isd-considers-budget-cuts-in-2023/
Also:

http://www.brb.state.tx.us/state_debt.aspx

The government shouldn't go out and find new uses for these new tax dollars, it should pay of it's debt and help out the local governments.

/rant

FBISD is short on money because the local voters held an election and voted down proposed new bonds.

That had nothing to do with the state government.

You want to blame anyone, blame your neighbors.

 

[Particle in a red wave 22-24]

Texas has a historic budget surplus this year due to oil prices, inflation, and other factors driving economic growth. The state is projected to have $188.2 billion available in general revenue for funding the business of the state over the 2024–2025 period, a surplus of $32.7 billion over spending during the previous two years.

The proposed commission plays into a political rivalry between Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Both Republicans may run for president during the 2024 election, and they have been engaging in one-upmanship during the last year or two. Much of this tit-for-tat activity has involved social issues and immigration, but ...

I wonder how many millions will be used to bus more people to Kamala Harris' residence from that surplus...

 

[Celery Man]

. . . Much of this tit-for-tat activity has involved social issues and immigration . . .

That’s an overly nice way of saying “kidnapped children and families and trafficked them across state lines”…

 

[Spiders from Mars]

Texas answering the age old science fiction question of "how did these regressive fucks make it to space?".

Subsidies.

Next do Huntsville, Alabama.

 

[ranthog]

I often tell my daughter this to cheer her up. Even the red states like Texas are only slightly red (52.1% in 2020) and blue states are only slightly blue. I don't think it is fair to lump everyone into one color and dismiss the entire state regardless of your political persuasion. In 2020, approximately 5.9 million people out of a state of 29 million people voted for Trump and it is called a "red state".

Democrats are making slow progress in Texas. That can't be said for some other states.

 

[Sajuuk]

I often tell my daughter this to cheer her up. Even the red states like Texas are only slightly red (52.1% in 2020) and blue states are only slightly blue. I don't think it is fair to lump everyone into one color and dismiss the entire state regardless of your political persuasion. In 2020, approximately 5.9 million people out of a state of 29 million people voted for Trump and it is called a "red state".

The general population leans slightly conservative, but the state legislature is so deeply conservative you might as well call it the red planet. It's going to get worse before it gets better, because those 5.9 million people are the ones writing all the laws and writing all the checks.

 

[ranthog]

I wonder how many millions will be used to bus more people to Kamala Harris' residence from that surplus...

I'm sure that Abbot will transfer billions into the willful, unnecessary, and malicious cruelty fund, which he will personally control.

 

[Celery Man]

The general population leans slightly conservative, but the state legislature is so deeply conservative you might as well call it the red planet. It's going to get worse before it gets better, because those 5.9 million people are the ones writing all the laws and writing all the checks.

We call those 5.9 million people “white”.

(I’d say the average Texan is more than a little conservative… this is from someone whose family has been there for a few decades now)

 

[jason8957]

Texas has a large population of illegal immigrants, who often work "off the books" ... i.e. would not pay income taxes.

Texas has a relatively high sales/VAT and property taxes to make up for the lack of an income tax. The added benefit of that it is much more difficult to avoid sales and property taxes. So both legal and illegal residents end up contributing to the state taxes.

The nice thing about property and sales tax is that you can control your expenses. Live in a smaller house, pay less in property taxes. Spend less, save more, then pay less in sales taxes. It's a system that really incentivizes saving.

Regardless of the merits of either system of taxation, my point is that Texas does tax its citizens quite effectively even without a state income tax.

I will say that relying on property taxes allows the state and other governmental agencies to raise your taxes without raising your tax rate, just by saying that your property is worth more than it was last year. They are quite good at that.

 

[Abulia]

They planning to just launch the immigrants into space?

 

[janhec]

And then I knew she was just hedging - pretending to know the plan.
Spoiler:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm2PvnM7Vds

 

[tonylurker]

The nice thing about property and sales tax is that you can control your expenses. Live in a smaller house, pay less in property taxes. Spend less, save more, then pay less in sales taxes. It's a system that really incentivizes saving.

If your are rich enough to have that luxury. If you make minimum wage and all of your income is spent on rent, food, and transportation, you can't pay less in sales taxes. You can't save what isn't left and you get taxed at a higher rate than those who make more and have the luxury of choosing the "cheaper option".

 

[Ocbansky]

The general population leans slightly conservative, but the state legislature is so deeply conservative you might as well call it the red planet. It's going to get worse before it gets better, because those 5.9 million people are the ones writing all the laws and writing all the checks.

I waver between hope and hopelessness regarding the Texas state legislature, but I think people like this guy, a former high school classmate of mine, deserve a lot of credit for fighting the good fight. You shouldn't paint all Texans with the same brush.

 

[fractalsphere]

"Further investment will cement Texas as the preeminent location for innovation."​

If you want to put money into space exploration, how about you innovate a little in your state and stop driving us towards antiquated and backwards social views that have been proven to be bad for society?

 

[raschumacher]

Texas will fund space-based sensors for detection and tracking of liberals, wokeism, transvestite book readings, and women seeking abortions.

 

[msawzall]

Gonna have to outsource the folks doing the innovating though. I hear your public school systems aren't really being supported unless they've got the blood of Jebus pumping through them.

 

[Sajuuk]

I waver between hope and hopelessness regarding the Texas state legislature, but I think people like this guy, a former high school classmate of mine, deserve a lot of credit for fighting the good fight. You shouldn't paint all Texans with the same brush.

Where in my post do you think I'm painting all individual Texans with the same brush?

