On Friday, Gov. Rick Perry sat down with me for an interview co-presented by the Tribune and Austin's public broadcasting stations, KUT and KLRU. We talked about the controversy over the Emerging Technology Fund, the calendar he makes public and the one he doesn't, how he'd cut the shortfall, which federal stimulus money he likes, whether Texas is a sanctuary state, the limits of abstinence education and more.
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Comments (13)
Mark Paulson via Texas Tribune on Facebook
His 7 hours of state business a week is really paying off then.
Susan Gunn via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Our best days are indeed ahead of us with Bill White elected as governor! (A different outcome means those better days are WAY, WAY ahead of us).
Melissa Williams Perner via Texas Tribune on Facebook
What haven't our best days been happening all along? Gov. "Good-Hair" it's time for you to go!
Jack Suggs via Texas Tribune on Facebook
He's just beginning to see, so what was he looking at before?
Jo Ann Richmond via Texas Tribune on Facebook
An entire hour with Perry? OMG, I'd rather go have a root canal!
Sherry Grona via Texas Tribune on Facebook
And what ever happened to lowering property taxes. What a joke.
Sharon Cooper Morgan via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Better days ahead? Sure! Thanks to the Democrats efforts to get us out of the ditch that Republicans put us in!
Pam Humphrey via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Yeah. As long as ol' Rick can keep bashin' the federal government while reachin' behind his back for federal money. Unfortunately, most people in this state of high (not as reported by the TWC, but real don't-qualify-for-benefits) unemployment, few social programs and no consumer protection have no clue that what's keepin' Texas' economy limping along.
Melissa Trevino via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Perry's been in office since 2000 and he says, "I'm just beginning to see Texas really flourish" - ah, doesn't that give an indication of his tenure as Mr. Good Hair governor?
Larry Davis via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Why has it taken him 10 years in office to just now begin to see Texas flourish?
Brad Taylor via Texas Tribune on Facebook
are you the same people that thought Obama was going to do great things? The grass always looks better on the other side doesn't it? I'm no great lover of Perry, but Bill White and his Pro-Obama politics scare the willies out of me.
Jim Bigham via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Regarding my query about the dramatic increase in spending during Gov. Perry’s tenure (Thanks to Mr. Smith for using it):
Despite the dismissive, condescending remark characterizing the question, “it’s an uneducated question …from the standpoint of not understanding how budgets work”, his response actually reveals Gov. Perry’s blatant lack of accuracy. I’ll choose that term rather than lack of truth fullness, but either way his explanations simply do not hold water.
“When your family grows… your budget grows”---
State government spending per capita (spending adjusted for population growth) has increased by over 50% from 2000 to 2010, from $4,800 to almost $7,400 per person. It’s true we have more people, but it’s also true we spend much more per person than ever before.
“The budget has grown less than the population and inflation” ---
FALSE. Spending has increased over 8% each and every year since 2000. The population of Texas has grown 1.9% per year, from 20.9 to 24.8 million residents, while inflation was on average 2.7%. So IF spending had reflected actual increases due to only population growth and inflation, spending this budget cycle would be almost $30 billion less than what was signed into law. The Governor considers this fiscal conservatism?
“The question he or she should have asked was, ‘…has our debt grown per capita?’ No.” ---
FALSE. Per capita debt has DOUBLED from about $660 per person in 2000 to almost $1,400 today an increase of 110%. Total state debt has increased 150% from $13.7 B to $34.8B in the last decade.
By any measure debt and spending has skyrocketed under Rick Perry. But who knows? Those of us who are “uneducated about how budgets work” might actually buy the line of manure the Governor is offering. Rick Perry a fiscal conservative? Please.
Greg Audel via Texas Tribune on Facebook
What a pathetic coward. He's too scared, or incompetent, to debate his opponent, meet with editorial boards or speak off script. He's a pathetic empty suit elected by those who don't care enough about their state to educate themselves on the issues or candidates.