Posted by William Gee
In a shroud of secrecy and wonderment, Governor Rick Perry has yet to reveal his intentions on running for the presidency. He is certainly creating some big time hoopla in the political arena. But would Rick Perry really be the best Republican candidate? In Christina Hastings article titled, Texas and the Presidency, she seems to think so. She dotes on the governor's "charisma and credibility," and makes note of how he saved Texas by creating jobs, scoffed at federal funds, and how his conservative values make him revered by all. However, not everybody is without faults, as she mentions just a fragment of the controversial issue regarding the HPV virus on our young girls. It is obvious that Miss Hastings upholds conservative values and I do not fault her for supporting Rick Perry if he chooses the path to the presidency. After all, this is democracy in America.
Though the article praises Perry and all the things he has done for Texas, I would like to take this opportunity to disagree. I think Rick Perry has everyone hoodwinked into thinking he is responsible for creating jobs, he is responsible for the great Texas economy, and he never raised taxes. Of course this is what mainstream media headlines report. Don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to Perry because he is a conservative. I don't care if he was with the Polka-Dot Party. I am just a person who sees a politician, who's sole purpose is to further his own career by pushing his own agenda without the voice of the people. Does Rick Perry deserve the credibility? Let me point out some of the truths that Perry has taken credit for, then you can decide for yourself.
Texas, indeed, has seen an increasing amount of jobs. I believe upwards of 280,000 throughout the entire state. Miss Hastings is absolutely correct that DFW and Houston has the highest job growth rate in the nation. The majority of these created jobs occur in the areas of education, health, and government. However, information like this is all the majority of Texans know because Rick Perry proudly trumpeted these facts with the help of the media. What most people do not know is the fact that when these 280,000 jobs were created, about 50,000 jobs were lost. In the current state of our economy and eyes looking towards cuts in education and healthcare, how many of these "created" jobs do you think will be left? Historically in Texas, it has been a trend for job growth to rise when the cost of crude oil rises. The Barnett shale oil in DFW and the Eagle Ford shale oil in South Texas have increased in production, as well as, tripled in value. This is the #1 reason for job growth in Texas. This has always been the reason long before Rick Perry even took office.
My other argument with Perry has to do with his involvement in our economy. Perry prides himself on low taxes, state sovereignty, and big business. State sovereignty is not a bad thing and he is king at it. As far as taxes go, he claims to have never raised them in all his terms as governor. Though he won't admit it, he has done this numerous times. For example, he has raised business taxes in order to lower property taxes. This may seem like they cancel each other out, but in reality, it produced an increase in tax revenues. On the big business end, I do believe that Perry has contributed a small amount in bringing them here. But only in the form of million dollar grants and tax incentives. While Perry deserves a little credit for this, the fact is Texas' low cost of doing business, low taxes, and the low cost of living is what truly brings business here. And once again, Texas was like this long before Perry took office.
While the nation's economy was starting to tank, Perry was first in line to boast our state's booming economy. We can recall his Texas sized ego when he refused the Federal Stimulus Funds that were offered to the states. But just a week or two later, Perry accepted the 14 billion dollars while at the same time publicly making Texans believe we didn't need it. 2 years later and 65 billion dollars more in federal funds to balance the current budget leads us to where we are today. In fact, the only federal funds that Perry didn't accept was 550 million to be used towards the Unemployment Funds. This resulted in a shortage of 1.5 billion dollars in the Unemployment Trust Fund. The unemployment rate at this time was at 6%. Texas' current unemployment rate is 8.2% and the national average is 9.2%. No matter how great Rick Perry said we were, the Texas budget problems and declining economy were always leading to where it is now. 27 billion dollars in the hole.
Although I disagree with Perry's credibility and his stance on certain issues, he has done some good for Texas. It just seems that a lot of people are being misinformed about what is really going on in Texas' government beyond the mainstream media's headlines, the showboating, and the smoke and mirrors.
Sources
http://offthekuff.com/wp/?p=38554
http://www.statesman.com/opinion/dunnam-is-gov-rick-perry-a-hypocrite-257084.html
http://blog.chron.com/thelist/2011/03/rick-perrys-business-income-tax-is-bad-for-employment/
I totally agree with all of your points. Perry is so arrogant that he probably doesn't even realize all of the misinformation you posted about. Or, maybe he does realize the improprieties but he's overlooking them because he has his sights set on the White House. Regardless, I wish the mainstream media in TX would be more bold and report more of the facts surrounding Perry's claims. It's almost as if they're afraid to step on Perry's toes per say due to the fact that he could be President one day and the media outlets want to maintain a cozy relationship with him. Whatever the reason, he's got the wool pulled over most Texans' heads as was made obvious from his re-election last year. I'm sure though that if he runs for President, the major national news outlets throughout the country will make known all the facts surrounding his claims.
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