Perry should get credit for some things, but not for everything as some would have you believe. There are many advantages that Texas offers, that have absolutely nothing at all to do with Perry. Balanced budget, natural resources that were created millions of years ago, location, structure of the government, the high tech and erospace industries that started before Perry was born, etc. are all things that Perry has no influence over.
But even though I'm a Perry critic, I'll admit that there are things directly attributable to him. One that I came across recently that surprised and impressed me was that he made a trip to China in 2010 and strongly encouraged the Chinese to invest in Texas' oil and gas industry. Guess what? They did. To the tune of $2 billion being invested in Texas oilfields.
This video was recorded not long after he made the trip to China - he talks about the trip around 9:40 into the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgjFXCcz2g4.
The result? Later that year:
http://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Move-by-Chinese-to-lift-S-Texas-boom-to-new-high-1617593.php
China's national oil company, CNOOC, will spend $2.2 billion to drill in partnership with Chesapeake Energy Corp. in the Eagle Ford shale, a rich oil and gas formation that lies under 11 counties.
Exploration in the Eagle Ford already has brought newfound prosperity to South Texas' hardscrabble farming and cattle country, and Chesapeake said the ramped-up drilling could bring 20,000 jobs to the region.
See these boots that Perry gave the Chinese foreign minister on his trip to China?
Think of each one of those boots representing a $1 billion investment in Texas oilfield, or 10,000 jobs. And there is more to it than that - he also got the Chinese to invest $1 billion into a pipe manufacturing facility in Texas.
It didn't happen overnight either. Perry worked for months on getting the Chinese to invest.
This is Perry hosting a reception with the Chinese Consulate General of Houston a few months before he made his trip to China:
While other candidates have talked about trade wars with China, Perry went to China and brought back Chinese investments. Perry talks about his foreign relations experience with Mexico, but he really should be talking about his foreign relations experience with China.
Did Obama go over to China and get them to invest billions in our oil and gas industry? I don't think so. He's only interested in shipping jobs to China. Perry is interested in bringing Chinese money here.