You get a place that ranks near the bottom on measures of social health and stability, and near the top in measures of the toxic, unhealthy aspects of industrial life. At least that’s the case in Texas, home of George W. Bush and Tom Delay the Exterminator. A new report, titled “Texas on the Brink”, has found that:

Texas ranks first in the percentage of uninsured children, first in toxic and cancerous emissions and second in teenage pregnancies. It lags far behind in high-school graduation rates, consumer credit scores and percentage of the population with health insurance.

The reason? According to state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, it’s due to Texas’s “inadequate, outdated and terribly regressive tax system”.

He blamed rigid ideology on tax issues for the state’s standings. Texas ranks 49th in revenue and spending, according to the Census Bureau. “When leaders value a pledge of ‘no new taxes’ above all else, they abandon the mantle of leadership,” Shapleigh said.

Since most corporations don’t care to locate in toxic environments full of uneducated workers, and the dominance of Republicans in Texas means that the tax structure is unlikely to change, it’s hard to see how Texas is going to dig itself out of this hole.