As the national and global economies struggle to recover from their financial woes, Texas is displaying strength that is built on conservative fiscal discipline.
Overcame Budget Shortfall. Back in 2003, Texas overcame a $10 billion budget hole without raising taxes by making tough choices to effectively prioritize and cut spending. Six years later, our Rainy Day Fund is on its way to $8 billion.
Reducing Spending. There have been only two state budgets since World War II that cut general revenue spending in Texas, and Gov. Perry signed them both. Gov. Perry has line-item vetoed more than $3 billion in unnecessary spending from state budgets, more than all other Texas governors combined.
Cutting Business Taxes. During the 81st Legislature, Gov. Perry called for and signed HB 4765, which exempts small businesses with less than $1 million in gross revenues from the state’s franchise tax, up from $300,000. This is expected to spare 40,000 small local employers from paying any franchise tax, saving them $172 million in taxes, money which now can go to paying employees, expanding their businesses and otherwise bolstering the Texas economy. In 2006, Gov. Perry also signed legislation, which has to date saved Texans an estimated $16.4 billion in property taxes.
DALLAS — Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Tuesday the Legislature should keep its hands off the state's Rainy Day Fund, but he declined to say whether he'd veto any move to use the money.
"The truth of the matter is, there's no guarantee we won't be in the same situation in two years," Perry told reporters at a Dallas machine shop, where he touted the virtues of small business. "If we tap the fund now, all we've done is kick the can down the road."
Governor Perry delivered his State of the State address this week, proposing to consolidate or suspend non-critical state agencies in order to make state government more streamlined and efficient. The governor also outlined his priorities for the 82nd Legislative Session, including balancing the budget without raising taxes, preserving essential services, and strengthening Texas' position as a national economic leader through sound policies. Check out the Governor's entire State of the State address below.
Session is officially underway. One of Governor Perry's emergency items got voted through the Senate Wednesday afternoon.
"Texans are required to show an ID in many day to day circumstances like boarding an airplane, withdrawing money from a bank account and driving a car," says Governor Perry. "There is no reason an ID should not be required to vote in the effort to uphold the integrity of our electoral process."
"Fiscal discipline, balanced budgets and the integrity of the ballot box are critical to the people of Texas," Gov. Perry said. "Under this emergency declaration, Texas lawmakers will be able to address these priority issues more quickly."
Four Texas metropolitan areas — Houston, Austin, Dallas and San Antonio — dominate the top 15 U.S. cities in a global study to determine the level of cities' recovery from the recession.
The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program report ranks 150 cities: 50 in the United States, 50 in Europe and 50 in the rest of the world. Austin was the highest-ranked U.S. city and No. 26 in the world. Dallas ranks as the No. 4 U.S. city and No. 39 in the world. San Antonio ranks No. 11 in the U.S. and No. 51 in the world.
Houston is ranked No. 15 in the U.S. and No. 61 in the world, according to the report, Global MetroMonitor, which received assistance from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
San Antonio, Houston and Dallas rose in global rankings during the past two years from their pre-recession rankings. Austin stayed about the same, ranking No. 25 among the 150 metro areas before the recession.
The report found that income and job growth in metro areas exceed those of their nations as a whole, which means large cities are leading the global recovery from the 2007-09 recession.
If you didn't catch Governor Perry on Fox News Sunday this weekend, you can watch the entire segment right here.
For additional information about Fed Up! media appearances, book tour stops around Texas, and more, visit http://www.FedUpTheBook.com. Check back, and after you've read the book, join the conversation on how we get our country back on track!
On Twitter? Follow @GovernorPerry for updates from Rick Perry himself. Become a fan of Governor Perry on Facebook and join the fight against Washington's overreach!
For additional information about Fed Up! book tour stops around Texas and more, visit http://www.FedUpTheBook.com. Check back, and after you've read the book, join the conversation on how we get our country back on track!
On Twitter? Follow @GovernorPerry for updates from Rick Perry himself. Become a fan of Governor Perry on Facebook and join the fight against Washington's overreach!
If you didn't catch Governor Perry on The Daily Show Monday night, you can watch all three parts right here.
PART 1
PART 2
PART 3 (not shown on television)
For additional information about Fed Up! media appearances, book tour stops around Texas, and more, visit http://www.FedUpTheBook.com. Check back, and after you've read the book, join the conversation on how we get our country back on track!
On Twitter? Follow @GovernorPerry for updates from Rick Perry himself. Become a fan of Governor Perry on Facebook and join the fight against Washington's overreach!
If you missed Governor Perry on Fox News' On The Record with Greta Van Susteren, you can watch the entire interview here:
For more information on Governor Perry's new book, visit http://www.FedUpTheBook.com. Check back, and join the conversation on how we get our country back on track!
There are book signings all across Texas, including San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Tyler, and Nacogdoches, so check back at http://www.FedUpTheBook.com often to find an event near you.
After you've read Fed Up!, visit the book's website to engage in a discussion with your fellow patriots on the future of Texas and the future of our great country. Each chapter has ideas for how citizens can take our country back from a federal government that has far outgrown its intended Constitutional role. Your continued discussion will amplify the impact of these ideas.
On Twitter? Follow @GovernorPerry for updates from Rick Perry himself. Become a fan of Governor Perry on Facebook and join the fight against Washington's overreach!
Where can you go to escape the recession? Try any of these 10 places. Oh, and be prepared to wear red.
Like a massive tornado, the Great Recession up-ended the topography of America. But even as vast parts of the country were laid low, some cities withstood the storm and could emerge even stronger and shinier than before. So, where exactly are these Oz-like destinations along the road to recovery? If you said Kansas, you're not far off. Try Oklahoma. Or Texas. Or Iowa. Not only did the economic twister of the last two years largely spare Tornado Alley, it actually may have helped improve the landscape.
NEWSWEEK has compiled a list of the 10 American cities best situated for the recovery. These are places where the jobs are plentiful, and the pay, given the lower cost of living, buys more than in bigger cities. In other words, places unlike much of the rest of the country. The cities, most of which lie in the red-state territory of America’s heartland, fall into three basic groups. There's the Texaplex—Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston—which has become the No. 1 destination for job-seeking Americans, thanks to a hearty energy sector and a strong spirit of entrepreneurism. There are the New Silicon Valleys—Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Salt Lake City; and urban northern Virginia—which offer high-paying high-tech jobs and housing prices well below those in coastal California. And then there are the Heartland Honeys—Oklahoma City, Indianapolis, and Des Moines, Iowa—which are enjoying a revival thanks to rising agricultural prices and a shift toward high-end industrial jobs.
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Governor Rick Perry
Governor Rick Perry
Governor Rick Perry
Governor Rick Perry