Saturday Tab Clearing

FILED UNDER: Tab Clearing, , , , , ,
Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a retired Professor of Political Science and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter

Comments

  1. Flat Earth Luddite says:

    Response to all of the above…

    To quote my dear friend Cracker, it’s a good time to be old.

    Le sigh.

    3
  2. Kathy says:

    All the comments on casting a cabinet make me think of this clip: Because this is not Star Trek!

    1
  3. Michael Cain says:

    As for bouncing back from climate disasters, my city is far to the right in the final graphic — resilience much higher than risk. I suppose that means that in-migration to the area will continue unabated.

  4. CSK says:

    Perhaps Lara can model her new collection on the Senate floor.

  5. Jay L Gischer says:

    The whole thing with Trump is looking good, looking strong, looking like he’s doing something. It doesn’t matter if he is or not, he just needs to look that way. That’s why he likes the celebrities. They look like they are doing something.

    The Gaetz nomination is a case in point. That got a lot of attention. Someone the MAGAs love got nominated. “Take that! Libs and Deep State!”. Then Gaetz withdraws because he’s a distraction. That doesn’t make Trump look bad to them.

    He wants everyone making lots of noise about fixing things. It doesn’t matter if they actually make things better, just that there’s news stories about them shaking things up.

    4
  6. de stijl says:

    Duluth, Minnesota might be a climate change hot spot. Erm, cold spot. Well, snowy spot.

    But the summers are lovely. Highs in the 70s, lows in the 50s. Big lake views. Big hill.

    And it’s a damn fine town.

    1
  7. Beth says:

    I’ve taken to laughing at people who are leaving IL for FL and TX for “low taxes” and “Freedom” and letting them know that they will wish they never left when they can’t buy insurance and water costs $20 a gallon. Whoops.

    5
  8. Gavin says:

    They’re not “low tax” but rather “low income tax.”

    Property tax burden by states – 2024

    Texas has the third highest property tax rate.. #2 is New Hampshire, perhaps ironically the “Live Free” state.

    1
  9. Jen says:

    @Gavin: NH’s property tax rate is high because it’s pretty much the *only* tax we have. It has to fund everything. We have no sales tax and no income tax. There’s a room & meals tax (thank you leaf peepers), but it really IS an issue because we have an aging state and that’s not great for people on fixed incomes who want to stay in their homes.

    For *overall tax burden*, NH is 49th: https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-highest-lowest-tax-burden/20494

    1
  10. @Gavin: Lots of property taxes in Texas, especially for special districts. Not just schools, but community colleges, and a variety of other things. The one that I recall from when I taught Texas government about 30 years ago was a “noxious weed district.”

    Ironically, these tax-funded special districts significantly improve local services. But a lot of Texans don’t think about it and instead, just point to the lack of an income tax.

    Here in Alabama local government has little revenue and services suuuuuck on balance. Folks around here love to say: “We shouldn’t give them more money until they prove they can do well with what they’ve got!” And the cycle continues.

    2