# Rick Perry on how to grow an economy **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 30, 2013, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608 "2013-10-30T00:23:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/41 "2013-10-30T18:31:51Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I just like how he couldn’t think of a third thing. > > ETA: I see Munch got to that joke before I did. Damn you, Munch. But not before **Bridget Burke** did, back on page 1. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/42 "2013-10-30T18:41:30Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I keep hearing from conservatives that economic growth is not a zero sum game, that it’s all about creating wealth where none existed before. But then there’s this from Perry’s editorial:He’s bragging about cannibalizing jobs from other states, which sounds pretty zero-sum to me. I wonder how much of Texas’s growing economy is really growth, and how much of it is just moving from one place to another. It won’t be zero-sum. The companies will move here, prosper and grow, and provide more jobs in the long run than they would in their current environment. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/43 "2013-10-30T19:33:38Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > It won’t be zero-sum. The companies will move here, prosper and grow, and provide more jobs in the long run than they would in their current environment. And everyone who is hired will get a free unicorn that poops skittles. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/44 "2013-10-30T19:38:37Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > It won’t be zero-sum. The companies will move here, prosper and grow, and provide more jobs in the long run than they would in their current environment. Some of the numbers Perry is boasting about may be due to that, but not all. As I said, and you quoted, I’d like to know how much is actual growth, and how much is just moving things from one place to another. Perry’s responsibility is to the people of his state, but I evaluate his claims in a larger context. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/45 "2013-10-30T20:09:46Z")
So when oil prices fall and companies start going bust, will Perry take responsibility? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/46 "2013-10-30T21:17:21Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > So when oil prices fall and companies start going bust, will Perry take responsibility? Hahahaha…oh, you’re serious? The last I heard, Perry wasn’t gonna run for gubner again. There are rumors that he’s gonna try for the White House again. If true, this is yet more evidence that Perry lives in his own little world. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/47 "2013-10-30T21:34:42Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > So when oil prices fall and companies start going bust, will Perry take responsibility? He didn’t the last time. Companies didn’t go bust, but during the recession, oil prices were down, the shale boom had yet to hit, and the budget was looking bad. It was Obama’s fault, naturally. And no, he didn’t do jack shit. He pulled accounting tricks and passed the buck down a few years when he got helped out by an oil boom. And we’re still screwed. We have serious water issues looming, our roads are decrepit, and our workforce is ever less educated and poorly insured. The sick thing is that a lot of Texas businesses would love for public education to be properly funded and administered and have lobbied for it. And certainly better roads are absolutely crucial to a functioning economy. So these are no brainer pro-business issues. But good luck getting that past the Tea Party idiots in our legislature. We’d rather deal with abortion and voter ID than shit that might actually make a difference to the bottom line. > [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > If true, this is yet more evidence that Perry lives in his own little world. Was that ever in doubt? Somehow he (and Ted Cruz) think the US is like Texas. One hopes Rick Perry learned that you must watch what you say and that you won’t get softball questions when you’re not on home turf, but that would be giving an Aggie too much credit for brains. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/48 "2013-10-30T21:43:35Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > And certainly better roads are absolutely crucial to a functioning economy. This is a state where some people actually fear the [NAFTA Superhighway](http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Nafta_superhighway). ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/49 "2013-10-30T22:00:47Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > This is a state where some people actually fear the [NAFTA Superhighway](http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Nafta_superhighway). We have good reason to. Rick Perry wanted to make a new, updated version called the “Trans Texas Corridor”. It was one of his few Texas political failures. Massive boondoggle and merely an excuse to set up expensive toll roads and pass out political and economic favors to his selected cronies and business interests. Everybody hated it. Wingnuts thought it was the beginning of the NAFTA Superhighway. Environmentalists were concerned over wetlands, woods, and prairie that would be affected. Property owners didn’t want to lose to eminent domain. Everybody hated the idea of hundreds of miles of tolls (to be operated by a Spanish and not American company, no less). It’s one thing to rail against liberals. It’s another to think Texan’s faith in conservative politicians will overcome NIMBYism. Damn, I hate Rick Perry. So do a good number of Texas Republicans. Unfortunately, most would still rather vote for Rick Perry or just not vote than vote for a Democrat. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/50 "2013-10-31T04:01:05Z")
