Oregon's future (3rd world)? (Salem, Hillsboro: public schools, community college, property taxes)

[Smiled]

"The OP was coming from a anti-elitist. Saying that more elitist are going to make this a third world state."

You know, that reminds me of what was going on in the black community, where kids who worked to excel in school were ridiculed. This is the same sort of thing.

[Smiled]

"Oregon gas tax just went up 20%"

Yeah. A couple PENNIES a gallon. Whoopie.

Actually, I believe Portland to have a very bright future. There are a lot of educated youngsters having a go at survival, a lot of them starting tiny businesses. Ten years from now, they'll be experts.

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by modeerf

Entreprenuerial graces (less taxes and regulation)

Lots less regulation. Texan urban sprawl is a legend. My brother lives an hour north of Dallas, but you would never know it. It's city all the way down.

I'm not sure there is that much difference in taxes. The average tax burden in Oregon is just $200 a year more than Texas. Per capita income is about the same.

Originally Posted by modeerf

More jobs

Thanks to the oil industry and the defense industry, both of which Oregon lacks.

Originally Posted by modeerf

Less gaia worship

That is not much of an advantage. From what I hear, Texas is like anywhere else in the south; either you are Christian or else. You aren't going to sell many Oregonians on the advantage of intrusive religion.

Originally Posted by modeerf

Pursuit of happiness

Nonsense.

Originally Posted by modeerf

Less dependence on the Feds

More nonsense. Texas floats on federal money. Fort Bliss. Fort Hood. Fort Sam Houston/Camp Bullis. Red River Army Depot. Ingleside Army Depot. Corpus Christi Naval Air Station/Naval Hospital/Naval Station. Kingsville Naval Air Station. Randolph AFB. Lackland AFB. Shepperd AFB. Dyess AFB. Goodfellow AFB. Laughlin AFB. Brooks City Base. Air Force Plant 4. $281,403,651,848 in defense contracts awarded to Texas companies between 2000 and 2009. And don't forget the Johnson Space Center. "Houston, we have a problem."

If Texas didn't suck on the federal tit, it would dry up and blow away. It looks like the US military budget is going to have to take a big cut to balance the budget, which will throw Texas into a depression but won't mean squat for Oregon.

And then there's the climate. As an old Texan buddy of mine used to say, "If I had a farm in Texas and a home in Hell, I'd sell the farm and go home."

[Ryant]

Originally Posted by Smiled

"Oregon gas tax just went up 20%"

Yeah. A couple PENNIES a gallon. Whoopie.

Actually, I believe Portland to have a very bright future. There are a lot of educated youngsters having a go at survival, a lot of them starting tiny businesses. Ten years from now, they'll be experts.

Hey Smiled, I was going to say, on that last link he posted Oregon went up from 28th ranked in GDP in 2005 to now 26th.

[Ryant]

Texas' unemployment rate rises despite gain in jobs Saturday, December 18, 2010

They even mention Oregon.

"Texas added more jobs than any other state in November. But in percentage terms, the state's 0.2 percent gain trailed Alaska's 1.6 percent jump, Oregon's 0.4 percent"

As to where the jobs were added in Texas. Professionals(Elitist), health care(Elitist), government(I'm sure this is bad..), leisure (ahem). And they Lost manufacturing, I'm not sure where the small businesses fit but retail went down.. Some small businesses might even employ elitist these days.

Maybe Texas isn't Utopia.

[gobrien]

As far as the public schools go in Oregon, I can say that my highschool-aged son transferred to Sprague High School in Salem from a school in NW Arkansas, and he said the school in Arkansas was so much further along in its curriculum, by about a full year, than Oregon.

[O-Ducky]

Yep, lots of nonsense. I highly doubt Oregon is on it's way to be a third world type place. Something tells me Oregon is going to figure something out.

If Oregon education is so low then why did I meet some of the smartest people there? Man this is crazy, when I was in Oregon all I heard was great things about UO, Oregon State, Lane Community College (AWESOME), and not to mention all the REALLY nice public schools.

Man this is really some nonsense. If you wanna meet some smart people, or go to an AWESOME college, then you need to go to Oregon. Besides that, really, I met the most BRILLIANT people in Oregon. That's a fact. The healthiest eaters in the world live in the Willamette Valley, and it shows. Besides, Redmond is booming from what I hear. Not sure why I didn't try Redmond looking for work.

Majority of America = Eats unhealthy

Majority of Oregon = Heathiest eaters in the world

Now... who do you think is smarter?

Bigger jobs, houses, cars = Pride, Selfishness, Hate, squat. I'd rather live small and be smart.

[O-Ducky]

... its a simple equation in my opinion. If you wanna learn how to love your home (Earth), then go to Oregon. If you wanna be like the rest of the world then go somewhere else. It's simple.

Thanks Oregon for teaching me!!! I learned alot from you.

If the our federal government wanted to be smart, then they'd dump billions of dollars on the state of Oregon. That's a fact.

[O-Ducky]

Haha, the rest of the world is trying to figure out how to leave this place, and Oregon's like... what the heck is wrong with you people, look at this.

[Ryant]

Originally Posted by O-Ducky

... its a simple equation in my opinion. If you wanna learn how to love your home (Earth), then go to Oregon. If you wanna be like the rest of the world then go somewhere else. It's simple.

Thanks Oregon for teaching me!!! I learned alot from you.

Same here, that's why I moved back. Enjoying friends, enjoying mini vacations every weekend. Every other city I've lived in everyone's in such a hurry honking their horns going no where.. back home to watch TV I guess.

Haha I keep editing, deleting from this thread cuz I don't want to rip on the OP..