Truth About Rick Perry's 'Texas Miracle'

Texas Governor Rick Perry has been on a Bernanke-bashing binge this week, demanding on Wednesday that the Federal Reserve "open their books up."
That comment comes after Perry said earlier this week that it would be "treasonous" if Chairman Ben Bernanke used Fed policy to stimulate the economy before the election.


But what books exactly does Perry want opened?
The Federal Reserve already publishes its balance sheet online every Thursday for the entire world to see.
Not only that, it is audited regularly. Every year, an external accounting firm audits the financial statements of the Federal Reserve and all 12 of its regional banks. Last year, that firm was Deloitte and Touche, but PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG have also done it over the years.
Those financial statements are also posted online.
"Every aspect of the Fed's financial dealings are wide open -- wide open," Bernanke remarked at the National Press Club in February. "There is no sense in which the Fed has secret financial dealings."
Despite that public information, anti-Fed criticism seems to be the latest craze on the Republican campaign trail. On Tuesday, Rep. Michelle Bachmann criticized the Federal Reserve for not being "subject to transparency."
Those comments echo similar sentiments from Rep. Ron Paul, a renowned Fed critic in his own right, who over the years has repeatedly called for audits of the central bank and even a review of all the gold in Fort Knox. Paul introduced a bill in the House earlier this year, called the "Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2011.


The Lone Star State is rich in natural resources such as oil and natural gas, so when the rest of the country was struggling with high energy prices at the onset of the recession, Texas companies were turning big profits and, therefore, pumping tax revenue into the state coffers.


These high energy profits helped Texas stave off the brunt of the recession for about six months.


And while the state's economy is growing at twice the national rate, so is its population. Texas grew 20.6 percent from 2000 to 2011, while the country's population only increased by 9.7 percent. With more people comes more purchasing power, which leads to job growth.


Regardless of whether Perry can personally take credit for the jobs created, critics claim the numbers are just smoke and mirrors because the new jobs are primarily low-wage.


"What Texas shows is that a state offering cheap labor and, less important, weak regulation can attract jobs from other states," New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote Sunday. "What you need to know is that the Texas miracle is a myth, and more broadly that Texan experience offers no useful lessons on how to restore national full employment."


Texas is tied with Mississippi for having the highest proportion of hourly workers earning minimum wage or less, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Overall, Texans earned about $2,300 less than the national average, according to 2009 Census Bureau data.


These low-paying jobs usually do not come with health insurance, which is part of the reason why Texas has the highest rate of uninsured people in the country. One of every four Texans lives without health insurance.


Depending on which measure is used, the jobs picture in Texas can be painted in radically different ways. On one hand, more Texans are getting a paycheck, on average, than in any other state. But on the other hand, those paychecks are more often from low-wage jobs without insurance in a state that has fewer social benefits than most others.


"People focus on the wage and, yeah, that's important, people need to support their families," said Lisa Givens, a spokeswoman for the Texas Workforce Commission. "But sometimes it's about looking down the road, looking at an area where there are going to be opportunities for me and for my family and for growth.

Rick Perry wows Alabama Republicans before announcing candidacy

Perry will announce his presidential bid in South Carolina, another state with an early nominating contest, and is expected to immediately vault into the top tier of contenders along with front-runner Mitt Romney. Perry visits Iowa Sunday.


The straw poll, a nonbinding mock election, traditionally winnows the field of poor performers and boosts those who do better than expected. This year, struggling Tim Pawlenty is fighting for survival as rival Michele Bachmann tries to keep her recent momentum alive.


Romney will be on the ballot but chose not to participate after winning the straw poll in 2007. He later lost the Iowa caucuses to Mike Huckabee, who rode the momentum he generated with a surprise second-place straw poll finish.


"It's an event that in-and-of-itself is meaningless, but can have a tremendous political impact," said Dennis Goldford, a political scientist at Drake University in Des Moines. "It has always had the role of eliminating the weak and thinning out the field."


The poll is a fund-raiser for the state party and creates a carnival atmosphere around Iowa State University's basketball arena, where candidates entice supporters with big-tent entertainment, free food and speeches.


