California as the Nations Greatest State - Essay Example

California is the Nation’s Greatest Introduction In the analysis of the best place to reside in the US dependson the number of variables to consider before making a decision. Having lived in California for three years, this is a personal account of what makes California the best state in the entire nation. Although this claim may not be all-round true, this comparison essay compares California with an equally powerful state in terms of financial stability and political organization to support the claim. Texas and California compare in a number of ways such as education system and graduation level. However, the comparison between the two states show how overall human needs and satisfaction can are achieved in either of the states. To measure the highly ranked stake between the two states, the variables under consideration include crime rate, employment rate, housing costs, access to employment, health insurance, education level and excellence, mortality rate, health, property tax, and pollution from industrialization, tourist attractions, income, and human activities. Overall, California stands a better chance of appealing to visitors and residents with the friendly socioeconomic environment. Thesis Based on socioeconomic factors such as education, employment, crime rate, and housing, California is a greater state compared to Texas. Discussion and Analysis Less property tax influenced residents to invest in real estate that business owners can operate from their own premises other than renting working space. On the other hand, high property tax increases reduces the accessibility and acquisition of permanent housing or investment in some types of business such as those requiring the construction of complex premises. Between California and Texas, California stands a better chance of attracting investors and permanent property ownership. This is because as of 2013, California’s property tax was at an average of 0.80% against Texas average of 1.74%. By default, home buyers and other structure buyers are more likely to invest in a state where property tax is more accommodating (Wile, para. 6). The considerate property tax has also influenced better academic institution development leading to a higher graduation rate in California as compared to Texas. It is observed that nations with good and reliable education system attract higher graduation rates than nations that do not have the same quality if education systems. The US’s higher learning institutions are renowned for producing higher quality academic elites. However, general education system cannot tell a lot about specific states such as Texas and California. In its quest to support the national education quality, California has developed an education system that sees more college graduations within four and six years as compared to Texas within the same measurements. In California, about 34.8% of the college students graduate in four years while in Texas only 24.4% graduation within the same period. Graduation rates over six years in high education institutions is 65.1% for California and 49% for Texas. These figures make California a much desirable state to pursue higher learning as compared to Texas (Wile, para. 7). Better higher education institution have influenced Californians health awareness which has led to a moderate mortality rate. People in Texas do not die at a faster rate than people in California. However, the mortality rates between the two states is different from each other since causes of natural death in Texas are more elevated than in California. Based on eating habits, health insurance, income generation, and access to public facilities, Californians have a better chance of living longer than residents of Texas. As of 2010, the mortality rates of 646.8 and 772.3 per 100,000 people were registered for California and Texas respectively. This shows that more people dying within every 100,000 is a sign of a lower life expectance in Texas. Arguing from the perspective of human habits and exposure to various types of environmental issues, Texas dwellers miss out on aspects such as health education, health care coverage, and pollution. All these factors have a direct impact on the mortality rate since they affect the health of Texas residents (Wile, para. 9). While still at the issue of health, Californians are observed to have better health education on eating habits contribute to their decreased mortality rate. Health eating and physical health go hand in hand. In California more sports teams are recognized as compared to Texas. Through social influence and mentorship to sports has contributed to having healthier population as compared to Texas whose sports teams are considered less superior to California’s. On the other hand, the obesity rates of the two states is different from each other with California having a smaller obesity rate of 23.8% as compared to Texas’ rate of 30.4%. Under the two conditions of obesity and sportsmanship, it is elaborate that California is better off at keeping a better health environment than Texas is (Wile, para. 10). In terms of insuring citizens against health conditions, California is observed to have higher rate of health insurance which contributes to its better health environment. As of 2009, only 20% of residents did not have insurance covers in California as compared to 26% of residents who did not have it in Texas. Additionally, the business environment in California favors the ability of small enterprises to offer health insurances to their employees. In California, about 37.9% of small businesses provide health insurance while only 28.4% provide the same under the Texas’ business context. Based on affordability and availability of health insurance, California stands better chances of sustaining a low employee turnover based on the insurance cover while at the same time, the state is considered much healthier and livable than Texas (Wile, para. 13; . Based on environment al issues which may be connected to the problems of health, pollution is considered a problem in both states. Pollution through industrialization has pushed conventions such as Geneva to set guidelines to industrial nations such that polluters can be fined per metric tons. However, under the US industrial environment, pollution differs from one state to another and contributes to varying levels of health, economic, and social challenges. Based on Forbes’ rating of California against Texas in terms of energy consumption and pollution, the former was ranked 14th in 2007 while the latter