Rick Perry - Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss

Hello all, over the next little bit I'm going to spend some time deconstructing Rick Perry. Why? Because, well, basically he is an awful person in my humble opinion whose crackpot ideas would have us living in a more Oligarchic state than we do now that would be led by Christian fundamentalists according to their strict lifestyle guidelines. Is that reason enough? If not, there are more. We'll dig them up along the way.

However, for today's blog we will focus on his "Texas Miracle" jobs record. He's touting himself as a major job creator and Texas as the paragon of economic growth over his decade-long tenure. Let's take a look at what kind of jobs he has created and how his state's working class folk are living these days. I think you will be pleasantly horrified at the spin his team is putting things.

Here is a point-by-point analysis of his jobs record:

• Texas tied with Mississippi in 2010 for the highest percentage of Minimum Wage jobs in the nation. (San Fransisco Chronicle, 8/22/11)
  
• Texas has the highest number of uninsured people in the nation at 25% - much of this is accounted for by the working poor - employed in the types of jobs he created in his 'Texas Miracle'. (Washington Post, 11/23/2010)
• Despite Perry publicly decrying Federal Stimulus Dollars he had no trouble accepting billions that helped to create 300,000 jobs in the public sector that he is counting in his tally. (Boston Globe, 8/20/11)
• From December 2007 to June of this year, Texas shed .6% of their private sector jobs while adding 6.4% of public sector jobs - even though Perry continues to say that government doesn't create jobs. (Portland Press Herald, 8/21/11)
• One of the reasons that they have added (or kept) jobs in the petrochemical industry is that his administration has nearly completely dismantled environmental regulations in Texas - which causes them to lead the nation in toxic waste emissions and chemical spills. (Washington Post Politics, 8/18/11)
• Partially as a result of the quality of jobs created in Texas, they have the fourth highest poverty rating of all states (Washington Post, 8/19/11)

I could go on, but I think I will hold off some of the points for future blogs. There are lots of juicy bits left to go over.

For those of you who might be entranced by his Texas swagger and plain-spoken delivery keep in mind he's just another politician. He's taking credit for a great deal of activity in terms of job creation and growth that he had no direct connection to during his tenure. He does deserve some credit, but not all, and certainly his claims deserve deeper scrutiny. Like all politicos, take him with a grain of salt, or in Perry's case, an entire block. Peace.