Texas Govenor Rick Perry and his administration – Image New York Times
A recent visit of a dear friend at “home” in Massachusetts, brought some startling revelations about a life lived in Texas for 20 odd years- not the least among them was the statement: “Our Governor, Rick Perry could be Govenor for Life”. This came as a bit of a shock, given the fact that this individual was a moderate Massachusetts Democrat, who now sports the crossed pistols of Texas on a simply stunning bag! In recalling the 2012 GOP nominating process, Governor Perry did not fare well, to say the least – of course, the poor performances in the debates, were most likely due to a back surgery, and medication prescribed for pain, immediately preceding the decision to run for the nomination.(US News). Therefore one might wonder what makes this Texas Goveenor such a big hit with fans, and why the State of Texas has seen refugees increasing in numbers from California to Massachusetts . The obvious answer is two-fold – Texas has low taxes and jobs.
The report from Texasworkforce.org touts the creation of private sector jobs, 248,000 plus from November 2011 to November 2012, in a variety of fields. The State’s employment site “Work in Texas”, shows 140,000 plus openings, with jobs filled at 1.9 million and counting. The State government also recently announced a healthy revenues, no budget shortfalls to say the least. In addition, Texas is in the top ten states that are friendly to small business offering 0% income tax, 0% capital gains tax, and 0% Corporate Income tax. The State and Local taxes are at 4.01% of total income. (Advisorone) Is it no wonder, then, that after voting to increase their home state taxes California’s are flocking to – Texas(Bloomberg).
The combination of low taxes and job opportunities has those from other states, including Massachustts, where within the last month; six social acquaintances have packed up and moved to the Lone Star State.
From a feminists point of view, the reason may be the way the Governor stacks his administration with women – the New York Times ran an article on January 19, 2013, entitled “Women are a majority on Governor Rick Perry’s Staff” – in fact 60% of his staff is made up of women, which compared to Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, who has only 3 of the 7 top slots in the administrationmade up of women.
From pushing colleges to provide a 4 year degree for $10,000 (no kidding), to low tax rates, it is no wonder residents might want their Governor to stay in state, rather than run for the Presidency in 2016 – although, those living outside of Texas may disagree. This will be especially true after the Senate, which has failed to pass or produce a budget since 2009 (under Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader); will do so in this Congress for 2013. Of course, that budget will include “increased revenue” (taxes), and with a Republican controlled Congress, the Democrat controlled Senate feels it may not pass. One might question that logic since the Congress has agreed to pass a short term debt limit hike with no caveats, as in cuts in spending. Those living in Massachusetts will be welcoming the rest of the nation to a brand of taxation that is geared towards a misery index for those working. Texas may have to increase its borders to accommodate the influx of new refugees.
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