If there is one word that describes Rick Perry’s record it is this: jobs:

http://www.rickperry.org/issues/economic-development

Here are the facts:

“Since July 2003, Texas has created more than 1 million net new jobs. In 2008, more than half of the jobs created in the entire nation were created in Texas. In October and November of 2009, Texas gained 70,000 jobs while the nation as a whole lost 122,000 jobs. The Texas Enterprise Fund, the largest job creation fund of its kind in the nation, began under Perry in 2003 and is generating more than 55,000 new jobs and $15 billion in capital investment for Texas.”

So while the rest of the nation has struggled mightily with the recession, Texas is holding its own.  That should count for something when voters go to the polls in November to select a governor.

Remember when the Obama stimulus was going to turn the economy around?  These days, the White House doesn’t even pretend to believe that anymore:

http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/1209/stimulus_big_enough_d73b7ad9-b743-4181-92fa-bfb2bcadbe6f.html

As the article notes, the White House now sheepishly says that “we got what we could get” with the stimulus package and that it was the “political load that could be carried.”

What?  So we passed a $787 billion spending bill not because it would work but because it was politically feasible?  No wonder the stimulus hasn’t worked.  It wasn’t designed to work.  Instead it was designed to show the government busy doing something.  But as a great writer once put it, there is a difference between motion and action.  The Obama White House has given us lots of motion and little action.

But here’s the sad part: the White House is talking about doing even more to “stimulate” the economy.  I say “no thanks” to that.  Let’s let entrepeneurs and business leaders lead this economy.  We don’t need anymore of Washington’s “political load.”

Remember when the Obama stimulus was going to turn the economy around?  These days, the White House doesn’t even pretend to believe that anymore:

http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/1209/stimulus_big_enough_d73b7ad9-b743-4181-92fa-bfb2bcadbe6f.html

As the article notes, the White House now sheepishly says that “we got what we could get” with the stimulus package and that it was the “political load that could be carried.”

What?  So we passed a $787 billion spending bill not because it would work but because it was politically feasible?  No wonder the stimulus hasn’t worked.  It wasn’t designed to work.  Instead it was designed to show the government busy doing something.  But as a great writer once put it, there is a difference between motion and action.  The Obama White House has given us lots of motion and little action.

But here’s the sad part: the White House is talking about doing even more to “stimulate” the economy.  I say “no thanks” to that.  Let’s let entrepeneurs and business leaders lead this economy.  We don’t need anymore of Washington’s “political load.”

Today we continue our series on why the economy hasn’t recovered. And again, I want to point to out some stats that the media are not telling you about.

For example, did you realize that the economy LOST jobs in October? Check out this research from a highly respected firm:

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS109610+04-Nov-2009+PRN20091104

TrimTabs estimates that we lost 284,000 jobs in October. How is the Obama administration managing to spin this as good news? Well, we lost 358,000 jobs in September. So, to Democrats in Washington, that’s improvement. We’re not bleeding to death as fast as we were a month ago!

But for the 284,000 people who lost jobs in October, there is no economic recovery.

Today we get into our new blog series on why the economic “recovery” is not as great as the Obama administration is telling us. One example of this is the much heralded news about the Ford Motor Co.:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ford-econ3-2009nov03,0,2381115.story

Here’s what’s interesting about the Ford story: yes, the company reported earnings and even has plans to build more cars. However, notice one key fact:

“But Ford’s strengthening financials underscore the major weakness plaguing the nascent economic recovery. Ford is gearing up to build more vehicles in the U.S. but has no plans to hire more workers to do it.”

That last line should give everyone pause. The GDP may be increasing; but new jobs are not being created. And as long as the unemployment rate remains near 10%, it’s ridiculous for people to declare the recession over. Economic growth means jobs. And until we have jobs, we don’t have economic growth.

Last week we heard the Obama administration essentially announce the recession is over. This week, I’m going to show you why it’s not. And unlike the folks in Washington, I’m going to use facts.

Each day this week, I’ll point to an interesting fact that you probably haven’t read about it that shows that certain key indicators suggest we aren’t out of the woods yet.

So check in each day this week. And prepare yourselves because we’ve got a ways to go before the economy recovers.

This week the House of Representatives approved what I call the Un-Stimulus Package.  Revealingly, not one Republican member of the House voted in favor of it. Granted, many of these same Republicans voted for Bush budgets that were too big, too.  But better late than never.  I’m glad someone is standing up for common sense in federal spending.

My main objection continues to be this bill will not do enough to create new jobs.  In Thursday’s Washington Post, Martin Feldstein, a former economic advisor to President Reagan, made the same point:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/28/AR2009012802938.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

Here is how Feldstein put it:

“On the spending side, the stimulus package is full of well-intended items that, unfortunately, are not likely to do much for employment. Computerizing the medical records of every American over the next five years is desirable, but it is not a cost-effective way to create jobs. Has anyone gone through the (long) list of proposed appropriations and asked how many jobs each would create per dollar of increased national debt?”

I have.  And the answer is: not many.  Or at least: not enough.

I’m all for investments in infrastructure that will create jobs.  But that’s not what this bill is.

This is not change we can believe in…this is Washington politics as usual.

-Randy Hill