Perry’s Job-Creation Funds Draw Flak From Left, Right
Rice University’s Mark Jones contributes to this Wall St. Journal story on Perry’s job creation funding program.
Excerpt:
Wall St. Journal (subscription required)
By LESLIE EATON
DALLAS—Critics on the right and the left are taking aim at Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s trademark job-creation funds as he steps up his campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination.
The funds, which dole out tax dollars to companies that launch or relocate in Texas, became controversial in the state soon after Mr. Perry persuaded the legislature to start one in 2003 and put it under his control. Mr. Perry believes the funds have contributed to job growth in Texas, which has accounted for 40% of all new jobs in the U.S. since the recession’s end in 2009, said spokesman Mark Miner. …
Texas does not limit the amount individuals can give to candidates, and links between politicians and donors have not historically swayed voters much, said Mark Jones, chairman of the political science department at Rice University in Houston. “Probably Perry is more worried about what the Republican base will think of the idea of using government money for big business,” he added.