A Heapin’ Helpin’ of Texas Hoax

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/08/29/a-heapin%E2%80%99-helpin%E2%80%99-of-texas-hoax/

August 29, 2011
By Sue

Rick Perry has spent the better part of the last two weeks touting his ‘Jobs Miracle’ within the great state of Texas. His assertion is essentially that while the rest of the nation has suffered with seriously high unemployment rates, the state in which he has been governor since 2000 has actually flourished. Given his tendency towards religious exploitation, he has been touting this as his own personal miracle. Further, he has assured potential voters that he can translate his Texas Miracle into a national one. To hear him tell it, before you can get an “Amen” we will be shuttering the unemployment offices circa 2012 since we will then be gleefully employed.

[...]

the federal government has been actively involved in new job creation in Texas over the course of the last several years. The bulk of new jobs in Texas were actually government jobs as the state itself grew population-wise. The population of Texas has risen almost 21% over the course of the last decade and these new residents require government services as a routine matter of course. More residents mean more kids in the school system, which in turn, requires the hiring of more teachers and school administrators; new neighborhoods require an expansion of mail delivery and trash pickup, and on and on. In point of fact, Texas realized an increase of 7% in the federal job sector as opposed to a national average of other states of 4%.

[...]

The real indicator of serious jobs growth in any jurisdiction would be the number of private sector jobs that are created. When it comes to that calculation, Texas clocks in with an actual reduction of private sector jobs over the last few years. This is actually on par with the rest of the country, so while it is not better than other states it is also no worse.

[...]

..