From the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.
TEXAS ONE, RECESSION ZERO
TEXAS (The Atlantic) - Even in the middle of the Great Recession, Texas is faring well compared with the rest of the nation, racking up an ever-growing list of accomplishments.
In addition to ranking fourth in the country with the least amount of state debt, Texas has four cities in the Milken Institute's Top Five Best Performing Cities Index, four among Forbes' list of top ten "Cities Where the Recession is Easing," and four in last year's Top Ten in Homebuilding.
Texas is home to three of the top five most resilient major metro areas for employment, with McAllen first, Austin third, San Antonio fifth and El Paso and Houston not far behind in the top 15.
The Lone Star State also claims 64 Fortune 500 companies - more than any other state - in addition to being dubbed Top State for Business for the second time in three years by CNBC.
The Atlantic says these accomplishments are because Texas' major cities have chosen comparatively stable industries - Houston is the nation's energy hub, Austin leads in education and technology, and San Antonio dominates the health care and education sector in addition to military spending.
"Our research shows that the more tax incentives and less regulation you have, and the less likely businesses are to get sued, the more likely it is they'll want to come and prosper in your state," said Brooke Rollins, president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
These factors support Texas' position as a global economic leader, having the 15th largest economy in the world.
Bill, I feel very blessed in this day and age to live in the great state of Texas.
Boy, Marchel, so do I.
I frequently watch the HGTV stuff, and it occurs to me 1) those people are always walking around in snow, 2) they pay $500,000 for a home that often has no character at all and looks to a Texan like a pile of junk and from news reports 3) they don't ever seem to weather economic problems as well as we do in Texas.
This is the first recession, though, that I've had trouble squirming through, Texas or not.
Hope all is well with you. So good hearing from you.
Bill, I was beginning to think my website had disappeared but I checked and I'm still on the first page of Google. I did use this time to make a total redesign to my website.