Here’s an amazing statistic: Texas created 37 percent of all jobs since the beginning of the economic recovery, more than any other state. Excluding New York and Pennsylvania, Texas has created nearly as many jobs as all other states combined.
How did Texas do it?
According to the Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, “Texas is doing so well relative to other states precisely because it has rejected the economic model that now prevails in Washington. . .all states labor under the same Fed monetary policy and interest rates and federal regulation, but all states have not preformed equally well. Texas stands out for its free market and business-friendly climate.”
Among other factors, Texas has right-to-work laws, ongoing tort reform, and drives trade and commerce through San Antonio, El Paso and Houston. It has no state income tax, and has generally been a fiscally responsible state. As a percentage of its economy, Texas’s budget is lower than the majority of other states’.
What’s more, Texas’ House recently passed a measure to reform Medicaid. If it advances, the move would shift Medicaid in a free-market direction.
The left should take note. Rather than considering additional “stimulus” spending, more regulation and governmental intrusion, the administration and Congressional leaders should cut spending, roll back red tape, and get out of the way of growth, just as it has in Texas.
