because many banks stopped underwriting bonds to make sure they didn't get fined for not supporting gun rights. guess that will show those libbies, apparently Texas has money to waste...except Texas is ranked second to last in "Life, health, and inclusion" in recent CNBC analysis...wonder what that $500M in extra interest could have been spent on that would have actually helped the state Texas’s Wall Street showdown over gun laws costs state taxpayers hundreds of millions (mercurynews.com) The state’s municipal borrowers have been hit with as much as $532 million of extra debt costs because of a new GOP law that’s led some banks to step back from Texas’s bond market. That’s the conclusion of a new paper by Daniel Garrett, a University of Pennsylvania professor, and Ivan Ivanov, a principal economist at the Federal Reserve. The researchers examined sales in Texas’s $50-billion-a-year municipal-bond market after a law took effect in September that targeted banks for their gun policies. The legislation, known as Senate Bill 19, bars governments from entering into contracts with companies that “discriminate” against firearms entities. It has caused banks including Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., among the biggest underwriters of state and city debt nationwide, to stop most public-finance business in the state. The study found that “the exit of the targeted underwriters from the Texas market has significant impact on underwriter competition and that the remaining banks are unable to offset the adverse effects of removing banks from the market.” The result is “large adverse effects for borrowers.” America's Top States for Business 2022: The full rankings (cnbc.com) Texas ranked 49th in the category below with only Arizona ranking lower. To rank America’s Top States for Business in 2022, CNBC scored all 50 states on 88 metrics in 10 broad categories of competitiveness. Each category is weighted based on how frequently states use them as a selling point in economic development marketing materials. That way, our study ranks the states based on the attributes they use to sell themselves. We developed our criteria and metrics in consultation with a diverse array of business and policy experts, and the states. Our study is not an opinion survey. We use data from a variety of sources to measure the states’ performance. Under our methodology, states can earn a maximum of 2,500 points. The states with the most are America’s Top States for Business. How we are choosing America’s Top States for Business in 2022 (cnbc.com) Life, Health & Inclusion (325 points – 13%) Combine an era of enhanced social consciousness with a growing worker shortage, and it explains why, now more than ever, companies are demanding that states offer a welcoming and inclusive environment for employees. We rate the states on livability factors like per capita crime rates and environmental quality. We look at inclusiveness in state laws, including protections against discrimination of all kinds, as well as voting rights. While the pandemic may be past the crisis stage, health care quality, outcomes, preparedness and public health spending remain in the spotlight. All are key drivers in this category.
