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Ohio deserves to be on there. We are 7th in population, have 23 fortune 500 companies. NC is pretty damn powerful too. Has our country got to the point where we don't know anything but the states we live in? Completely forgetting and learning about the other states that make up this country.
After reading Lifeshadower's post, I take back what I said about Texas closing the gap to California. Looks like no matter what Texas is number 2 (land, population, and GSP)
After reading Lifeshadower's post, I take back what I said about Texas closing the gap to California. Looks like no matter what Texas is number 2 (land, population, and GSP)
Well, you never know what can happen in a matter of a decade, a year, a month, or even tomorrow? There could be something catastrophic that can happen to California to the point there's an exodus of MILLIONS of people. We can't predict the future, so I can only tell you what has been going on.
Texas has been growing extremely phenomenally and has one of the more stable economies in the United States, while California has been more or less circling the doldrums for the past few years.
This doesn't change the fact that so many people are jumping the gun here. Texas, in my mind, has solidified itself as the #2 state in the country, pushing down the relative standing of New York to an ever loosening #3 (if all things remain the same, Florida will surpass NYS in population by this decade. GSP is another story). However, on the absolute scale, the gap between Texas and California has never been wider. In terms of population, the gap has shortened a bit from 13 million in 2000 to 12 million today, which means that by the laws of exponents, it would take 50 years for Texas to surpass California. In terms of the economy, the gap is as wide as it has ever been. Even if you take into account inflation, the $746 billion gap between California and Texas speaks a lot.
That's why it's always helpful to look at long term trends to see the trajectory of an area, instead of jumping the gun and making unwarranted assumptions.
I realize a lot of people on CD feel like they need to put California "in it's place" A theme I have been seeing repeatedly on this site is "reality" Reality is that there is a 12 million (roughly the population of Illinois or Pennsylvania) population distance and a $746 billion difference (more than Florida's GSP) between Texas and California. No amount of book cooking, no amount of spin can change that truth.
At the end of the day, what does it even mean for a state to have "power"? It's not like my inherent worth goes up living in California vis-a-vis Warren Buffet, who lives in Nebraska. What does that even mean? It's not like states can attack each other, since the US Constitution and Federal government prevents us from doing that. Sure, there's economic power, but most of that is in the private sector that could move whenever they want to. Aside from agriculture, mining, or other extractive industries, most economic power isn't directly tied to a piece of land.
That's why I want to know: What kind of power is being thought of? Sure, someone could make the argument that North Dakota has the most power out of all the states since it has a huge bulk of the nuclear stockpile, but that is controlled by the military and federal government in Washington DC. The average North Dakota resident has no control over how its launched, when it can be launched, or use it to attack someone else, rendering that line of argument useless.
Well, you never know what can happen in a matter of a decade, a year, a month, or even tomorrow? There could be something catastrophic that can happen to California to the point there's an exodus of MILLIONS of people. We can't predict the future, so I can only tell you what has been going on.
Texas has been growing extremely phenomenally and has one of the more stable economies in the United States, while California has been more or less circling the doldrums for the past few years.
This doesn't change the fact that so many people are jumping the gun here. Texas, in my mind, has solidified itself as the #2 state in the country, pushing down the relative standing of New York to an ever loosening #3 (if all things remain the same, Florida will surpass NYS in population by this decade. GSP is another story). However, on the absolute scale, the gap between Texas and California has never been wider. In terms of population, the gap has shortened a bit from 13 million in 2000 to 12 million today, which means that by the laws of exponents, it would take 50 years for Texas to surpass California. In terms of the economy, the gap is as wide as it has ever been. Even if you take into account inflation, the $746 billion gap between California and Texas speaks a lot.
That's why it's always helpful to look at long term trends to see the trajectory of an area, instead of jumping the gun and making unwarranted assumptions.
I realize a lot of people on CD feel like they need to put California "in it's place" A theme I have been seeing repeatedly on this site is "reality" Reality is that there is a 12 million (roughly the population of Illinois or Pennsylvania) population distance and a $746 billion difference (more than Florida's GSP) between Texas and California. No amount of book cooking, no amount of spin can change that truth.
At the end of the day, what does it even mean for a state to have "power"? It's not like my inherent worth goes up living in California vis-a-vis Warren Buffet, who lives in Nebraska. What does that even mean? It's not like states can attack each other, since the US Constitution and Federal government prevents us from doing that. Sure, there's economic power, but most of that is in the private sector that could move whenever they want to. Aside from agriculture, mining, or other extractive industries, most economic power isn't directly tied to a piece of land.
That's why I want to know: What kind of power is being thought of? Sure, someone could make the argument that North Dakota has the most power out of all the states since it has a huge bulk of the nuclear stockpile, but that is controlled by the military and federal government in Washington DC. The average North Dakota resident has no control over how its launched, when it can be launched, or use it to attack someone else, rendering that line of argument useless.
To bring your point about "power" into perspective, I think about what does it mean that US is the most powerful nation? If you and I go to Brazil, does that make you and I automatic rulers of Brazil? No. I use that to help conceptualize the discussion of power when it comes to states. Relative to a states Influence, what states are more powerful than others? That being said economics definitely has a say. So does politics; as in what states have influence over the nation. Let's face it, some states actually have more influence over the nation thanothers. I hope that helps out.