I am painting the state legislature with the same brush, because conservatives have an unbreakable super-majority in it. That's not up for debate.

 

[raschumacher]

I found on the internet an earlier draft of Abbot's speech which clarifies what the commission will spend that $350 million dollars on.

"The commissioners will be appointed by me and will be spending the money in ways that will kick back millions of dollars into my existing and future campaigns, not to mention make my friends and associates incredibly wealthy which in turn will increase my own personal wealth."

/s

"Also to pay the legal expenses of the Lt. Governor and State Attorney General."

 

[Rick C.]

Two rather large questions/issues come up from this move.

1. Doesn’t an expansion of this sort require a bunch of people with STEM backgrounds, people who tend to lean progressive? Do they really want to move to Texas, when the political and social atmosphere is less than ideal, if not backwards to their beliefs?

2. All these progressives moving to Texas…they slowly start to change their demographics, to the horror of other texans?

 

[Sajuuk]

That's an interesting way to spell Democrat ...

I know you're, like, an obvious idiot troll, but this is really a pet peeve of mine: there is no "Democrat Party".

 

[raschumacher]

You realize there are a lot of us here who have no desire to secede, who hate the current state of affairs in Texas, and who are actively trying to foment change here (even though most of the time it feels totally futile)?

Stay strong. Remember that California was a conservative Republican stronghold, until it wasn't.

 

[raschumacher]

Bumper sticker: Don’t mess with Texas!

This comment thread: Messed with Texas.

"Lone star" state is a rating.

 

[Rick C.]

Texas may not have a state income tax, but I pay more in property taxes than I do in federal income taxes. And that doesn't include state sales taxes. But, I don't have a real basis for comparison with other states to decide whether calling Texas a low tax state is accurate or not. I can tell you that it isn't just one property tax. There are at least half a dozen governmental agencies with property taxing powers on my house and it is a lot to keep up with who they are accountable to.

I do. Square foot to square foot. My home in Ventura County, CA versus a friend’s home in north Dallas (unfortunately forced to move there to deal with the wife’s ailing father), the taxes run almost 4:1. I’m at $3.2K a year, he’s north of $12K a year. Just eye popping.

 

[FreeRangeOrganicSoyLatteCappuccino]

If your are rich enough to have that luxury. If you make minimum wage and all of your income is spent on rent, food, and transportation, you can't pay less in sales taxes. You can't save what isn't left and you get taxed at a higher rate than those who make more and have the luxury of choosing the "cheaper option".

Which is true of nearly any tax system.

 

[lukipedia]

Stay strong. Remember that California was a conservative Republican stronghold, until it wasn't.

I'm trying, but I'm tired. My wife and I are expecting a baby, and I'm losing my stomach for this fight. But I appreciate the support!

 

[raschumacher]

Regardless of the merits of either system of taxation, my point is that Texas does tax its citizens quite effectively even without a state income tax.

I will say that relying on property taxes allows the state and other governmental agencies to raise your taxes without raising your tax rate, just by saying that your property is worth more than it was last year. They are quite good at that.

As an added refinement, real estate transactions in Texas are not public records, so there is not even that to provide a dose of reality to assessments; it allows large expensive properties to more-easily remain undervalued for taxation.

 

[Celery Man]

If you want to put money into space exploration, how about you innovate a little in your state and stop driving us towards antiquated and backwards social views that have been proven to be bad for society?

God forbid you ask space fans to give a shit about social issues (aka “other people who aren’t making rockets”). This is the same group who calls human beings “meat” and “cargo”. They’re some of the most myopic and regressive groups around when it comes to everything but engineering. Ironically, they’re all about the future of humanity in the stars or whatever, but don’t actually care much for humans at all.

 

[4qu4rius]

If only they could spend the money on the welfare of the people in the state. Sadly that just isn't possible. Instead large give giveaways to rich people is what we must do.

Schools, Roads, Hospitals, normal salaries, working conditions,... there's a couple of hundreds of ways to use that money that doesn't involve blowing things up until they reach space.

 

[raschumacher]

Texas has a large population of illegal immigrants, who often work "off the books" ... i.e. would not pay income taxes.

Texas has a relatively high sales/VAT and property taxes to make up for the lack of an income tax. The added benefit of that it is much more difficult to avoid sales and property taxes. So both legal and illegal residents end up contributing to the state taxes.

The nice thing about property and sales tax is that you can control your expenses. Live in a smaller house, pay less in property taxes. Spend less, save more, then pay less in sales taxes. It's a system that really incentivizes saving.

Illegals work cheap, an added benefit for those who have disposable income to spend on home remodeling and restaurants.

The shitty thing about property and sales taxes is that they are regressive: low-income people pay a far larger fraction of their income for them than do high-income people.

 

[john napiorkowski]

Texas kind of sucks. Lived there for a few years. Hill country is meh, cities look like ass, only advantage is taxes and you end up losing a lot with ridiculous property taxes. Ohh and the infrastructure sucks. The kicker is that Texans turn into big babies if you criticize their state. Not worth it to move to Austin (which is a dump imho) if you’re an affluent tech worker.

I've been in Austin for 9 years and enjoying it. I was able to afford a home here, compared to when I lived in NYC area. Honestly tho I'd have stayed in NYC area if I could have afforded it, mostly because I knew the area and had friends there. But housing was insanely pricey. Biggest problem would be the troubling change around reproductive rights. Doesn't impact me but I have to mention it to anyone younger that might be looking at a job here. In terms of Texans being 'big babies' about criticism, can't really comment on that. I wish more of my Leftist friends would move here, we'd do some good.