BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has picked up on the Republican mantra to suggest that Texas shouldn’t become “like California.”
His campaign ads suggest that Texas Democrat want to transform the Lone Star State into a version of California. That’s a bad thing, he suggests.
But … is it?
My bride and I have traveled through much of the southern portion of the Golden State and have gotten a bit of an up-close look at why the state boasts a world-class economy.
Now, last I heard California’s gross domestic product output would rank it No. 6 or 7 among the world economies if the state were an independent country. Texas’s worldwide ranking, as I understand it, would be No. 9 or 10; still not bad, but not in league with California.
As I looked around the Bakersfield area – which the locals call the “Armpit of California” – I am struck by the abundance of petrochemical plants, of cattle trucks tooling along the highways, of massive feedlots where cattle producers fatten up their livestock for market. Does that remind anyone of anywhere with which they might be familiar? Sure. It reminds me of the Texas Panhandle, where we lived for 23 years before relocating to Collin County in early 2019.
Oh, and I also see my share of pro-Republican and anti-Democratic bumper stickers, TV campaign ads and assorted signage along the highways.
To be sure, I am acutely aware that California ain’t nirvana. I hear tales of horrific regulatory hurdles that homeowners and business owners must endure. I also know that the state suffered through a net population loss since the most recent census as folks are leaving the state.
Before you pile on and suggest we should pack our bags and move here … don’t even think about it. We aren’t moving. We have forged a great life during our 38 years as adopted Texans.
I just want to suggest that emulating the nation’s most populous and most prosperous state isn’t the epithet that some Texas politicians suggest.