-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
According to a Wall Street Journal article, Richard Fisher, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, using Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, found that since June 2009 37% of all net new jobs in America were created in Texas. Even though Texas is an energy state benefitting from high oil and natural gas prices, Fisher touts Texas’ business friendly environment, its right-to-work laws, and its “tort reform”– a $250,000 cap on punitive damages.
The WSJ article even calls Texas “fiscally responsible.” That’s the same Texas with a $27 billion budget shortfall. The WSJ article also uncritically cites Texas’ statutory limits on mortgage borrowing, a regulation of the financial industry they would decry if Obama proposed it.
While the 37% figure is accurate, the details are what’s interesting. Texas has the highest percentage of minimum wage worker in the country. As the chart below shows, the level of minimum wage jobs has increased during Perry’s reign.
The median hourly earnings for all hourly-paid wage and salary workers in Texas stood at $11.20 per hour in 2010; nationally, the median was $12.50.
Texas also ranks number one in the percentage of residents without health insurance. Texas’ percentage is almost 28%. Massachusetts, with Romneycare, has the lowest at 4.7%.
According to The Economist, the state-level Gross Domestic Product of Texas grew by 2.6% last year, equal to the national average. New York grew by 5.1% and California by 1.8%.
Here is a listing of the Perry economic portfolio touted as a model for the whole country:
- Highest percentage of minimum wage jobs.
- Highest percentage of residents with no health insurance.
- A budget deficit of $27 billion.
- Lower than average wages.
- Average growth in GDP.
So, if you want a low paying job with no health insurance, Texas is your choice.
OS<
Have you tried Skull Splitter? Aside from Wee Heavy it's my favorite export strength Scotchish Ale. Of course Old Chub is also good, but you have to get past the whole "beer in a can" thing.
There's also that company that makes authentic Celtic beers. Aside from Kelpie, they're all really good and interesting, I like the heather ale the best.
OS,
Steel cut outs are my favorite, but my wife doesn’t care for them, so since she eats more oatmeal we usually go with old fashioned rolled oats.
I’m pretty sure I have James Beard’s Haggis recipe somewhere. Unfortunately I don’t think I could get anyone else to eat it if I attempted to make it. You should see the problems I had trying to get people to try some of my smoked heart (one of my favorite uses for it is soaking it in Olive oil, and then using that oil to brush on baked potatoes and frying up the little bits crispy like bacon bits).
Bdaman, bite your tongue. Peter might have disavowed Jesus, but no one with a drop of Highland blood would disavow haggis. Soul food for Scots, it is.
Gyges: Death before dishonor. Nothing before beer.
If the pie fight continues, I think I will start posting recipes, starting with my favorite haggis recipe.
OS
You should call it something other than haggis and when people complain that it tastes just like haggis you should keep denying that it is haggis.
Oh and at the risk of shameless self promotion…
http://jbcorn.wordpress.com/2011/07/25/the-bizzare-and-the-beautiful
and my pride and joy…
http://jbcorn.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/chiliski/
Gyges,
The egg recipe sounds good, but my cardiologist would not approve. I will not tell him if you promise not to. I will try it next time I have eggs for breakfast.
I seem to remember that you had a can of haggis. If you want to get rid of that one, I can send you a brand new can–I can get it at our local Scottish store. But for the real thing, I suggest you make it yourself. I discovered our local supermarket sells steel cut oats which means I do not have to get them by mail order. You cannot make haggis with rolled oats like oatmeal cereal; you need the steel cut oats. Also, if you want honest-to-goodness porridge, you need the steel cut oats for that.
OS,
I’m sure I’ve mentioned this, but I’ve got a can of Haggis. It’s several years old.
Now that I’ve got you warmed up, I found a great way to have fried eggs. You top them with bread crumbs that’ve been fried in butter (or bacon grease) and balsamic vinegar. You don’t have to frie the bread crumbs, but they get soggy otherwise.
OS,
“haggis recipe” … yuk, yuk, and yuk. I used to have to eat that stuff all the time as a kid. My father loved it. Yuk!!!
What Nal said.
If the pie fight continues, I think I will start posting recipes, starting with my favorite haggis recipe.
Like mama you to say
Watch what you say and look to see who’s listening.
Noway
Past comments on this blog can no longer be considered reliable records. Any guest blogger has the ability to modify them. Comment modifications do not change the time of the posting. Any changes would not be detectable, even by the blog administrator.
Noway if you never told the truth before you told it then.
Amen Brother.
and it’s one of the reasons I have cut way down on my commenting.
