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Could an independent Texas survive economically? The facts say 'Yes'
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The Texas economy: strong (Photo courtesy Texas State Comptroller's Office)
Many of those who scoff at the notion of Texas independence do so by trying to paint a portrait of a trailer-park redneck republic which slides rapidly into Third World status without the many intricate connections to its sister states fostered by the benevolent government in Washington, D.C.
"...its worth would crater precipitously, after NAFTA rejected it and the United States slapped it with an embargo that would make Cuba look like a free-trade zone," one blogger predicts. "Indeed, Texas would quick become the next North Korea, relying on foreign aid due to its insistence on relying on itself.
"In short: the state of Texas would rapidly become direly impoverished, would need to be heavily armed, and would be wracked with existential domestic and foreign policy threats. It would probably make our failed states list in short order. Probably better to pay the damn taxes."
But is that an accurate portrait -- and are the "damned taxes" the problem? The facts suggest otherwise.
For starters, the Texas economy isn't based on trailer-park economics.
As noted in Wikipedia, the Texas economy is the largest one that's still growing in the U.S., and in 2006 the state was home of six of the top 50 companies on the Fortune 500 list and 58 of the top 500 -- the most of any state. In 2008, the state had a Gross Domestic Product of $1.245 trillion, second-largest in the U.S. and 15th-largest in the world.
Texas currently conducts more than $150 billion a year in trade with other nations; it leads all other states in exports, and has for five consecutive years. In 2005, per-capita domestic production in Texas was $42,975 per person.
Them toothless trailer-park hoochie mommas sure do know how to work, don't they?
Texas has the second-largest workforce in the nation, some 11 million citizen workers, and an unemployment rate among the lowest in the U.S. The reason for that: the state government has made economic development a priority in recent years, and has helped create a favorable business climate for companies looking to relocate. Texas also eschews a state-level income tax on prooductivity and its real-estate prices compared to other states and regions remains largely undervalued.
Moreover, the state's economy is far from the two-dimensional stereotype commonly portrayed. Texas is a lot more than just cattle and oil.
Sure, Texas leads the nation in the production of beef, oil and natural gas. It also leads the nation in both the production of alternative energy and in the construction of new alternative energy productin facilities; an independent Texas would be completely energy-independent and among the world's leading exporters of oil, natural gas and energy products.
Texas also has a thriving lumber industry based in the eastern part of the state, while the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is a key center for the defense industry, a banking center and the information technology industry. Texas is the nation's No.2 manufacturer of computers, components and electronmic equipment.
The Houston/Beaumont area features the world's largest concentration of petrochemical refining and production facilities, and Houston is a major center of medical and biomedical research, aerospace research and shipping. The Port of Houston is the largest port in the nation and sixth-largest in the world.
Texas is also a leader in the production of cement, crushed stone, lime, salt and sand and gravel.
The state is also among the world's leaders in the production of rice and cotton, primarily along the Gulf Coast, and in the production of citrus products in the Rio Grande Valley. Texas features the most farms, both in terms of numbers and in acreage, in the nation.
In addition to cattle, Texas also leads nationally in the production of sheep and goats. The Texas Panhandle and South Plains has also become a major producer of cereal crops.
Texas agricuture is also a leader in the production of greenhouse and nursery products, corn, hay and wheat. The state ranks No.2 in the nation in the production of sorghum. Peanuts and sugar cane are other valuable crops, along with onions, potatoes, watermelons and grapefruit. Texas farmers lead the nation in the production of cabbage.
Texas has another brand of famrer as well: Texas' fishing industry thrives. The state is among the nation's leaders in its annual shrimp catch, and both commercial and sport fishing are major industries. In addition, there is a growing commercial catfish-farming industry.
Despite some setbacks in K-12 education over the last 15 years or so when Texas bcame infected with the failed "New Standards" education "reforms" of former Governor and President George W. Bush, by and large the state retains a solid reputation for its higher education system, from premier universities such as Rice, SMU, Baylor, Texas and Texas A&M to a broad array of junior colleges and trade schools. That has helped create a more adaptable work force which has in turn helped fuel the diversification of the state's economy since the oil bust of the 1970s.
Clearly, Texas features an economy which would enable an independent republic to thrive. The question is whether or not the United States would be vindictive enough to attempt to embargo Texas should it secede--and whether or not that embargo would work.
A peaceful secession process and thoughtful negotiation with the U.S. on a wide range of issues--economic, military, and social--should preclude any vindictiveness on the part of Washington. America would pick up a strong new trading partner and valuable new ally, and even an independnet Texas could not ignore its long-established ties to the remaining states.
Moreover, independence would also enable the new Republic to seek its own markets for its products and new partnerships with other nations, free of the often-contradictory constraints of U.S. foreign policy. Many Texans already reject NAFTA for its favoritism toward other countries, and not being part of NAFTA doesn't mean Texas couldn't still trade with its neighbors in the Western Hemisphere.
It's easy to attempt to belittle the Texas independence movement with stereotypes, but far harder to beat it with facts. And the fact is, a Republic of Texas would be eminently economically healthy.
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