was ranked 37th. This shows that California’s state of the environment is much conducive for business operations, residential housing, and education. Education quality depends on factors such as an environment free of noise pollution. Additionally, the state’s carbon footprint has reduced to 9 million metric tons per individual while Texas level remains as high as 25 million metric tons (Wile, para. 11). The California’s less polluted environment has been applauded as a tourism influencing factor. With reference to tourist attractions considering number of national parks and reserves, California has a higher number of reserves per million individuals as compared to Texas. With a high number of national parks for every 1 million individuals, California emerges as a better state than Texas to acquire life satisfaction through vacationing and exploration as compared to Texas. The importance of high number of national parks for every 1 million of people is that they provide easy access to the state’s natural heritage and also invites tourists into the state. Increased tourist-visits affect and influence the economy of the state and also help in shaping state’s cultural diversity. Hence, with a higher number of tourist attractions, California serves both the local and interstate tourists. As tourism adds to the economy of California, other economic concerns relate to the status of unemployment in the state. The unemployment rates between California and Texas shows that Texas is much better than California as it stands at 6.1 and 9.8 percent. It is also noted that it is harder to find employees in Texas than in California. Thus, with a higher unemployment rate, California is a better state to invest in as labor would not be a problem like it is in Texas. However, for individuals looking for a stable social environment, the unemployment rate in California affects the state’s social order. Although high rate of unemployment can be associated with crime, it is the household income that supports a rather stable social environment than the actual number of unemployed individuals. California’s population is larger than Texas and higher unemployment rate in California only increases the rate (Harrison, para. 12). Employment and income distribution in California are two different variables that do not correlate to showcase how each affects the other. As argued earlier that California has a better property taxation approach as compared to Texas, it is also noteworthy to consider that California as a higher tax rates on other non-property items such as daily cost of living. However, the income distribution in California is higher with an average of $43,919 against $39,536 for the case of Texas. When considering taxes, it is observed that due to higher income allocation, Californians are able to pocket the tax bill without considering it a burden. After taxation, the average income of $39,536 in Texas cuts back to $36,331 while that of $43,919 in California is slashed to $38,984 (Harrison, para. 10). Hence, with higher allocation of income in California, cost of living is manageable under the conditions. Irrespective of whether Texas’ and other states have a slightly lower tax rates for non-property items such as utilities and household items, Californians has a upper hand when considering the average difference between the two (Harrison, para. 10). In addition, a highly paid population is capable of affording better houses without necessarily considering price. However, Texas has a better pricing margin but California maintains a better property tax margin. Under housing, there are two conflicts that arise from comparing California and Texas in order to support the claim that California is the best state in the entire nation. Firstly, California has a lower tax rate on property. Under this consideration, one is not to confuse tax rate with pricing of property. Secondly, California is much expensive in terms of housing with average budget being $452,000 as compared to Texas’ $144,900. For home owners and business investors, property tax under the Californian context is much manageable over the long run while Texas’ low price of acquiring the property is reliable in the short run. However, when considering property tax, California has a better environment for business operations while Texas is more desirable for residential requirements based on the use of the property (land and premises/buildings) at hand (Harrison, para. 10). Finally, after employment, income distribution, and affordability of property are considered, the difference in the rate of crime between California and the rest of the states can be considered. Provided this paper aims at comparing California with the rest of the states, Texas is considered a representative at a tentative level of all the other states. Considering business environments and conditions of living, California is considered a much safer state as it accounts for 473.4 violent crimes against Texas’ rate of 491.4. In terms of property crimes, California registered 2,728.2 while Texas accounted for 4,017.2 in 2009. This shows that California is more livable than Texas and makes California a better state to live safely (Harrison, para. 18). Conclusion California is the best state in the US based on the consideration of employment, college graduation rates, mortality rate influenced by health education, and better health care due to higher rate of insurance coverage and role played by the small enterprises. Other factors such as property tax favor California as a better place to invest in. However, California incurs a major setback in the pricing of its property and therefore makes it a bit unaffordable considering the average cost of housing in other states such as Texas. Crime rate and unemployment do not correlate as California’s lower crime rate cannot be associated with the higher unemployment rate when compared with Texas. Finally, reduced pollution, health education, and high rate of involvement in sports influences the states’ mortality rate which is lower than Texas’. Overall, California has a more accommodating socioeconomic environment as compared to other states (case of Texas). Works Cited Harrison, Laird. Which is better: California or Texas? What the Numbers Say. Accessed online on April 15, 2015 from http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/02/07/which-is-better-california-or-texas Wile, Robe. 9 Ways California Is Way Better Than Texas. Accessed online on April 15, 2015 from http://www.businessinsider.com/nine-great-things-about-california-2013-4?op=1#ixzz3XOKaEBJv Read More