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Howdy, this is Rick Perry and I appreciate your making time to join me on a Tuesday morning for one of my favorite things: talkin’ Texas. We may be linked up by the Internet, but we’re connected by something even more important: our love of this great state.
I want to thank the good folks at Holt CAT for having us here today. Holt is one of those family-owned Texas companies that have played a key role in building our state. From tractors that plowed Texas croplands to bulldozers that clear the way for massive infrastructure projects, they have given hardworking men and women the tools to keep Texas growing. Caterpillar is also growing in Texas as they’re moving their engine operations to Seguin. Combined with their suppliers, Caterpillar’s move will create over 3,000 jobs for hardworking Texans.
As the national and global economies come apart at the seams, Texas is displaying a strength built on conservative fiscal discipline and a focus on job creation. Back in 2003, we clawed our way out of a $10 billion budget hole by making tough choices and cutting spending. Six years later, our Rainy Day Fund is on its way to $9 billion.
There have been only two state budgets since World War II that cut general revenue spending in Texas…and I signed ‘em both. In the process, I also line-item vetoed more than $3 billion dollars of unnecessary spending, which is more than all other Texas governors combined.
As other states drive employers away with higher taxes, unpredictable regulations and frivolous lawsuits, Texas is exerting a magnetic pull on jobs, investment and people who want to live free.
As a result of the work we have done together, Texas is a safe harbor in this economic storm whose example can chart a course out of these tough times for the rest of the country. It’s no accident that we lead the nation in exports, job creation and Fortune 500 companies. Business leaders consistently point to Texas as the best place to do business, including companies like Medtronic, Toyota and Caterpillar, that are bringing thousands of jobs to our state.
These jobs are adding to an economy that is not only deep, but diverse as well, relying on high tech, agriculture, and financial services. As the needs of the global economy have changed, hardworking Texans have applied lessons learned as the nation’s energy provider to innovations in renewables, making our state America’s leader in wind generation and a respected force in solar and biofuels. Texas is still the land of opportunity.
Because we’ve improved education in our state, our young people are better prepared than ever to enter that “opportunity zone.” In public education, we’ve moved closer to our goal of college and career-ready graduates by increasing the level of accountability in our schools, emphasizing basic courses and introducing incentive pay for our teachers. Over the last nine years, overall funding for public education in Texas has increased 43%. At the same time, we have also improved access to our colleges and universities by increasing financial aid levels by 900-percent.
As education has improved, so has the level of security we offer our citizens. Texas has stepped into the gap left by the federal government’s abject failure to protect our international border. Your legislators have stood with me by allocating more than $110 million in border security funding in each of the last two legislative sessions. Those funds have enabled us to apply technology and the world’s best law enforcement tool—Texas peace officers—to fight both border crime and a rising tide of gang violence in communities across our state. Texas Ranger Recon teams are the latest step in our efforts to keep Texans safe.
Second to personal safety, job security is the biggest concern facing our nation. In a time when people are dealing with the loss of a paycheck, we must remain on guard against forces that would increase the cost of living. Unfortunately, the biggest threats to Texas family budgets are taking shape in our nation’s capitol. The federal government’s spend-it-all, spend-it-now approach will be the death of our economy. Folks inside the Beltway who believe government intervention is the answer to every problem are not only infringing on personal freedom and damaging our economy, they’re also building a mountain of debt that our children and grandchildren will be obligated to repay.
Washington’s latest round of healthcare and energy legislation is business-as-usual…on steroids. Left unchecked, Washington will continue rushing our country farther down the rails into a hole of debt, increased government intrusion and the loss of personal liberty.
The challenges facing Texas are real and they demand experienced executive leadership.
As a proud Texan, leading a state I love, in the midst of a global economic crisis, I am convinced we need to keep moving forward with Texas values and proven leadership.
We need to take the tax cut the Texas Legislature extended to 40,000 small businesses during the last session and make it permanent. Texans also deserve the chance to vote on a constitutional amendment that would require a two-thirds vote of the legislature to increase state taxes. We need to pave the way for even more jobs by purging still more unnecessary laws and regulations that stifle Texas entrepreneurs.
Washington has also been an abysmal failure when it comes to the work place. Texas jobs should be held by folks who are here legally, so I will press for criminal penalties for employers who knowingly violate employment laws by hiring workers who are in Texas illegally.
Let’s keep working together to sustain our state’s forward momentum, applying our time-tested Texas work ethic, our commitment to fiscal discipline and our belief in the individual. Together, we will lead our nation out of this tough spot and keep Texas strong.
To get that done, I’m going to need your vote and much, much more. When this wraps up today, I hope you’ll stay at this Web page for a minute and continue the conversation by sharing your thoughts on the issues facing Texas. I also need you to spread the word, letting your friends and neighbors know the truth about the challenges we face.
Working together, we can make history and preserve our state’s legacy of leadership, independence and prosperity.
God bless you and, through our shared vision and hard work, may He continue to bless the great state of Texas.
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