Governor Rick Perry continues to claim the Texas economy is strong and we don't need the bailout. Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison -- though they can't even bother to show up to vote -- are opposed to the job creation the bill would provide. And Texas Republicans in Congress are the most obstructionist of any in the country, led by Congressman Pete "Why Can't We Be More Like the Taliban?" Sessions.

What kind of economy are they trying to protect? Let's talk about that -- and how Texas is on the brink.

1. Of all 50 states, Texas is ranked 8th in terms of the percent of mortgage loans that are subprime. (Source)
   
   Without getting into too big of a discussion of what cause our current economic catastrophe, it is safe to say that subprime mortgage loans are among the biggest reasons we are where we are today. Governor Perry may want to pretend that all is well, but the fact is, it's not:

One in five subprime loans end up in foreclosure, according to new research by the Center for Responsible Lending -- more than eight times the rate for mortgages in the prime market...Rigorous research shows subprime loans are costly, applied unfairly, and -- given the risk of foreclosure -- dangerous.

1. Of all 50 states, Texas is ranked 45th in terms of the net worth of households. (Source)
   
   The net worth of the mean household is $35,942. The statistic measures all:

"Interest-earning assets, stocks and mutual fund shares, real estate (own home, rental property, vacation homes, and land holdings), own business or profession, mortgages held by sellers, and motor vehicles. Liabilities covered include debts secured by any asset, credit card or store bills, banks loans, and other unsecured debts."

Governor Perry and Texas Republicans would be quick to point out, I'm sure, that the same study shows that Texas ranks 4th in the affordability of homes. (Source) Cheaper homes allow for those with less net worth to be able to fulfill the dream of home ownership. That being said, if there is a high number of subprime mortgage loans being taken out to pay for those cheap homes, then we're really just sweeping the problem under the rug and hiding from the real work.

You also have to ask yourself if having a cheap home means anything if:

1. Of all 50 states, Texas ranks 44th in home ownership rates. (Source)
   
   65.9 percent of Texans own a home. That means that one in three Texans -- despite the affordability of the Texas housing market and the proliferation of subprime mortgage loans -- still cannot afford to own a home. Of course, considering that 21.5 percent of the people in Texas live in poverty (Source), perhaps this shouldn't come as too large of a surprise.
2. Of all 50 states, Texas is the most expensive place to insure a home -- with Texans paying an average premium of $1,372 annually. (Source)
   
   Above all else, this issue will be the test of the Republicans in control of Texas. What will Perry, Dewhurst, and Straus do to address homeowner insurance rates during this time of a crippling economy? Stories of Galveston homeowners who always paid their bills and yet are not being fully insured after the damages of Hurricane Ike are a dime a dozen.
   

Texas Homeowners are living in a struggling economy. They were struggling long before Hurricane Ike. But like so much work that needs to be done in Texas, the Republican-led Legislature ignored the problem until it became a catastrophe.

And the way that Governor Rick Perry, Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, and Texas Republicans in Congress are approaching the national discussion of the economy -- pure political obstruction -- no one in Texas should expect much change any time soon.