See post 8 posted by irenic:
CNBC’s Top States For Business 2010—And The Winner Is Texas
http://www.cnbc.com/id/37642856
Our fourth annual study of America’s Top States for Business puts all 50 states to the test, measuring them on 40 different metrics in ten key categories of competitiveness.
The categories and weightings, for a total of 2,500 points, are:
Cost of Doing Business (450 points)
Workforce (350 points)
Quality of Life (350 points)
Economy (314 points)
Transportation & Infrastructure (300 points)
Technology & Innovation (250 points)
Education (175 points)
Business Friendliness (175 points)
Access to Capital (50 points)
Cost of Living (25 points)
This is an excerpt from the Club for Growth - check it out yourself. This is the just the Summary on Perry's tenure as Governor. He's done a lot of spending in Texas to draw industries with tax payer dollars. Just lucky there are no Solyndras.
www.clubforgrowth.org
SUMMATION
When evaluating members of congress, it is somewhat informative to look at the partisan nature of their congressional district in the case of a House member or their state in the case of a Senator. When evaluating a Governor, it is even more instructive to judge performance in the context of the political climate of their state and the partisan and ideological composition of their legislature. Working in the environment in which a Governor finds him or herself, the operative question is often whether he or she improved or worsened the climate for economic growth.
The Texas tax and regulatory climate Governor Rick Perry inherited from Governor George W. Bush was already among the best in the nation. Further, during Perry’s entire long tenure as governor, the Texas Legislature has had conservative Republican majorities. So the bar for judging Perry’s performance should be set high.
It is quite clear that Perry did not move his state in reverse, or on the wrong course. In many instances, he merely maintained a positive status quo. In others, such as tort reform and regulations, he improved the Texas economic climate.
Still, his support for taxpayer-subsidized funds to lure jobs away from other states shows he has at times an interventionist streak rather than consistent free-market principles. His semi-apology for the big government interventions of President Bush suggests a similar inclination.
Should Rick Perry become President, he will inherent a far worse economic climate than he has in Texas, as well as a less hospitable Congress than he has in the Texas Legislature. It is quite likely that Perry would seek