| Rick Perry's job-poachin' trip to California didn't sit well with the locals, especially when he tried to steal companies away from their local communities. In Oxnard, Perry met with Haas Automotive, located in Ventura County. The company is planning an expansion, and is flirting with leaving California rather than expand on land adjacent to their current headquarters.
Over at Hullabaloo, David Atkins, who also happens to be the chair of the Ventura County Democratic Party, noted that Gene Haas, owner of Haas Automotives, has a criminal history of tax evasion, eventually pleading guilty to avoid paying over $34 million in federal taxes. Patriotism!
In any case, the guy is clearly an easy target for Perry's business-rustling efforts since he's got a history of trying to dodge paying his fair share of the infrastructure he needs for his business to survive. And even if Perry successfully woes the tax-cheat to Texas, it's a rarity when that happens in California. Only .03% of annual job losses in California come from business relocations, and for most of last year the Golden State led the nation in private job creation at 257,000 new jobs.
The Ventura County Democratic Party sent out the following statement responding to Perry's visit:
Ventura County Democrats hope that Texas Governor Rick Perry will learn from California's recent success how he can improve his state's dismal record on poverty, wages, education standards and social services. The Golden State has the most Fortune 500 companies of any in the nation, with over 100,000 new businesses started every year. We're confident that despite Rick Perry's effort to steal away the fruits of California's labor to prop up the hollow Texan economy, California businesses will see past his empty promises and continue to enjoy California's warm, prosperous and demand-driven economic climate.
As the Sacramento Bee points out, under Perry, Texas is dead last in percent of population with high school diplomas, last in mental health expenditures, last in workers' comp coverage, first in executions, first in the number of uninsured, and first in toxic chemicals released in the water.
Oh, and Republicans refuse to restore cuts to education and want to cut more money from higher education, one of the key economic engines in our state. Heaven forbid we get our exploding population ready to enter and compete in a 21st century workforce!
Rick Perry should be spending his time making Texas a prosperous place for all of us rather than schmoozing around California scoring cheap political points. |