Yeah oil. When I lived in Louisiana 35 years ago during that oil boom, the property tax on my house was $55 a year, thanks to oil. Let’s say the government was not exactly honest or competent. Texas also does it by letting business kill its workers. From [here.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-dreier/texas-fertilizer-plant-explosion_b_3384739.html) > [@](#): > > Texas prides itself on the lack of rules for businesses. Texas is the only state that doesn’t require companies to have workers compensation insurance. Houston is one of the few cities that have no zoning laws to create buffers between schools, homes and toxic chemical manufacturers. Texas doesn’t have a state fire code and prohibits small counties from having local codes allowing fire marshals to inspect and prohibit the storage of highly flammable and explosive chemicals near homes and schools. According to the New York Times, some Texas counties even cite the lack of local fire codes as a reason for companies to move there. > > Texas lawmakers have also recently sought to further weaken the state environmental agency that oversaw the West plant and reduced its budget by $305 million. Even after the explosion, Texas Governor Rick Perry claimed that more government oversight and more safeguards aren’t needed. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/51 "2013-10-31T04:14:10Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > We have good reason to. > > Rick Perry wanted to make a new, updated version called the “Trans Texas Corridor”. It was one of his few Texas political failures. Massive boondoggle and merely an excuse to set up expensive toll roads and pass out political and economic favors to his selected cronies and business interests. > > Everybody hated it. Wingnuts thought it was the beginning of the NAFTA Superhighway. Environmentalists were concerned over wetlands, woods, and prairie that would be affected. Property owners didn’t want to lose to eminent domain. Everybody hated the idea of hundreds of miles of tolls (to be operated by a Spanish and not American company, no less). It’s one thing to rail against liberals. It’s another to think Texan’s faith in conservative politicians will overcome NIMBYism. > > Damn, I hate Rick Perry. So do a good number of Texas Republicans. Unfortunately, most would still rather vote for Rick Perry or just not vote than vote for a Democrat. So, would a Texas Dem (such as there are, [in the LBJ tradition](http://www.amazon.com/Made-Texas-Southern-Takeover-American/dp/0465041213)) be for or agin’ the NAFTA superhighway? I mean, considering that **there never was such a prospect proposed** (no, the “Trans-Texas Corridor” don’t count), and considering that there are already far more then sufficient highways between the U.S. and Mexico and Canada, and considering that any [North American Union](http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/North_American_Union) would be entirely dominated by the U.S. culturally, politically and economically, which is why neither the Canuckistani nor the Meskins ever would sign on with it in the first place, why are so many Americans **scared** of such a nonexistent/neverexistent thing?! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/52 "2013-10-31T04:23:57Z")
_Chupacabra_ and hysterically emotional female singers. Not enough? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/53 "2013-10-31T04:25:21Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Yeah oil. When I lived in Louisiana 35 years ago during that oil boom, the property tax on my house was $55 a year, thanks to oil. Let’s say the government was not exactly honest or competent. > > Texas also does it by letting business kill its workers. From [here.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-dreier/texas-fertilizer-plant-explosion_b_3384739.html) > > > [@](#): > > > > Texas prides itself on the lack of rules for businesses. Texas is the only state that doesn’t require companies to have workers compensation insurance. Houston is one of the few cities that have no zoning laws to create buffers between schools, homes and toxic chemical manufacturers. Texas doesn’t have a state fire code and prohibits small counties from having local codes allowing fire marshals to inspect and prohibit the storage of highly flammable and explosive chemicals near homes and schools. According to the New York Times, some Texas counties even cite the lack of local fire codes as a reason for companies to move there. > > > > Texas lawmakers have also recently sought to further weaken the state environmental agency that oversaw the West plant and reduced its budget by $305 million. Even after the explosion, T **exas Governor Rick Perry claimed that more government oversight and more safeguards aren’t needed.** Well, sure; not NOW. Be kind of like locking the barn door after the horse got out sort of thing, really. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/54 "2013-10-31T04:44:34Z")
Another stinking toxic wasteland in the middle of Texas, like Odessa wasn’t enough. ---
**Author:** ![lazyshoegazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@lazyshoegazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazyshoegazer)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/55 "2013-11-01T05:01:14Z")
> [@cornopean](#): > > Ok…read this article. [Rick Perry: Follow the Texas model of success](http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/10/28/governor-rick-perry-texas-tour-jobs-editorials-debates/3290927/) > > If you disagree with him, you can respond to this article in two ways: > > 1. either he has his facts wrong or > 2. his facts are accurate but his interpretation of those facts is incorrect. > > Which is it? Could it be balls?[http://rickperry.atemyballs.com](http://rickperry.atemyballs.com) ---
**Author:** ![LonghornDave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@LonghornDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonghornDave)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/56 "2013-11-01T19:48:27Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Yeah, totally awesome economy you got there, Texas. If it weren’t for Oil, you’d be Mexico. Well, Mexico has a lot of oil too. So, I guess I don’t really understand that one. ---
**Author:** ![LonghornDave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@LonghornDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonghornDave)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/57 "2013-11-01T19:53:00Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > So when oil prices fall and companies start going bust, will Perry take responsibility? Well, what happened when gas prices fell? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/58 "2013-11-02T00:13:37Z")
They’re still up. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/59 "2013-11-02T12:08:15Z")
Another option is that the man is a liar. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/60 "2013-11-02T15:05:13Z")
> [@lazyshoegazer](#): > > Could it be balls?[http://rickperry.atemyballs.com](http://rickperry.atemyballs.com) Whoa. I can’t believe that site is still alive. I thought it died in like 1997. > [@Chimera](#): > > Yeah, totally awesome economy you got there, Texas. If it weren’t for Oil, you’d be Mexico. None of the anti-immigrant crowd decided to jump for the bait, so I’ll do it for them: Well it’s full of Mexicans, so that would make sense. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608.md?page=4)