shutdown major roads due to bridge cracking
How about a coverup of using shoddy construction materials [NY, Cuomo Bridge]?
Lost their power grid in a cold snap. Can't remember the last time my area of NY NY lost more than 10 minutes...
Do you not recall the entire Northeast power grid failure of 2004? Texas's isolation may have sucked for Texas, but it was probably good for its neighbors.
Infrastructure isn't where the differences lie between high and low tax states. Low tax states also happen to have lower regulations, making it cheaper to build infrastructure and operate public services. Florida was able to build higher speed rail (Brightline) and while it's not as fast as CAHSR is supposed to be, it exists and is transporting customers, a marked improvement over not existing. Colorado (a state that is also low tax) just built out Denver's fully electrified RTD commuter rail network for less than the cost of building a single NY subway station.
As for Florida man, compared to human feces everywhere in cities like SF (NYC seems to be developing a similar problem this past year), and random rioting, I'll take Florida man stories. Miami is a pleasant, clean city. It has a Metro and bus system, and a free automated people mover. Compare the neighborhoods of Miami Beach and the Rockaways.
Travel the country (or for that matter, the world). As an NYer myself, I think we are getting ripped off, having the 49th highest taxes in the country. Can you say with a straight face that NY's infrastructure is better than everywhere but CT? Where is all this money going?