The unemployment rate is also as high as it is because of the explosive growth. People are moving into Texas faster than jobs are being created. We’ll catch up, eventually.

Where the government comes in, and I concede the Texas Governorship is among the weakest in the nation, is creating an environment that is pro-growth. Government getting out the way of an economy is a significant contribution, and even in Texas it takes a governor willing to back and sign legislation that creates such an environment. To that extent, Perry should get credit.

Government getting out of the way, given the New Dealers that ran this state from the 30s on, often has meant legislation that removes barriers to job creation. So yes, you can have it both ways when legislation reverses business unfriendly practices. It takes legislation to reduce tax rates, for instance, or environmental regulations or bureaucratic red tape.

As for the explosive population growth, I never claimed it mitigated unemployment numbers. Rather it is responsible in part for the unemployment rate. It works like so: Texas has jobs, people move here to work. More move in than there are jobs, Some are unemployed that go on Texas’ unemployment rolls that would not have been had they stayed in Michigan or Illinois or wherever.

It just requires you pay attention to what is written, and not be deliberately obtuse.

a) People who come to Texas in search of work generally find it. But not all do, and not all that do find work,find it right away. Hence, unemployment rates in Texas are higher than the actual job situation reflects. Those that don’t find work find themselves now living in a new state without a job and end up counting against Texas’ unemployment statistics

b) Sometimes legislation streamlines departments, sometimes it repeals laws. In those cases government gets out of the way. As for red tape and regulations, when companies have to employ full-time lawyers just to deal with compliance issues put forth by state and federal agencies, where do the companies make the money back? Higher prices which often means smaller customer bases, or labor costs, either way you end up with less net jobs.

c) Texas was run by New Dealers from the 1930s on. That is a mindset about the role of government. I nowhere said it was the literal New Deal.

d) Texas is cheap on taxes if you are coming from Oregon, New Jersey, Maine, New York, etc. etc. It’s all a matter or perspective.

e) tell me truthfully, are you a Lloyd Doggett fan?

That you lived in Texas, the way you are talking about it.

We can agree to disagree on this one, and that is okay as far as the relationship between taxes and jobs, but I will add this: there is a reason why companies are relocating to Texas consistently from high tax-high regulation states, and that is profits. And when companies make good profits, they expand, and when they expand they hire.

As for high property taxes, it all depends on where you live. I own two properties- one in rural east Texas, and one in central Texas, both of which have low property tax rates. The sales tax is about normal for states that have one, but I’ll take that over a state income tax, which in a lot of places is a good deal higher than the state sales tax. I lived in Oregon for a time, paid close to 11% in income taxes. Not to mention I have some control over the sales tax by what I choose to purchase.