Rick Perry and Feudalism

Rick Perry is out early in his 2016 Presidential bid touting the fact that, during his time as Governor, Texas produced jobs at a much higher rate than the rest of the country. Take-away message: “I’m the job creator.”

Let’s look at Texas’ job creation at that time. The dominant industry in Texas, for obvious reasons, is fossil fuel energy. During that time, the fossil fuel energy industry was benefiting from tremendous Federal tax breaks and subsidies aimed at encouraging them to expand domestic production. Texas’ dominant industry, then, was buoyed by Federal policy, not anything Rick Perry did.

Much of the actual job growth in Texas, however, was in the service industry or related industries supporting the energy business. Those jobs are low wage, keeping the workers in poverty or near poverty. That employers could employ workers for such meager wages was a result of State policy. Rick Perry, as Governor, can take responsibility for that. So the real take-away message: elect Rick Perry and he will promote a feudalistic economy employing hoards of surfs too dependent on the meager wages they’re fortunate to have to even think about trying to compete for the rare opportunities they might not get that would improve their incomes.

Obtaining a meaningful job that pays a living wage should not be like buying a lottery ticket and hoping for the best. Friends won’t let friends vote for Rick Perry.