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See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Texas is really, really bloody scary right now

336 replies

JesusInTheCabbageVan · 19/02/2021 13:46

People were struggling with poverty even when things were going well. They've been hard hit by COVID, and now this.

Link here www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/18/texas-food-banks-crisis-storm-freezing-supplies

Terrifying.

OP posts:
pallisers · 20/02/2021 00:08

Do you live in the US hannayeah?

Roussette · 20/02/2021 08:55

@Mykittensmittens Your poor parents! I know there are others worse off but I bet you are still worried about them.

Biden did exactly what he was supposed to do. It smacks of desperation to criticise him for playing a game with his GC, especially given the 'optics' of the last four years.

tenlittlecygnets · 20/02/2021 09:14

@Wetalkedaboutthis

That's terrifying, will the government help them out?
Biden announced emergency funding for Texas days ago on Twitter.
Lweji · 20/02/2021 09:17

I suppose anything Cruz could really do to truly help he could do from anywhere just like Biden could.

I agree. But he didn't fly to Washington, where I'm sure he has a home too.

I'm surprised (or maybe not) that you care more about optics than actions.
Is there anything that Biden could have done that he hasn't? Has he been dismissive of the problem? Has he blamed Texas for their own problems?
Do you expect him to go and solve power issues personally?

Lweji · 20/02/2021 09:22

Then I really don’t understand you saying it’s not the federal government to blame.

Blame for the electricity cuts in Texas? Hmm

The federal government does have a responsibility to help (if asked, btw). But not only it couldn't have forced Texas to connect their grid to neighbouring States as it couldn't have entered Texas without a request for help, AFAIK.
Unless more power is given to the federal government. And guess who will never allow it? GOP representatives in Congress and the Senate. Certainly not from Texas.

Lanzo · 20/02/2021 09:24

@FOJN

They are suffering as a result of the values they uphold. I am really struggling to feel sympathy for them - which probably makes me a terrible human being but there it is.

Wishing misfortune on people with a different political point of view does make you a terrible human being. Is there a reason that so many on the left accuse anyone on the right of being hateful whilst being blind to their own hate? People are without food, water and electricity, stop being a dick.

Texas rarely gets snow which is why they are so badly prepared. In exactly the same way that neither snow chains or air conditioning are common in the UK, we rarely experience the kind if extreme weather which requires them.

This
MissConductUS · 20/02/2021 09:33

[quote hannayeah]@pallisers

Then I really don’t understand you saying it’s not the federal government to blame.

You and I obviously have different standards about what all elected leaders should be doing during a National crisis. And that’s ok.[/quote]
I'm an American. The Federal government has an established way to assist in times of natural disaster, through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Texas Emergency Declaration

This is how it's supposed to work.

UsedUpUsername · 20/02/2021 09:38

[quote Roussette]@Mykittensmittens Your poor parents! I know there are others worse off but I bet you are still worried about them.

Biden did exactly what he was supposed to do. It smacks of desperation to criticise him for playing a game with his GC, especially given the 'optics' of the last four years.[/quote]
The federal government always gets blamed for these things, no matter what. It’s a very convenient thing for the state governments to do ...

hannayeah · 20/02/2021 12:16

@Lweji

For context: pallisers wrote something about the federal govt not being to blame. I simply asked who was blaming them?

hannayeah · 20/02/2021 12:25

Ah, I see there is no point in being real or honest about things.

justasking111 · 20/02/2021 12:48

Does it matter how it works is pushing it down the road the right thing to do??

ZZTopGuitarSolo · 20/02/2021 14:51

@hannayeah

Four days ago the news reported Biden hanging out at Camp David playing video games with his grand daughter as if it was a wonderful thing.

Four days ago my family in Texas was without electricity, under a boil water advisory, and the roads were very dangerous. It was terrifying. They went almost 4 days without any electricity, little food and no safe water.

Why judge Cruz and Biden get different measures?

Biden was at Camp David on Sunday when the crisis in Texas had not yet started. The snow was falling but power outages had not yet started - they started 1.25am Monday.

He returned to DC on Monday as the crisis unfolded and its scale started to become apparent.

For comparison Cruz went on vacation on Wednesday when the crisis was at its peak in his home state, leaving his freezing house to travel abroad during a pandemic.

rawalpindithelabrador · 20/02/2021 15:01

@Ohtheplacesyougo

It is scary but worth pointing out re savings etc, people in US finance their lifestyles very differently from Uk and even more so than Europe.

Debt is quite accepted and payments more common via credit. I’m not saying that’s good but it’s how many structure their lifestyles. Hence why savings are referenced as low.

Another ignorant and sweeping generalisation. Makes me embarrassed to be British. Of course, we handle it so much better than them! No one here at all uses credit or has debt to finance their lifestyles, no, all a nation of financially sound people, even the government, no they don't use debt to finance anything Hmm.
Annaram1 · 20/02/2021 18:03

My son in law lives in a small apartment in Houston. He has asthma and needs to keep warm. I worry about him. I hope the weather there improves rapidly and they can connect the services they need.

countingthestarswithmini · 20/02/2021 18:26

Another poster has said she finds it hard to feel sympathy for Texas as they have effectively turned themselves into an island. Im inclined to agree with the poster. It's all because of oil and greed.

MissConductUS · 20/02/2021 18:28

Another ignorant and sweeping generalisation. Makes me embarrassed to be British. Of course, we handle it so much better than them! No one here at all uses credit or has debt to finance their lifestyles, no, all a nation of financially sound people, even the government, no they don't use debt to finance anything hmm.

