Rick Perry Produces Deficit, Claims Surplus

The governor is not one to let the facts get in his way. In Wednesday’s Washington Times — aimed at the D.C. conservativist elite with a vice- presidential nod in mind  — he wrote an op-ed about how rugged, individualistic Texas runs its governnment compared to the give-away, socialistic Obama administration. Key boast:

For example, our just-concluded legislative session yielded a balanced state budget, tax relief for 40,000 small businesses, and it left $9 billion unspent for future state needs.

I just love this guy. He has no shame. The reason Texas had a $9 billion surplus is because the Obama administration gave it $12 billion in stimulus money. Without it, Perry would have presided over a $3 billion deficit. In fact, Perry relied more on the stimulus than any other governor! (For the full report, go here.)  Even with that federal infusion in 2010, Texas is projected to run a $23 billion deficit in 2011.

As the owner of a small business, I also would to thank Perry for causing our unemployment costs to go up. He decided to grandstand on the easiest part of the stimulus, the part that would have protected my laid-off workers. That means higher unemployment taxes for me and other Texas small businesses and harder times for good, hard-working people who lost their jobs through no fault of their own.

Rick, you are a singular piece of work. In a perverse way, I admire you.