1) So the government grew by nearly half it’s size in just a decade?
2) Agreed.
3) Numbers are numbers. You said yourself that the state passed a lot of bond issues... meaning the state borrowed the money.
4) Perry has been a vocal supporter of the TTC from Day 1.
5) We have the same issue in Maine: an independent and then a democrat governor, both of whom increased evry conceivable use tax, fee, etc. over the last decade but ran on a platform of never raising INCOME taxes. The end result is that the people of Maine are left with less money in their pockets while the government has increased its regulatory power.
6) Agreed. Texas also has a huge problem with illegal aliens, which impact lawful employment.
7) Well at least he supported a AGW-worshipping socialist who was pro-family.
8) Agreed.
9) Again, the numbers don’t lie. If the numbers are concentrated in and around major population centers, that doesn’t matter. While I agree on your point about illegal aliens, are you seeing a pattern emerge?
10) Who cares?
11) Agreed, although this speaks volumes about the number of jobs being exported.
12) “President Fox’s vision of an open border is a vision I embrace” -Perry in 2001
Perry believes the border is a federal issue, which backs up HIS ABSOLUTE SUPPORT FOR GRANTING AMNESTY TO ILLEGAL ALIENS. While he talks a good game, he signed the TX DREAM Act, supports sactuary city policies and benefits for illegal aliens, and has also signed legislation that keeps guidelines inplace to keep LE from finding illegals.
Likewise, being tough on crime and gang violence is not the same as being tough on illegal immigration.
Perry is as pro-illegal as his predecessor, GWB.
13) See 11.
14) I think the point is that it is not the pervue of the government to force a vaccination for non-lethal diseases on anyone. Perry’s position was that of a big-government advocate... which is the point of his detractors.
I’ll pick Perry over Wrongney any day of the week, but he’s not the most conservative candidate. Not by a long shot. Personally, I’ll take my chances with a truly conservative candidate than with the candidate that gets the most endorsements from the MSM and the RINO-controlled GOP. The amnesty support is a deal-breaker for me: if amnesty passes, America is finished.
The spending to GDP ratio for the state of Texas grew just 1.5% over ten years - that is .15% per year. So state spending was kept in proportion to the size of the economy. Like it or not, as the population grows and as the economy thrives, their is an increased need for government services. But there is no evidence that Texas went on a spending spree.
3) Numbers are numbers. You said yourself that the state passed a lot of bond issues... meaning the state borrowed the money.
The debt to gdp ratio for Texas went down during the 10 years that Perry was governor. Texas went from having the 8th lowest debt to GDP ratio in 2000 to having the 2nd lowest in 2010.
5) We have the same issue in Maine: an independent and then a democrat governor, both of whom increased evry conceivable use tax, fee, etc. over the last decade but ran on a platform of never raising INCOME taxes. The end result is that the people of Maine are left with less money in their pockets while the government has increased its regulatory power.
In 2001, when Perry took office, Texas had the 5th lowest per capita state taxes in the country. In 2010, the last year for which figures are available, Texas had the 5th lowest per capita state taxes in the country. Taxes went up slightly during that time, but they went up all across the US at about the same rate.
Perry believes the border is a federal issue, which backs up HIS ABSOLUTE SUPPORT FOR GRANTING AMNESTY TO ILLEGAL ALIENS. While he talks a good game, he signed the TX DREAM Act, supports sactuary city policies and benefits for illegal aliens, and has also signed legislation that keeps guidelines inplace to keep LE from finding illegals.
You make a leap of logic that is not supported by the facts. I have not seen anything posted where Perry states that he supports amnesty. The Texas DREAM Act has nothing to do with amnesty (it couldn't - citzenship is strictly a federal prerogative). Also, Perry introduced legislation banning sanctuary cities in the last special session.
14) I think the point is that it is not the pervue of the government to force a vaccination for non-lethal diseases on anyone. Perry’s position was that of a big-government advocate... which is the point of his detractors.
While I don't support Perry's actions here, and he has admitted that he was wrong, it is a mistake to characterize this as a "vaccination for non-lethal diseases". Cervical cancer is extremely lethal.