Op-Ed: Are Californians fleeing en masse to Texas? The reality is complicated By Rachel Feltman
Published: Saturday, March 12, 2009, 17:23 [IST]
Subscribe to Oneindia News
Los Angeles, Mar 12 (ANI): A recent study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit on the economic competitiveness of states and cities around the US reveals that while California may not be far behind the likes of Texas and New York in the field of entrepreneurship, it is only behind Washington in terms of overall competitiveness.
The study, which found that New York, Los Angeles and Texas had the most stable economies, said that California ranked 19th in the country, with an average state economy score of 46.5.
“If the rest of the states do more to encourage economic growth and create more jobs, then we might expect them to catch up with California,” said Alan Zibel, president and CEO of the Economic Research Institute, a nonprofit economic forecasting company.
In fact, Texas, considered by many to be a state at its best, has been accused of ignoring the plight of California as it goes about building large infrastructure projects ahead of the state’s 2010 deadline to raise the state’s sales tax for road projects.
“Texas has been in California’s sights and has had a lot of good things to say about California. I don’t blame Texas for not wanting to be associated with California,” said Zibel.
Texas had the most stable economy and the second most dynamic economy at 54, while the study said that California scored lowest at 39.
“The fact of the matter is that Texas has its own challenges to get back into the black. Texas is a great place to live, but there are still challenges to it,” said Zibel. (ANI)
COMMENT: This article is not entirely unbalanced. The first item below is not the result of an unbiased study. But then, neither are most stories.
In the first paragraph Zibel is obviously trying to claim the Texas as the leader in the “economic competitiveness” category.
In the second paragraph he is trying to play the “we know best” card as well without actually proving that he is “unbiased.”
In reality:
1.