(Jeff Haynes/Reuters)
Rick Perry's job creation record as Texas governor is supposed to be one of his great assets in his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, but when Perry makes a claim about that job creation record, you can count on two things: his claims about how many jobs have been created will be exaggerated, and he won't talk much about job quality. One of the programs Perry likes to talk about is the
Texas Enterprise Fund, which gives money to companies to bring jobs to Texas. Perry's office claims the program has produced good results:
The governor’s office said companies that are subsidized through the fund created or maintained a combined 33,460 new jobs in 2010. Although 28 of the companies failed to meet their job targets, and at least four of those contracts were terminated, 25 reported a job surplus, which led to a total of 9,795 more jobs than the contracts required.
But a report from Texans for Public Justice (PDF) suggests that's not accurate, finding 22,349 jobs created by the end of 2010, with just 26 percent of projects meeting their job targets, while many had their goals amended or simply did not meet goals. Texas has recovered just 18 percent of the funds given to companies who did not meet their goals or had their contracts terminated.
Additionally, what kind of jobs are being created? In true Perry fashion, there are no wage or health care requirements, according to Good Jobs First.
Paying hundreds of millions of dollars directly to companies in exchange for job creation promises that aren't being met on jobs that could well be rock-bottom minimum wage, no benefits jobs if they ever are created? That definitely sounds like a Rick Perry program.