Thank you for pointing out another baseless, fact free, lazy attempt to rubbish Americans. As a percentage of income, personal debt is substantially higher in the UK than in the US:

The Consumer Debt Crisis: A Vicious Circle Of Finances, Stress And Health

Around the world, personal borrowing is on the rise. In the U.S. it reached $13.86 trillion in the second quarter of 2019 – more than $1 trillion higher than leading up to the 2008 financial crisis. That’s the equivalent of 109 percent of net disposable income per household. Nearly half of workers in the U.S. carry credit card debt they can’t pay off each month, according to Aon’s 2018 DC and Financial Wellbeing Global Employee Survey.

And the U.S. isn’t alone. In Canada, total household debt stood at C$2.25 trillion ($1.7 trillion) in the second quarter of 2019, or 181 percent of net disposable income per household. In the U.K., household debt – excluding mortgages – reached a new high of £428 billion ($550 billion) in 2018, or 146 percent of net disposable income per household.

rawalpindithelabrador · 20/02/2021 18:51

We've got 6m people claiming Universal Credit/the dole here, Miss, and another 8+m on furlough and those numbers are rising as more businesses will be forced to close. Many people are up to their necks in hoc, took on massive mortgages and borrowed heaps - many also borrowed to keep their businesses but they're going to wall. Rates of personal debt and borrowing here are at record levels.

The government has borrowed £400bn just on Covid alone (much of which they have pissed up a wall handing it out to their cronies and donors in contracts for products that never turned up or don't work). BILLION. In a year, on just one issue.

Utterly erroneous and ridiculous to state that 'Americans' don't save and have tons of debt.

ClaudiasWinkleMan · 20/02/2021 18:58

I have a lot of family there and it is awful. They aren’t republicans and don’t uphold the right wing conservative values. They are decent, kind and very hard working people. They are doing ok but some are without water which is a huge problem and food is running out. It’s a really worry time and I think an indication of things to come thanks to climate change. I’m starting to think that America will be hit much harder by climate change then anyone predicted. The idea the world has of America is not the reality of most who live there. It’s sold as this amazing country. It is amazing but only if you are young, healthy and have money. Otherwise it’s a God awful place. My uncle ended up with nothing due to bills for the medical care of my aunt. He worked for the government and had really good health insurance but eventually she became too expensive so they stopped paying out and he had to sell their hone after she died to pay the debt. Worked all his life and ended up with nothing. Absolutely disgusting. The horror stories I get told by my family I’d never live there. It really isn’t what it says it is on the tin.

Lweji · 20/02/2021 19:14

@countingthestarswithmini

Another poster has said she finds it hard to feel sympathy for Texas as they have effectively turned themselves into an island. Im inclined to agree with the poster. It's all because of oil and greed.
I'm the one who used the word island and what I said was:

"Yes. It is almost as if they were an island, because their chosen leaders turned Texas into one, effectively."

The yes was in reference to the federal not being to blame.

Nothing that could imply any difficulty in feeling sympathy. What an odd conclusion. Confused The lack of sympathy is all yours. And quite frankly, even if it was the inhabitants exclusive fault, surely we should all be able to feel sympathy.

Identifying the reason for the problems and who is ultimately responsible only serves to do something about it, when appropriate.
And to stop uninformed people blaming the federal government.

SugarfreeBlitz · 20/02/2021 19:24

I saw they didn't have any water and I wondered why they didn't just boil snow. There was enough of it, but it seemed rude to suggest it.

Terrible times, poor people in Texas. Hope it's getting easier there now.

JesusInTheCabbageVan · 20/02/2021 19:31

@SugarfreeBlitz I think a huge number of them don't have power, so no means of boiling it.

OP posts:
Roussette · 20/02/2021 19:32

Claudia that is so sad and awful.

YankeeinKingArthursCourt · 20/02/2021 19:45

@countingthestarswithmini

I disagree that the "average" Texan is to blame or wanted to "be an island". Over 5 million voted for Biden and over 4 million voted for Beto, not Ted Cruz for Senate. Millions of people did NOT vote for or want privatisation of utilities or being "independent" from the National Grid. This was a corporate decision made by the utility bosses to benefit the few.

YankeeinKingArthursCourt · 20/02/2021 19:48

@SugarfreeBlitz

If you've done winter camping, boiling snow for water is almost 5 to 1 ratio. 5 litres of snow for one litre of water. Time consuming and expensive.

Mamanyt · 20/02/2021 23:43

@Wetalkedaboutthis

That's terrifying, will the government help them out?
President Biden has already sent word to the Governor (did so a few days ago) that the Federal Government stands by to render whatever aid is necessary. One of our Senators, NOT from Texas has raised 2 MILLION dollars for relief, and is there now, helping with distribution. Beto O'Rourk, who ran for Democratic candidate (but failed) is manning phone lines, helping transport seniors to "warming centers"...while Ted Cruz makes excuses for leaving the country.

Yes, there is HUGE income inequality here. It is iniquitous. 1% of our population holds 99% of the wealth. Literally.

And @Happytentoes is right...not everyone upholds those values. My friends in Texas are Democrats, or progressive Independents. However, with severe Gerrymandering, it is very hard to elect anyone but a Republican to a State or National office. We have some hopes that, given this fiasco, and our last president, that might be changing now.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the term, "Gerrymandering" is drawing out voting districts in such a way that one party is greatly favored over another. It should be illegal.

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