Yes Virginia, There Is A Texas Exception

It’s long been obvious that a large part of Rick Perry’s campaign would be built on a simple message: It Worked In Texas. Perry is fond, understandably, of claiming that 40% of all new jobs in the United States lately have been created in Texas. That’s a powerful soundbite. Consequently, it’s important for Democrats – see Paul Krugman for example –  to debunk the idea of a “Texas Miracle”.

True, unemployment in Texas is more or less the same as in Massachusetts. True, Texas’s oil and gas (and wind) industries have helped the state through difficult times. True too that the state has a looming education problem and that one in four Texas are without health insurance. And it’s also true that if other states tried to emulate the Texas model then some of the Lone Star state’s comparative advantage might be eroded.

Nevertheless, while reasonable all this quibbling misses the main point.