Nal:
I was just the messenger.
Can we let it go, now?
Gyges:
kderosa asked me to psot this in response to your post aobe (wink, wink):
Here is the thread jonathanturley.org/2011/07/02/nasa-sues-former-apollo-14-astronaut-over-lunar-camera/#comment-244513 where I pointed out where each regular and others were the instigators, name callers, personal attackers, and who engaged in uncivil diiscourse:
@OS, that’s funny because you actually started the kindergarten antics with me. Let’s review the record.
From the Palin-Revere thread, you actually maintained composure for awhile unlike the other raging nutter regulars. But after a while you simply couldn’t contain yourself any longer.
@ 6/8 5 pm: My first post. Insult free.
The argument remained heated but insult free for awhile.
@7:45 Buddha starts with the first insult: “Don’t let the facts get in your way, Defender of Ignorance.”
I’ll just note the first instance of each insult for every commenter. In all cass, once the insults started, they continued until the end of the thread.
Elaine and I debated civilly for a while.
@11:32: Mespo gets in the game: “According to kderosa’s “Fractured History,””
@11:45: I respond to Buddha’s insult with my own “Although, your speed is more like pounding your spoon against your highchair. You stay classy now.”
@6/9 9:23 am Frank starts his insults: “Dear boy, if you can’t see the argument in OS comment you are duller than even I suspected.”
@9:55 am Elaine gets in her first insult: “You seem to have difficulty comprehending words in print.”
@10:50 I respond to Elaine’s insult: “This is embarrassing. And the fact that you are not embarrassed by it, means you have to shame..”
@6/10 11:45am: Bob, Esq appears to get in an insult based on some tortured logic: “Re-writing history for the sake of helping a politician save face is about as disgusting as spitting on someone’s shoe.” This one is questionable and my response was civil.
@12:08. Mike Spindell gives Bob, Esq an attaboy.
@6/10 3:20: Bob, Esq gets in his first eral insult: “You are shameless sir.” My responses to him are still civil.
@6:52: Mike Spindell joins the act: “Since this thread and its’ lead story are directly related to Ms. Palin, you show yourself to either be a liar or a mountebank.” and again a few minutes later “You sir are a troll”
@ 7:25 Otteray Scribe joins the act: “The Palin sycophant has put up an impenetrable wall of denial” and a little later with “I do not try to argue with those who appear to have delusions.” and then “But then, we should not expect more from the history revisionists.” And then again at 10:34 “If not, then we will just have to continue ridiculing you with comments and jokes that continue to fly right over your head.” And again a few minutes later “Since we are dealing with such a highly intellectual person,” Then at 8:47 the next day you ran away for the first time “but since we may run out of brain bleach, I will not post any more.” The entire time, I directed no insult to Otteray Scribe. Then OS posted again and I finally called him a “nitwit.” @9:12 am
@6/15 7:41: Lottakatz joins in: “You folks are arguing with a religious fanatic,”
@10:47 rafflaw joins in “I tend to agree with Buddha’s thought of a paid agent.”
____________________
That seems to be it. Bear in mind that once the commenters started in with the insults they continued to make them in pactically every post thereafter. And I’m ignoring the ad hominems directed to others and the innuendo which may be questionable.
That’s the record. It’s clear and unambiguous.
The regulars started. I merely responded
But feel free to review in case I missed something.
Noway:
@Blouise,
“My first encounter with kderosa was a drive-by in that I supported a point OS had made and kderosa sought to diminish that support by dismissing me as kissing-up (paraphrased) which was hilarious. After that I had his number and occasionally tested the waters to see if he remained constant. He did.”
This was your actual first post directed at me:
A thinly veiled personal attack.
After that I had your number, which is why you got the resoponses you got after that.
NoWay:
I think the guest blogging is a great idea, I even like to read GeneH’s (wink, wink) posts. He is wrong but my god can he be wrong in such an interesting fashion.
Your idea about taking the administrative key away is a good one. And Elaine and Nal are good choices to have the keys to the magic kingdom.
AY,
I’ve had my say. If the Prof. wants to take it into consideration he can. If not, it’s his blog.
I’m done with the issue. It’s not worth any more time on my part.
Mike Spindell:
cant we all just get along?
So now I am a fanatic fundamentalist atheist capitalist. well I guess that is a step up from sociopath. I am moving in the right direction.
It must be nice to hold no covictions or have no passion for anything.
In the immortal words of RabbiHillelBuddhaRandConfuciousJesus – Do not do to others what you would not want done to you.