Rick Perry has almost killed Texas and now he wants to be President of America

[heironymouspasparagus]

No, serious as a heart attack.  What good has come from deep partisanship?

Not much.

Which is one of the lesser points I have tried to make.  The problem is and has been for many years is that "what I believe in is non-partisan; what the other side believes in is extremely partisan."  And vice versa...

I really don't believe there is much moderation left in this country right now.  I, too, hope it changes.

[nathanm]

What good has come from deep partisanship?

That depends entirely on your definition of "deep partisanship." I'm sure mine owners considered it quite partisan when miners struck for safer working conditions and voted for candidates who supported organized labor, to use one example. On the other side of the coin, I'm sure the air traffic controllers considered Reagan firing the lot of them rather partisan.

If you mean the inability for our elected officials to comprehend the fact that they, in fact, represent all of their constituents and not just the portion most closely aligned with them ideologically or those with the loosest checkbook, I wholeheartedly agree.

[Conan71]

If you mean the inability for our elected officials to comprehend the fact that they, in fact, represent all of their constituents and not just the portion most closely aligned with them ideologically or those with the loosest checkbook, I wholeheartedly agree.

[heironymouspasparagus]

So when a pretty sizable majority understands reality and is willing to put up with it in the form of expired Bush tax cuts, then the people elected to represent us should go with it, in addition to spending cuts.

Or when the vast majority consider the "war on drugs" a lame excuse for a failed policy and just another way to enrich big chemical interests (can you spell Dupont?), the representatives should represent accordingly and decriminalize Mother Nature.

Or when a growing majority - for many years now, not just the last 3 - realizes how lame this Bush War in Iraq was and how Afghanistan is becoming the same type of "Trillion Dollar Baby", we should be stopping them.

Or when...well, you get the idea.

[Conan71]

Since we seem to want to pin job creation or loss on the President, shouldn't all those minimum wage jobs in Texas actually be credited to President Obama and not Governor Perry?

[RecycleMichael]

Since we seem to want to pin job creation or loss on the President, shouldn't all those minimum wage jobs in Texas actually be credited to President Obama and not Governor Perry?

You can't. In another thread you gave credit for a positive economy to the republican House of Representatives instead of the President and now you want to blame the president for minimum wage jobs (that Governor Perry has been taking credit for).

How convenient. When good news, it is all the republican effort, when bad, it is the President's fault.

Stop channeling gaspar. Both parties get blame and credit.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Since we seem to want to pin job creation or loss on the President, shouldn't all those minimum wage jobs in Texas actually be credited to President Obama and not Governor Perry?

I heard or read somewhere that Perry created all those jobs - 80% of which were with the government of Texas.

[Conan71]

You can't. In another thread you gave credit for a positive economy to the republican House of Representatives instead of the President and now you want to blame the president for minimum wage jobs (that Governor Perry has been taking credit for).

How convenient. When good news, it is all the republican effort, when bad, it is the President's fault.

Stop channeling gaspar. Both parties get blame and credit.

At what point did I credit the HOR with the economy?  They are nothing but a dysfunctional clusterfark.  Unless you are confusing what I said about Congress controlling the budget purse strings on a debt/deficit discussion.  

Please provide a link as I think you are putting words in my mouth and I'm on a vocabulary diet.

And here's something to read while you look for that:

Over the last couple of weeks, the left-leaning, mainstream media has decided that Governor Rick Perry's job creation record needs to be discredited if Obama wants to be reelected. As a consequence, the media has centered on the "quality" of the jobs that were created in Texas while trying to bury the fact that it has created nearly 40% of all the jobs in the United States since the recession began and that Texas has an unemployment rate that is 1% point below Obama's national number.

In doing so, the Obama defenders have noted three specific facts: (1) 9.2% of all hourly-paid jobs are being paid below the minimum wage when the national average is only 3%; and, (2) Texas has created more minimum wage jobs than anywhere else in the U.S.;and, (3) the average hourly wage is lower than the national average of all hourly wages across the country. All of those arguments are both specious and dishonest and take statistics out of context.

In terms of the "below minimum wage" argument, a significant fact isn't being told. That's the fact that Texas has the 3rd or 4th lowest cost of living (depending on the survey) of all 50 states (Click here to See Story). As a consequence, people making less than the minimum wage in Texas are quite better off than in a high cost of living state like California, where even a minimum wage might not be enough live on. As a result, only 1 in 10 Texans are on food stamp assistance. Compare that with the national average of 1 out every 7 people receiving food stamps; thanks to Obama's record on employment.

