Texas Political Lobbyist News: President of Dallas Federal Reserve Says California Should Act Like Texas
The following is a digest of an article originally published at Forbes magazine. The Texas Lobby Group is posting this summary as a public service for other Texas lobbyists, Texas politically engaged people, Texas Government consultants, and other interested parties.
Richard Fisher, President of the Dallas branch of the Federal Reserve, recently gave a speech at Cato Institute. He focused the speech on how America can best improve the economy. Fisher feels strongly that business must have room to flex it’s muscles, and that too many federal and state regulations prevent necessary competition and growth. A thriving economy is synonymous with available jobs, and the United States is currently lacking both. Fisher claims that interest rates, credit access and monetary policy aren’t the problems. The biggest problems for economic growth, according to Fisher, are the uncertainties of tax regulation and government policy.
Fisher referenced numbers and research about impediments to U.S. job creation. “The great inhibitor of job creation is the uncertainty over taxes and spending and regulation that plagues businesses. Even if businesses do not like the rules that govern their behavior, knowing those rules with certainty gives them something to plan around and navigate through. Presently, they haven’t the foggiest idea what the rules will be.”
Fisher has spoken out against short term fixes and cites Texas as a prime example for how the country should conduct itself in order to maximize economic growth. Texas is well known for it’s low taxes and regulations on business. Texas has more than doubled it’s jobs since 1990, compared to only 6% in New York, and 14% in California. Texas leads the way in the oil and natural gas industry, but it also is thriving in the tech and medical fields. Ever since NASDAQ opened up trade with Mexico and Canada, Texas has taken the lead over California in exports and trade.
Fisher admits that some aspects of Texas life and business are lacking, including highway conditions and social services. At the same time, Texas’s excellent job and business circumstances provide a reliable and steady place for people to live. In recent years, Texas has seen a great deal of growth due to U.S. citizens moving, most often for Texas’s abundant jobs and low standard of living. Fisher concludes his speech with a comical story about the Governors of California and Texas, illustrating why Texas is doing well economically.