Texas Political Lobbyist News: Texas Surges in Job Growth
The following is a digest of an article that originally appeared in the Wall Street Journal. The Texas Lobby Group is publishing the digest of its contents as a public service for other Texas Lobbyists, Texas Political Activists, government consultants, and other politically interested parties.
Here is an interesting figure for you to digest: 37% of all new jobs created since the recent economic recovery began are in Texas. Texas has added 265,300 jobs out of the 722,200 nationwide, far surpassing all other states. The closest competitors are still far behind Texas. New York added 98,200 and Pennsylvania 93,000. Things go down fast from there. Eighteen states have less jobs this year than last.
What’s even more remarkable about these figures is that they are put together with a “sum of states” method that is less favorable for Texas. Using straight payroll employment figures, Texas accounts for a whopping 45% of all new jobs in the Unites States. Texans are not prone to modesty anyway, but they certainly have a reason to be proud in 2012.
So how does Texas account for this success? It’s simple. Texas is determined to be business friendly. State officials point to a small but important list of descriptions:
- Low Taxes, both public and corporate. And no state income taxes.
- A history of business friendly and predictable regulations. With the current political client in Texas being solidly Republican, it is unlikely that an election is going to bring a spate of business killing regulations.
- A robust housing market, coupled with a low price of living.
- A growing population.
- Further robust incentives for companies moving to Texas, including cash incentives for qualifying companies.
Capital—both human and investment—is highly mobile, and it migrates all the time to the places where the opportunities are larger and the burdens are lower. Texas has no state income tax. Its regulatory conditions are contained and flexible. It is fiscally responsible and government is small. Its right-to-work law doesn’t impose unions on businesses or employees. It is open to global trade and competition: Houston, San Antonio and El Paso are entrepôts for commerce, especially in the wake of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Texas has unveiled the Texas Enterprise Fund, which awards “grants” to qualifying businesses. In recent years, G.E., eBay, Electronic arts, 3M, and TD Ameritrade have all pledged expansion plans in Texas with this program.