Then there's the "more minimum wage earners" argument. Well...dah...if you have a high job creation rate, it's only logical that you will, similarly, have a high creation of minimum wage jobs. But, as noted above, getting paid minimum wage in a low cost of living state is a helluva lot better than in much higher cost of living states; like the ones that most liberals seem to live in.

Lastly, the average hourly wage" argument doesn't hold water either when you put it, again, into the context of cost of living. When it comes to average hourly wages, there's one statistic the press and liberals seem eager to ignore; and, that's how fast wages are rising in Texas. Just last year, the average hourly wage rose by 3.5% and is expected to meet that number again in 2011. In comparison, the national average hourly wage only increased by 0.5% in the same period. Again, this is hardly a record that Obama can be proud of.

I'll never forget my economics professor who, in my very first class with him, wrote on the board behind him: "There are lies, damn lies, and, then, there are statistics." He then proceeded to take this famous Mark Twain quote and hammer home the fact that you should always look beyond a single statistic and put it into a clear context. All too often, the press, the pundits and the politicians, alike, play the game of cherry picking statistics. That's why I write this blog. It's always my intent to clear the "fog" because I understand the truth in what Mark Twain had once said.

http://cuttingthroughthefog.blogspot.com/2011/08/lefts-attack-on-perrys-job-creation.html

[nathanm]

I've seen people make the argument that Texas' low food stamp enrollment is actually because the eligibility requirements in Texas are calculated such that it's harder to qualify than it is in other states. Basically, the pot doesn't grow like it does elsewhere, so some people get cut even if they would have been eligible with the same income before the recession.

I haven't researched Texas law to verify that claim, though, so I make no claim as to accuracy, only that it was some smile I saw on the Internet.

[Gaspar]

I've seen people make the argument that Texas' low food stamp enrollment is actually because the eligibility requirements in Texas are calculated such that it's harder to qualify than it is in other states. Basically, the pot doesn't grow like it does elsewhere, so some people get cut even if they would have been eligible with the same income before the recession.

I haven't researched Texas law to verify that claim, though, so I make no claim as to accuracy, only that it was some smile I saw on the Internet.

I've heard that it's because of a large alien population.  Not illegal aliens (though you could make that argument too), but actual aliens from outer space who poop food that the poor can then eat.  This drastically drops food stamp enrollment.

I am also not sure of the accuracy of this.

Give me a break.  One of my largest customers (here in Oklahoma) just cut their workforce by 140 and is packing up shop and moving to Dallas where they intend to hire 300.  Their primary reason is that it's easier to do business there, and the incentives that the state offers to small businesses completely offsets the cost of the move.

Sales tax collection is up in Texas where the national average is going down.  That means that people are buying smile.  Fuel tax revenue is also up, meaning that people are buying and shipping stuff.  Single family home sales tax is up 17%!!  People are moving there in droves.  Foreclosures is down 9.9%.

So we can talk about food stamps and free lunches all we want, the fact is that the state of Texas is offering more opportunity than most other states, and because of this people and businesses are going there to work.  If you are on food stamps in Texas you have a far greater chance of obtaining work and getting off food stamps than you do in Illinois or three dozen other states.  Sure, the bucket has a few holes in it, but when compared to other state economies it simply holds more water!

[AngieB]

Where's that LIKE button when you need it?

[heironymouspasparagus]

Give me a break.  One of my largest customers (here in Oklahoma) just cut their workforce by 140 and is packing up shop and moving to Dallas where they intend to hire 300.  Their primary reason is that it's easier to do business there, and the incentives that the state offers to small businesses completely offsets the cost of the move.

Centrilift in Claremore (Baker Hughes company) has wanted to move to Texas for quite a while, but every time they look at the real cost of doing so, it is always much cheaper to stay here in Claremore.  Those "incentives" just aren't enough to overcome the basic desire to keep costs low. 

And for people who move there, it is a huge shock.  Yep, they miss out on max 5% income tax.  Property taxes on the other hand are vicious if you can afford to buy a house.  What costs $2,250 here is closer to $6,500 there - plus it ain't as much house for the same price.  Figure that in and the difference is even bigger.  Makes up for a whole lot of income tax savings!

[JeffM]

[Conan71]

And for people who move there, it is a huge shock.  Yep, they miss out on max 5% income tax.  Property taxes on the other hand are vicious if you can afford to buy a house.  What costs $2,250 here is closer to $6,500 there - plus it ain't as much house for the same price.  Figure that in and the difference is even bigger.  Makes up for a whole lot of income tax savings!

Apparently that's not killing job creation there.

[Townsend]

Although titter inducing I have a difficult time ever trusting these are real.