Texas. The perfect storm where weather crisis meets financial crisis=Dirty Thirties all over again

[Horse with no Name]

And then the dispossessed were drawn west — from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico; from Nevada and Arkansas, families, tribes, dusted out, tractored out. Car-loads, caravans, homeless and hungry; twenty thousand and fifty thousand and a hundred thousand and two hundred thousand. They streamed over the mountains, hungry and restless — restless as ants, scurrying to find work to do — to lift, to push, to pull, to pick, to cut — anything, any burden to bear, for food. The kids are hungry. We got no place to live. Like ants scurrying for work, for food, and most of all for land.

— John Steinbeck. The Grapes of Wrath, 1939



I was literally in shock in seeing some pictures from across the state during this drought


http://www.brazos.org/drought.asp

There are four main types of drought:

an agricultural drought is the lack of moisture in the soil to meet the needs of a crop.

a meteorological drought is determined by a region's climate.

a socioeconomic drought is when water deficiency affects people.

a hydrological drought is one that deals with levels of lakes, reservoirs and groundwater levels.

The severity of droughts is often measured by the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI). The PDSI, which is most useful with long-term droughts, gauges dryness by using information regarding temperature and rainfall. Because it is standardized to local climate, it can be used nationwide.

If an area has normal conditions, a PDSI would be a 0. When drought conditions occur, the area would be represented on the scale as a negative number. For example, a moderate drought would range between -2 to -2.99, a severe drought would range between -3 to -3.99 and an extreme drought would be -4 and below on the PDSI scale. In addition to dryness, the guide can also be used to measure excess moisture. The scale is the same as the drought, but with positive numbers such as two for moderately moist.

Regardless of the type or severity, repercussions of a drought can be severe. The increased risk of wildfire, the possible loss of crops and livestock, the reduced recreation, and the negative impacts on wildlife habitats and other environmental consequences are all results of drought.

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1583.html

While reading the text of this, I can't help but think of Rick Perry on the stump talking about everything in Texas is better than in the rest of the country...

>>>>snip
In 1930, there was no better place to be a farmer than in the Southern Plains, where men and women had turned untamed prairie into one of the most prosperous regions in the whole country. The rest of the nation was struggling with the initial effects of the Great Depression, but in wheat country, farmers were reaping a record-breaking crop.

With the onset of World War I, the demand for wheat had been astonishing. Farmers were paid record prices. Thus, to the farmer, it made sense to turn every inch of the Southern Plains into profit. During the war, the land produced millions and millions of bushels of wheat and corn, which helped to feed America as well as numerous nations overseas.

The farming practices that made the plains so productive were beginning to take a toll on the land. The grasslands had been deeply plowed and planted. During the years when there was adequate rainfall, the land produced bountiful crops. However, as a drought that started in the early 1930s persisted, the farmers kept plowing and planting with increasingly dismal results.

In 1930 and early 1931, the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles were known as the most prosperous regions in the nation. For plains farmers, the decade opened with prosperity and growth. But in the summer of 1931, those farmers would face the most difficult eight years of their lives.... The rain simply stopped.

But...this is the most informative paragraph of all--and why studying history gets in the way of profits

The government began to offer relief to farmers through President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Roosevelt believed it was the federal government's duty to help the American people get through the bad times like the Dust Bowl. During the first three months of his presidency, a steady stream of bills were passed to relieve poverty, reduce unemployment and speed economic recovery. While these experimental programs did not end the Depression, the New Deal helped the American people immeasurably by taking care of their basic needs and giving them the dignity of of work, and hope during trying times.



Yet, our state is literally dying. And the Governor who has plans of his own is out peddling his religion and snake oil...hoping against all hope to convince the low information voters that his way is the way to prosperity...when all indicators show that this state, under heavy partisan rule since pretty much 1983 (with brief intervention from White and Richards--not consecutive-- of 4 years each)is in terrific peril.

Unemployment is at its highest since at least 1990 at 8.4%--yet his continued claims of job success go unchecked. When he entered office in 2000, the unemployment rate was 4.6%.
http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=z1ebjpgk2654c1_&met_y=unemployment_rate&idim=state:ST480000&fdim_y=seasonality:S&dl=en&hl=en&q=texas+unemployment+rate#ctype=l&strail=false&nselm=h&met_y=unemployment_rate&fdim_y=seasonality:S&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=state&
idim=state:ST480000&ifdim=stahttp://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=post&forum=439te&hl=en&dl=en

Texas, who only has an AA+ credit rating (perhaps why the teabaggers didn't care if the rest of the nation joined us)...

According to a survey of the worst run states...Texas is 36th overall, but
as the second most populous state in the nation, Texas scores fairly average in most categories. There are, however, two areas where Texas places dead last. The Lone Star State has the lowest percentage of its twenty-five and older population with a high school diploma – one in every five fails to obtain a high school education. Also, 23.8% of its population does not have health insurance, the worst rate in the country.

Read more: The Best and Worst Run States In America: A Survey of All Fifty - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2010/10/04/the-best-and-worst-run-states-in-america-a-survey-of-all-fifty/#ixzz1VqiEeRx4

Debt per Capita: $8,711 (36th)
Unemployment Rate: 8.3% (24th)
Home Price Change (’06 – ’09): 10.4% (16th)
Median Household Income: $48,259 (25th)

Read more: The Best and Worst Run States In America: A Survey of All Fifty - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2010/10/04/the-best-and-worst-run-states-in-america-a-survey-of-all-fifty/#ixzz1Vqhu8HZu

I really personally feel that any chance of recovery in this state is short lived because of the drought. But, it isn't atypical at all for rats to desert a sinking ship. Especially one that they put a hole in the bottom of and gave the life jackets to their rich friends.

[MoonRiver]

1. Shhhh, don't tell Rick Perry but

global warming is alive and well.

[Horse with no Name]

2. You'd think the ranchers and farmers would realize it

they want to blame the Democrats...but this state has been firmly entrenched in republican partisan politics for a very long time. Forest for the trees and all...and besides, Rush said Global Warming didn't exist, ergo, it doesn't. See how easy that is?:sarcasm:

[MoonRiver]

6. Rethug message to brainwashed Texans:

Who you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?

[Horse with no Name]

3. kick. n/t

[femrap]

4. k and r...nt

[Gruenemann]

5. FYI, "Dirty Thirty" has its own connotaion in Texas

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/wmdsh

[Horse with no Name]

8. Thank you...I didn't know this. n/t

[Javaman]

7. Yayyyy!!! I'm exceptional!!!

Look, I live in Austin, we are about to have our 100th day of 100+ degree temps. I have forgotten what rain is like. My backyard looks like death valley, all my plants are dead and we are now in stage two water emergency, I have to celebrate something, okay?

[Horse with no Name]

9. .....

:D

[Scurrilous]

10. K & R

:thumbsup: