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According to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Texas economy will lose between 180,000 to 300,000 jobs in 2009, and the unemployment rate is expected to rise from 6 to 8.2 percent.
Key point: Texas is projected to lose 180,000 to 300,000 jobs in 2009. The Governor tells all of them -- screw off! And Hutchison's cowardly response was something along the lines of, "Well, wait, um...I haven't polled on this yet!" They're both equally pathetic.  Texas Governor Rick Perry has rejected $555 million in unemployment benefits that Texas was supposed to receive from the federal stimulus money. In a dramatically irresposible and craven attempt to appeal to Republican primary voters, Governor Rick Perry said "thanks but no thanks" to help Texas workers who don't have a job.
From the Houston Chronicle: The Legislature can decide to accept the money, but Perry said the state has repeatedly rejected the idea of paying unemployment to part-time workers.The Legislature is controlled by Perry’s fellow Republicans. The money would go instead to other states, according to federal officials. But Perry told reporters in Houston today that this did not mean that tax payments by Texans would leave the state. [snip] Perry said he was unsure how much more a business like Bering’s, which employs 170 full-time and part-time workers at two stores, would have to pay under the federal guidelines. To review the complete idiocy of Governor Perry: - Perry makes the announcement at the Galleria -- one of the wealthiest shopping areas of the state -- and admits that he doesn't know how much more a local business would have to pay, yet justifies their higher payments as a reason to reject the funds.
- The federal government has said the money will go to other states, yet Rick Perry thinks that no tax payments would leave the state.
Democrats were quick to speak up on behalf of Texas' families. TDP Chair Boyd Richie: “First, the Governor compared out-of-work Texans to junkies, and now he's using them as political pawns to appeal to the talk show bosses that drive the agenda of Perry's heartless Republican base,” said Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie. “We don't need a right-wing candidate masquerading as Governor; we need a leader who will work with mainstream Texans in a bipartisan effort to rebuild our economy.”
The Seante Democratic leadership raised the importance of this decision even further. From their release (which I quoted from atop the post): "Governor Perry's decision will harm Texas families," said Senator Van de Putte. "With 26,000 Texans filing new unemployment claims each week, Texans need help now. The unemployment fund is already running low and will reach zero by October 1st. Why would Governor Perry place the burden on already stressed employers to make up the shortfall? I am amazed that Governor Perry would put partisan interests above the interest of already unemployed Texans and those who will unfortunately lose their jobs due to this economy."
Unacceptable. Deplorable. Disgusting. Even more hideous was Hutchison's completely cowardly comeback: "I hope that the Governor has carefully thought through the potential outcomes of today's decision. With the state unemployment fund dangerously close to falling below the legal threshold, it is imperative that the Governor does nothing that potentially burdens small businesses with higher taxes in tough economic times or pushes those who have recently become unemployed and their families into further economic peril," said Hutchison, in a statement.
Translation: she hasn't polled on what she wants to think about the unemployed being denied $555 million yet. Coward. More on the issue itself below the fold:
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