Legal gamesmanship threatens our energy future (Montana looks to Rick Perry's TX model)

Billings Gazette ^ | July 2, 2011 | By DON STERHAN‌

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is able to boast about job growth under his watch, noting that over 265,000 jobs, or nearly 37 percent of the jobs created nationwide since the summer of 2009, have been created in the Lone Star state.

He credits this growth to a few simple conditions: low taxes, a regulatory climate that is fair and predictable, and a legal system that limits frivolous lawsuits. According to the Wall Street Journal, nearly one-fourth of the 70 companies that left California this year relocated to Texas.

When new or relocating companies and investors survey the landscape and consider Montana, what do they see? Well, when it comes to natural-resource development, the landscape looks risky.

Recent headlines highlight two major resource development projects slogging through endless legal and regulatory challenges. Investment flees this kind of uncertainty, so Montanans interested in the future economic stability of this state should be wary of the signals we send.......

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Governor Rick Perry's Speech at Red State Conference in 2010 (Video and Notes) In Speech Perry:

Reads the 10th Amendment – What a beautiful succinct, simple statement – words penned for a time such as this…… (nice list of rights being taken away and by whom).

Perry notes: Republicans lost because you couldn’t tell the difference between a Republican and a Democrat… (expands)

Growing mood in the country – passion across the state and when I look at Glenn Beck’s event in Washington D.C. and other events, it warms the cockles of my heart……”

Texas has led but it’s been a hell of a struggle against Washington D.C. – they must trust the people, they don’t trust the people.

Governing isn’t that hard…

First – Don’t spend all the money!

TX legislature meets 140 days every OTHER year!

TARP – Stimulus – great concern in Texas, country, world --- small businesses don’t know what shoe will fall next – what regulations – costs – job loss. Health care bill – cost – loss of access to health care…..

Second: Fair and predictable tax and regulatory policy…..

Third: Legal system that does not allow for over suing. Sweeping tort reform 2003 in TX has paid HUGE dividends. Went from Jack-pot Justice (legal hell hole) to 60% more doctors practicing in Texas from 7 years ago (expands more on this) – about access to health care.

Last step: Loser Pays tells them, you better have a case. If frivolous – fishing for settlement – they’ll foot the bill! (since this speech, Perry signed it into law)

Haley Barbour told him, If "Loser Pays" passes you can put turnstiles on the TX border and charge people to come into your state!”

THAT’S IT! Put those 4 principles into place and tell government to get the hell out of the way. – Rick Perry

[Cincinatus' Wife]

June 29, 2011: Roger Hedgecock interview with Rick Perry (starts 1/2 way into audio file)

[nathanbedford]

For the record, the Canadian mining industry generally regards Montana as a worse sovereign risk jurisdiction than Bolivia, Peru, or Brazil and certainly worse than Mongolia.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

His comments at the end of the article (at link) should be noted — Montana’s viability is being starved by spending on legal fights with environmentalists -— money that’s spent for lawyers (not on engineers), along with lost revenue that would be theirs to spend on schools, roads, sewers and basic services (something all states have been dealing with) — companies won’t come to a state with a business climate like that, they go to places like Texas.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

"....At the same time — and this, of course, is the tough part for those on the left to swallow — it is clear that the state's limits on taxes, regulations and lawsuits are contributing to the job machine. "The most important thing I think that's happened to us is tort reform," Fisher, the Dallas Fed president, has said. He added that when John Deere and other companies have decided to hire in Texas, they've been largely driven by steps the state has taken to cap non-economic damages in medical malpractice suits and to make it harder to bring product liability and class-action cases..."

For those whose knee-jerk instinct is to dump on such logic, they would do well here to consider the source. Fisher served in President Carter's Treasury Department and as a high-ranking trade official for President Clinton, and was a two-time Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate. Although the former investment banker is certainly not an ardent leftie, he is no right-wing zealot either. Texas - The Job Machine [LA Times OpEd - July 3, 2011]

[Cincinatus' Wife]

"Texas - The Job Engine"

[dennisw]

His comments at the end of the article (at link) should be noted — Montana’s viability is being starved by spending on legal fights with environmentalists -— money that’s spent for lawyers (not on engineers), along with lost revenue that would be theirs to spend on schools, roads, sewers and basic services (something all states have been dealing with) — companies won’t come to a state with a business climate like that, they go to places like Texas.

People can knock Rick Perry on immigration and other matters but one thing he knows is that we have to boost all kinds of oil/gas/energy production. He will do a 180 on Obama energy policies. He will explain to America that one of our competitive advantages is our abundance of cheap energy, but if only we will explore for it and produce it. Texas has suffered under EPA oppression. Perry knows how anti-American the EPA is. He will nullify that agency and give lard arse Lisa Jackson the boot

With Rick Perry as president he will immediately make it easier to open coal fired electricity plants. He should also take Texan T.Boone Pickens ideas and give incentives to fleets such as UPS to move to natural gas - CNG

I see how the Obama-bots are trying to block a new oil pipeline from Canada because the oil is from tar sands that eco-freaks don't like. Perry will reverse that BS and open up Gulf drilling too

[Cincinatus' Wife]

You have made some excellent points dennisw but I can't let this by:

People can knock Rick Perry on immigration and other matters but one thing he knows is...

