Rick Perry lies about Texas jobs

Got a long email from Perry's office boasting about Texas jobs. (Apologies for the partial post earlier.) Here's what's at the core of the email:

Here in Texas, we are fiscally sound and conservative.  Texas has no state-income tax.  And to help create jobs, we recently exempted thousands of small and start-up businesses from paying taxes.

I know what Washington can’t seem to grasp balanced budgets and a relatively low tax burden encourage private sector job creation.

Texas led the nation in job growth over the past 10 years.  Between March 2002 and March 2012, the Lone Star State added 1.318 million new nonfarm jobs.

We added 225,800 jobs over the past year along, with Forbes magazine recently ranking Texas cities 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th of top 25 best job climates in America.

A strong job climate is no accident.  It takes an entrepreneurial spirit, which we have in our people.  It takes common-sense tax and regulatory policies.  And it takes disciplined lawmakers, who can say no to special interest excess.

The Texas Legislature have been conservative and fiscally responsibly in recent years, but there is no guarantee that will continue.

That’s why I recently introduced the Texas Budget Compact - Principles for a Stronger Texas.

We all have a vested interest in the future of Texas, we need to do everything we can to help our state become a stronger, more prosperous state, better prepared to deal with the unexpected and better positioned to care for our own. That's what the Budget Compact is all about, a unique opportunity to do right by Texans. 

"The Texas Budget Compact," comprised of five simple yet effective principles that will lead to a stronger Texas:

• Practice truth in budgeting.
• Support a Constitutional limit of spending to the growth of population and inflation.
• Oppose any new taxes or tax increases, and make the small business tax exemption permanent.
• Preserve a strong Rainy Day Fund.
• Cut unnecessary and duplicative government programs and agencies.
  

To be honest, these are pretty simple prescriptions for budget health in Texas.

Reality? Perry refused to do more for education, whether taxes or Rainy Day Fund, and therefore has costs thousands, if not tens of thousands, of local jobs.

Reality? As I blogged last year, the "Texas Miracle" is a largely an illusion; and the illusion of it is largely based on immigration, including illegal immigration.

Reality? Many of the jobs that have been created are low-income jobs, usually without healthcare benefits.

Reality? That reflects larger "quality of living" issues in Texas.

Reality? The "no new taxes" has been an excuse to mask rising "fees" in a variety of areas, including things such as car registrations and titles that impact people regularly.


Worst of all? Tricky Ricky sent this out as a solicitation email.

Speaking of "no debt," it sounds like he's got plenty from his ill-fated presidential campaign.

If he were president, we'd see the income gap get even wider, more colonias, increases in all sorts of federal user fees (and the money not dedicated to specific budgets), slashed public health care programs and worse.