# 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:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/61 "2013-11-02T18:10:59Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > So when oil prices fall and companies start going bust, will Perry take responsibility? Why yes, he will. About the same time the fertilizer companies stop blowing up. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/62 "2013-11-02T19:21:53Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > Why yes, he will. About the same time the fertilizer companies stop blowing up. Actually, shit blowing up seems the perfect metaphor for the Republican party these days. ---
**Author:** ![LinusK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@LinusK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LinusK)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/63 "2013-11-02T20:28:30Z")
Texas also has the highest number of uninsured of any state (24%), has a below-average median household income, and has some of the worst educational test scores. Interestly, Mass. has the lowest number of uninsured (4%), one of the highest household incomes, and the best educational,test scores. I guess Mass. should follow Texas’ example? ---
**Author:** ![cornopean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cornopean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornopean)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/64 "2013-11-07T03:04:05Z")
Sorry to start a post and then abandon it. I would love to interact more, but if I get caught on here while I am at work…uhhhh…yeah. So…I’ll try to only start threads that I can keep up with. Why aren’t there more conservative libertarian types on this forum? ---
**Author:** ![cornopean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cornopean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornopean)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/65 "2013-11-07T03:07:02Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > The answer is oil. impossible. Africa is sitting on an ocean of natural resources, and they are dirt poor. Hong Kong is a rock with no natural resources except a good harbor (I’m told they have to import water), and yet it is a very prosperous country. The point is that the presence or absence of natural resources do not make or break an economy. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/66 "2013-11-07T03:50:59Z")
> [@cornopean](#): > > Sorry to start a post and then abandon it. I would love to interact more, but if I get caught on here while I am at work…uhhhh…yeah. So…I’ll try to only start threads that I can keep up with. Why aren’t there more conservative libertarian types on this forum? Because it’s an ignorance-fighting board. But there are some, you’ll find them. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/67 "2013-11-07T04:23:52Z")
> [@cornopean](#): > > impossible. Africa is sitting on an ocean of natural resources, and they are dirt poor. Hong Kong is a rock with no natural resources except a good harbor (I’m told they have to import water), and yet it is a very prosperous country. > > The point is that the presence or absence of natural resources do not make or break an economy. Factors leading to outcomes can be found in a variety of flavours. A factor can be _necessary_ for an outcome to occur. A factor can be _sufficient_ for an outcome to occur. A factor can _tend_ to cause an outcome to occur, without being either _necessary_ or _sufficient_. You should attempt to get a basic grasp on these sorts of concepts before attempting to arrive at a conclusion that something is “impossible” using inductive logic. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/68 "2013-11-07T04:59:01Z")
So, there was this guy named Joe, lived out in the 'burbs, a big house, big yard between two others much the same. Anyway, both his nearest neighbors moved away at the same time, so Joe was keeping an eye out for his new neighbors. He sees one new neighbor trimming a hedge so he decides to introduce himself. After a little awkward talk, he asks “So, what do you do?” “I’m a professor of philosophy at Major University, I specialize in formal logic, especially inductive reasoning” “Oh, really?” says Joe “Don’t understand much about that, what is it, how does it work?” “Well, for instance, I see you have a dog house, so I can _deduce_ that you have a dog. But by using inductive reasoning, I can guess you are probably heterosexual.” “Well, yeah, but how do you…” “Have a dog you keep outside, its likely because you have kids.” “Yeah, three” “You got kids, you probably have, or at least did have a wife, and having had a wife means you are most likely heterosexual. That’s inductive reasoning.” Joe looks a bit baffled for a moment or two, but then he sees it. “Yeah, that inductive reasoning stuff is pretty cool, I’ll remember that” And then the two men part company. Later on, he sees his other new neighbor, and approaches him much the same way, howdy, nice weather, pleased to meet you. “Yeah, I just met my other neighbor this morning. He’s a professor, teaches inductive reasoning…” “Not really familiar with that” says the new neighbor. “Well, I’ll show you how it works, its kinda neat. Do you have a dog?” “No.” “Fuckin’ homo!” ---
**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:** [November 7, 2013, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/69 "2013-11-07T06:02:51Z")
> [@cornopean](#): > > The point is that the presence or absence of natural resources do not make or break an economy. Others have already addressed the major fundamental logical problems with this line of reasoning, but I have a slightly different point to make. LOOK AT THE FUCKING NUMBERS. We’ve got plenty of Texans on the boards. Few of us respect Rick Perry. Even among Republicans, he’s not respected. Texas was well on its way to bankruptcy until the oil boom. The budget wasn’t balanced. Accounting tricks were made to put off the day of reckoning. Fortunately, there was a windfall. No, natural resources IN GENERAL do not guarantee success or failure. But IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, they did. What the fuck are you trying to argue? That the latest Texas biannual budget would have been hunky-dory had there not been this unexpected inflow of money? If so, you’re either an idiot beyond any measure of hope or partisan beyond any measure of hope (my bet is both!). Hell, even now, we’re in a metric godzilla assload of trouble in the next few decades unless we do something. I’ve already stated this earlier in the thread, but our education funding is broken (everybody in the state - Democrat and Republican alike - agrees with this). Our roads and bridges are crumbling. TXDOT (run mainly by Perry appointees, mind) admits that we need Billions (with a B) of dollars of additional investment to simply maintain the roads we have, not to mention expanding capacity to fill projected demand. Our water supplies aren’t looking so hot (hopefully, the recently passed Amendment can begin to help rectify this). A lot of the problems aren’t even the fault of Republicans. The fault lies in the ultra-conservative Tea Party types who won’t hear of funding anything at the levels they require yet still insist they magically operate as new. But good luck getting anything done about it. The issues are pushed down the road for future generations to deal with. Perry certainly doesn’t care about any of this. His stance on infrastructure spending is quite clear - deny it exists and claim even less funding is sufficient. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2013, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/70 "2013-11-07T06:10:22Z")
Hell, take a look at a shocking (to Texans) statistic. For years, Texas contributed more in Federal taxes than it got back in return. [No longer true.](http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20120805-texas-can-no-longer-complain-that-it-gives-more-than-it-gets-from-federal-government.ece) And because the jobs Texas has created have primarily been minimum wage, that’s not going to change anytime soon. In other words, unless something fundamental changes, Texas’ economy is going to be fueled, in part, by money from other states. That’s the Texas Rick Perry has helped to create - a welfare queen state where a lucky oil boom was the only thing saving his sorry ass for a few more years. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/71 "2013-11-07T11:28:43Z")
> [@](#): > > 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. See, you loosen up your environmental regulations enough and you don’t need any specially trained investigators to enforce them. Because the environmental disasters your deregulation lets slide through will be big enough so anyone can see them. It’s a win-win. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/72 "2013-11-07T12:02:32Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I just like how he couldn’t think of a third thing. It’s not his fault. **Opal** ’s gone. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608/73 "2013-11-07T14:54:34Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > 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?! Based on the people I know who actually believe such garbage is actually possible or likely, it’s more because they’re supremely ignorant hicks than anything else. A particular acquaintance of mine (sister in law’s brother in law) believes in this, the Amero and every other crackpot ultra-right-wing delusion that’s out there. I mean he’s utterly convinced that the UN means to take his guns, that Obama is a foreign agent, and that the only thing standing between his guns and his family’s safety is the Republican party. I’m just slightly on the conservative side of moderate, and I think he’s a raving loon as do the rest of the people in the family, and they’re way more conservative than I am. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-perry-on-how-to-grow-an-economy/672608.md?page=3)