Well, you never know what can happen in a matter of a decade, a year, a month, or even tomorrow? There could be something catastrophic that can happen to California to the point there's an exodus of MILLIONS of people. We can't predict the future, so I can only tell you what has been going on.
Texas has been growing extremely phenomenally and has one of the more stable economies in the United States, while California has been more or less circling the doldrums for the past few years.
This doesn't change the fact that so many people are jumping the gun here. Texas, in my mind, has solidified itself as the #2 state in the country, pushing down the relative standing of New York to an ever loosening #3 (if all things remain the same, Florida will surpass NYS in population by this decade. GSP is another story). However, on the absolute scale, the gap between Texas and California has never been wider. In terms of population, the gap has shortened a bit from 13 million in 2000 to 12 million today, which means that by the laws of exponents, it would take 50 years for Texas to surpass California. In terms of the economy, the gap is as wide as it has ever been. Even if you take into account inflation, the $746 billion gap between California and Texas speaks a lot.
That's why it's always helpful to look at long term trends to see the trajectory of an area, instead of jumping the gun and making unwarranted assumptions.
I realize a lot of people on CD feel like they need to put California "in it's place" A theme I have been seeing repeatedly on this site is "reality" Reality is that there is a 12 million (roughly the population of Illinois or Pennsylvania) population distance and a $746 billion difference (more than Florida's GSP) between Texas and California. No amount of book cooking, no amount of spin can change that truth.
At the end of the day, what does it even mean for a state to have "power"? It's not like my inherent worth goes up living in California vis-a-vis Warren Buffet, who lives in Nebraska. What does that even mean? It's not like states can attack each other, since the US Constitution and Federal government prevents us from doing that. Sure, there's economic power, but most of that is in the private sector that could move whenever they want to. Aside from agriculture, mining, or other extractive industries, most economic power isn't directly tied to a piece of land.
That's why I want to know: What kind of power is being thought of? Sure, someone could make the argument that North Dakota has the most power out of all the states since it has a huge bulk of the nuclear stockpile, but that is controlled by the military and federal government in Washington DC. The average North Dakota resident has no control over how its launched, when it can be launched, or use it to attack someone else, rendering that line of argument useless.
People talk about power on city-data so much because the people on here like to feel important. Why do you think so many people bash other cities on here? lol. It's all about the percieved feeling of superiority that people get by saying their city and state is better than yours. It's quite funny. As if some New Yorker is better than me because a bunch of models that don't even care about that person live in the same city.
To bring your point about "power" into perspective, I think about what does it mean that US is the most powerful nation? If you and I go to Brazil, does that make you and I automatic rulers of Brazil? No. I use that to help conceptualize the discussion of power when it comes to states. Relative to a states Influence, what states are more powerful than others? That being said economics definitely has a say. So does politics; as in what states have influence over the nation. Let's face it, some states actually have more influence over the nation thanothers. I hope that helps out.
I can agree with that: there are some states that have a more powerful say in the nation's economic (easiest to quantify through numbers), political (harder to quantify, but still could be done), and social (can't be quantified) scene. However, due to the way the US constitution is structured and the way the US economy is interconnected, there are some small states that could be seen as more powerful than larger states.
I'll use presidential elections, for example. Due to the way the electoral system is structured, with single member districts and first past the post (meaning whoever gets the most votes, wins, as opposed to proportional representation in most other democracies), smaller states have a disproportionate say in who is going to be president than larger states. For example, there is a reason why candidates always campaign in New Hampshire (first primary), Iowa (first caucus), and swing states (past few years, its been Ohio and Florida) rather than California, Texas, and New York (reliable partisan states). I would say that NH and IA have disproportionate power vis-a-vis CA, TX, and NY because of the amount of attention they garner for an election.
Then you have to begin comparing unlike things such as: what's more important, Texas oil or farmers in Kansas? Well, we kind of need both to survive, so I can't exactly put a numerical value on that.
Unlike the relations between nations where the mass public and politicians alike have a wall up against each other, states in the US are interconnected to such a large degree that 'power' in this context doesn't make nearly as much sense. And then when it comes to what the Feds control, then you realize who actually has the most power (not that it's a bad thing, but just stating reality)
Quote:
Originally Posted by UTHORNS96
People talk about power on city-data so much because the people on here like to feel important. Why do you think so many people bash other cities on here? lol. It's all about the percieved feeling of superiority that people get by saying their city and state is better than yours. It's quite funny. As if some New Yorker is better than me because a bunch of models that don't even care about that person live in the same city.
I never understood the 'Coastal Elitism" that goes on this site, nor in real life. I've lived around LA, NYC, and SF for nearly all my life (save a year in Phoenix), and I never thought once that I was more important because I did. All it made me want to do was explore the interior more and see what this country has to offer. It's not like by living in any of those places, my inherent value as a person went up.
I always get a kick out of the oft-repeated boast that "Atlanta has a busy airport".
Oh yeah, and it's home to Coca-Cola.
It is a real asset. Whether you want to accept it or not. Transportation has always been the driving force of growth. In the US, it started with rivers, then trains, and now airports. Being home to Coca-Cola, I've never hyped it up that much, but I guess if you live there it's awesome.
Many people said that California is most powerful state in U.S.
My question, which state or city is better for computer engineer, mainly for software engineer NYC vs. LA or California as state.
Thanks
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(land, population, and GSP)
(not that it's a bad thing, but just stating reality)
