His early influences included the Austrian economists Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek and Murray Rothbard, as well as non-economists such as Edmund Burke and Ayn Rand.

He praised its weather, open spaces, and low crime rate, but said the residents were "stupid" and "inbred", dubbing the area "the proud home of some of the dumbest clods on the planet."

He extended this critique to his employer, the university, declaring that its graduates were "still operating at about a tenth-grade level" and only got degrees "via the malfeasance of professors and administrators.

The town's mayor responded by declaring a "We Love Alpine Week" with a rally and parade.

He graduated from Grand Prairie High School,[10] and then received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1968.

He worked for many years in the hotel business, but eventually returned to the university to obtain his master's degree in 1985 and his Ph.D.