California v. Texas

Now, California is broke. Worse than broke. And if you look at the economic numbers, the new American champ among the fifty states is… Texas. The Lone Star State. Immigrants, ranchers, oil men, builders. The fastest-growing population in the country.

So, is this the very different new horizon of the American dream? Texas?

This Hour, On Point: California, Texas, and the debate over who may have the model for the American future.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.Guests:

Christopher Lockwood is United States editor for The Economist. His special report, in this week’s Economist, is “Lone Star Rising.” He joins us from London.

Kevin Starr is Professor of History at the University of Southern California, and California state librarian emeritus. He's author of “America and the California Dream,” a multi-volume series on the history of California. He joins us from San Francisco.

Evan Smith is editor-in-chief of Texas Monthly magazine. He joins us from Austin.

Hear NPR's "California in Crisis" series.