I'm having a debate with a friend (from GA) about the dominance of our state. I recall a thread a while back on what would happen if TX seceded. I know we have a strong economy but how does it compare to other states?
i forget where we would rank as a country by ourselves in terms of gdp, but california is 1st and we're 2nd as far as states. i wanna say cali would be like 5th and we would be more like 9th or 10th in the world. but maybe you wanted some other measure of strength.
Debating hypothetical situations are always fun. Computer manufacturing industry is still relatively strong in Texas. But Texas doesn't have the big auto manufacturers as Georgia does.
The economy of Texas is a dominant force in the economy of the United States. One of the largest growing economies in the nation,Texas is home to six of the top 50 companies on the Fortune 500 list and 56 overall. Texas has an economy that is the second largest in the nation and the 10th largest in the world based on nominal GDP figures. As the largest exporter of goods in the United States, Texas currently grosses more than 100 billion dollars a year in trade with other nations. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Texas I think another thing to remember is that we would have been the first "Saudi Arabia," of the world, and wouldn't have been giving the Federal government a large chunk of those riches.
We might trail California in numbers, but I think we could take them in a head-to-head. Somehow, it always seems like Texas business is run more shrewdly than California's. Like when Enron screwed Cali over on the electricity prices. And the way Houston's stadiums came in on time and under budget. We also have an advantage in being home to some pretty key industries, the biggest being petroleum and energy.
although it's only part of the overall picture, housing construction and sales are both good indicators of your economy's strength. i just heard on the radio about an hour ago that texas now has 4 of the top 10 cities for forclosures. not good. as far as new construction goes, starts were down in the 2nd quarter from the 1st, which for most texas markets was a record quarter. im not saying there will be a bust, but this crazy pace of building that we have had for the last 1.5 years or so will definately begin to taper off, if it isnt already.
not as long as oil stays this high. not in houston, anyway. the plans for development out on the west side/energy corridor are huge.
true - houston is a little different though - i live in austin and work here and in s.a. both markets were down this past quarter (2nd) from the 1st. builders here are sitting on alot of inventory from either building too many specs or buyer cancellations. prices went waaayyy up after katrina for various reasons and interest rates are slowly creeping up. its an interesting time right now. whatever happens in the housing market though, i think texas is in a unique position to remain pretty strong. access to cheap (illegal) labor, access to ports (shipping), industry, energy, ect.
You forgot to mention that Texas is the only state out of the 50 that owns and operates its own powergrid.. There are currently 3 main power grids in the USA and we have our own Well we also let Oklahoma use ours but it's ours... California has to share out to like 18 other states which collectively each owns a part of.... You rarely hear about blackouts like you do in Cali or NY and we have Air Conditioners running 24 hours lol Texas Owns..... I believe we are the only state that can survive being a independent entity