June 29, 2011: Roger Hedgecock interview with Rick Perry (starts 1/2 way into audio file)

******

“If you show up illegally, without your card or you’re here as a criminal element, I’m for throwing the book at those folks, but the issue of people who want to legally, thoughtfully and appropriately come to America to work and help us build our economy — we should quickly come up with a program and an identification card to do that.” [end excerpt] Source

*********

"......When Obama continued to refuse even five minutes for the Governor, Perry took matters into this own hands and was standing on the tarmac at Austin’s airport when President Obama stepped off of Air Force One. Obama looked confused, Perry looked determined. Obama still ignored the pleas for help.

Perry again took matters into his own hands, and established an elite unit of Texas Rangers to bolster border security..." Source

********

"Other states leaving Secure Communities (TX expands ICE program]--- "As Texas moves toward expanding Secure Communities, several northern states are dropping out of the program that matches the fingerprints of those arrested against a U.S. [ICE] database.

Last week, before Gov. Rick Perry's announcement that the expansion of Secure Communities would be on the agenda for the Legislature's special session, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick announced his state will not take part in the program...." Source [subsequently dropped by the TX Legislature so nothing was sent to Rick Perry to sign. Though he did -- after 6 years of fighting -- get voter picture ID passed.]

[raybbr]

Show me where Perry, recently, advocates the deportation of all illegals. Just one.

Perry, as far as I can tell, is all about leaving the illegals that are already here - here. He talks about "border security" as if shutting the barn door after the horses are long gone matters.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Listen to the audio file above for some information.

Next.

Of this 2000 mile long fence so many want built along our southern border, 1254 miles of it is lies in Texas.

Illegals will dig and tunnel, climb, swim, drive and fly to get to the out of control social services that Perry and other conservatives want to roll back.

A fence isn't the answer. Conservative ascendancy is.

[AndyJackson]

Loser Pays tells them, you better have a case. If frivolous – fishing for settlement – they’ll foot the bill! (since this speech, Perry signed it into law)....Haley Barbour told him, If "Loser Pays" passes you can put turnstiles on the TX border and charge people to come into your state!”

No!NO!NO!NO! As a part time resident of Texas I want the rest of you folks just to stay home. All of you. It is a great place without you and more of you will mess it up. Any of you. Now I hate Perry. Not the beginning of the end of the great trial lawyer boondoggle. No wonder it is a stampede. It will be the ruin of the place.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Maybe if Perry’s elected president and has a nice fat conservative lock on the Legislature, he can help everyone stay put and we’ll have the added bonus of perhaps another conservative on the high court.

[PastorBooks]

“Loser Pays tells them, you better have a case. If frivolous – fishing for settlement – they’ll foot the bill!”

But what about the notoriously patent suit-friendly East Texas district court that has become a serious problem to businesses nationwide? Most patent lawsuits in the nation are filed in East Texas. Juries there have overwhelmingly awarded large awards to IP firms suing productive companies.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about Texas, but this one thing in particular would keep me from moving a company there. It is Lawsuit Heaven if you’re suing over a patent.

Texas is a bright spot in America — everyone knows it. I do hope they can fix this.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

July 1, 2011: Is this what you're talking about?

It seems the defendants won in this case. Perhaps I'm confused. Help me out.

[PastorBooks]

"No!NO!NO!NO! As a part time resident of Texas I want the rest of you folks just to stay home. All of you. It is a great place without you and more of you will mess it up."

I have bad news.

I just googled for the words: Californians moving to Texas

There were 1,100,000 results. Seriously -- look just under the search box on the search results page.

I am so, so sorry.

[PastorBooks]

Here’s the problem.

East Texas patent suits
https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=East%20Texas%20patent%20suits&hl=en&num=100&lr=&cr=&safe=images&tbs=

East Texas patent trolls
https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=East%20Texas%20patent%20trolls&hl=en&num=100&lr=&cr=&safe=images&tbs=

I’m in the middle of a business start-up, and I’ve been looking at states to possibly relocate. I considered Texas but the patent climate was chilling.

Now, I know that patent lawsuits can come from any state and being located outside of Texas is no protection. But some of these patent trolls have been starting their lawsuit campaigns by going after East Texas companies *first*. That doesn’t make me want to relocate there.

Here’s an article, though a bit dated from 2009:

Patent Trolls Target Small East Texas Companies
http://news.slashdot.org/story/09/07/24/1236255/Patent-Trolls-Target-Small-East-Texas-Companies

One of the conservative justices on SCOTUS was even commenting on the East Texas problem with patents... I don’t remember who it was. His comment was that the East district is a “rogue” when it comes to patents.

[dirtboy]

A fence isn't the answer.

Typical Perry bullcrap you have been spreading. A fence by itself isn't the answer. But it is an integral part of security in-depth, which is why ANY secure institution has one.

[dirtboy]

Don’t bother listening to the audio. It doesn’t metion deportation. Nor the fence. CW implored me to listen to it yesterday for Perry’s position regarding the fence, and I wasted ten minutes for nothing. Rather annoying shilling if you ask me - if you are going to direct me to something, make sure it is relevant to what I am discussing.

[raybbr]

A fence isn't the answer.

I never said it was. But, apparently you are in contrast to Perry, who, in several of your posts calls for border control.

Once again, there is no evidence that Perry wants the illegals out. He merely wants to keep more out. What DOES he want to do with the millions of invaders already here? Can you tell me?