Any Iowa resident over 18 can show up and participate, with many allowing a candidate to buy their $30 ticket. Candidates organize buses to haul in supporters from around the state in a warmup for the organizational effort needed in the caucuses.


Perry, 61, the keynote speaker at the event, told the appreciative southerners:


"Texas and Alabama have a lot in common. Y’all have a little different barbecue than we have…but like Texas, you’re gearing up for an even better Republican result in 2012."


He was referring to the "conservative tide in the 2010 elections that captured all of Alabama’s state offices for the state’s Republicans," the Chronicle writes.


In what was being compared to a stump speech, he also attacked President Barack Obama on his jobs record and discussed his own — a subject that is expected to be a pillar of his presidential campaign.


“They’re true believers,” Perry reportedly said of the Obama administration. “They truly believe that the federal government is the answer to every need.”


He called Obama a “threat to every private sector job out there.


Perry's candidacy for the GOP presidential race jolts the field of candidates and threatens to overshadow that key Iowa test vote Saturday, the AP reports.


The straw poll pits six Republican presidential hopefuls against each other in an unofficial test of campaign strength. Frontrunner Mitt Romney chose not to participate after winning the straw poll in 2007, Reuters reports.


The poll is really a nonbinding mock election, held to raise money for the state party, but it "traditionally winnows the field of poor performers and boosts those who do better than expected," Reuters writes.


However, Sarah Palin, the 2008 vice presidential nominee who has yet to declare her intentions in 2012, questioned the poll's validity during a visit to the Iowa state fair Friday, Reuters reports.


"It's not always the tell-tale sign of what the electorate is feeling. It's who happens to show up and has the time and energy to spend that day for their particular candidate."


The poll comes two days after the eight current Republican contenders clashed — at times bitterly — in a nationally televised debate.

Rick Perry courts evangelicals at Houston prayer service

Texas Gov. Rick Perry asked Christians to turn to God for answers to the nation's troubles as he held court Saturday over a national prayer rally attended by thousands of evangelical conservatives, an important constituency should the Republican seek the GOP presidential nomination.

The state's longest serving governor hosted what he called a national day of prayer, an event at Reliant Arena that drew roughly 30,000 people and that was broadcast on cable Christian channels and the Internet nationwide.

"Father, our heart breaks for America," Perry said during 12 minutes of remarks that included prayer and Bible passages - but no direct mention of politics or his presidential plans. "We see discord at home. We see fear in the marketplace. We see anger in the halls of government and, as a nation, we have forgotten who made us, who protects us, who blesses us."

He asked Christians to turn to God for answers to the nation's troubles, and asked the audience to pray for President Obama - though he did not use the Democratic incumbent's name - as well as for the American troops killed in the weekend attack on a U.S. helicopter in Afghanistan.

The moment gave Perry a national spotlight before a pivotal voting group in the GOP nomination fight - in the early voting states of Iowa and South Carolina in particular - as he nears a decision on whether to run for president. Perry could attract both social and economic conservatives at a time when the GOP electorate is unsettled with the current slate of candidates. Many have been campaigning for months and are trying to break out of the pack.

Perry has been talking with potential donors, GOP operatives and party leaders about a possible run. But he has been tightlipped about just when he would announce a decision, though he plans to visit at least one early-voting state - South Carolina - this week.

Perry will keep what aides say is a long-held commitment to headline a conservative conference in Charleston, S.C., next Saturday, as well as meet with activists in the state scheduled to host the South's first primary.

The moment gave Perry a national spotlight before a pivotal voting group in the GOP nomination fight — in the early voting states of Iowa and South Carolina in particular — as he nears a decision on whether to run for president. His entrance into the field could shake up the contest because Perry could attract both social and economic conservatives at a time when the GOP electorate is unsettled with the current slate of candidates. Many have been campaigning for months and are trying to break out of the pack.

As Perry held court in Houston, for instance, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann were holding multiple campaign events each day in Iowa ahead of next weekend’s test vote, a straw poll that is a barometer for a campaign’s organizational strength five months before the state’s leadoff caucuses. Both have a lot riding on the outcome.

Perry has been talking with potential donors, GOP operatives and party leaders about a possible run. But he has been tightlipped about just when he would announce a decision.