Yes, Perry Has Lured Business to Texas. But How Many Jobs Created Is in Dispute.
By BECCA AARONSON
NYT
As Gov. Rick Perry pushes his job creation initiatives on the presidential campaign trail, he often touts the Texas Enterprise Fund, an economic development program that the governor’s office says is bringing 59,000 jobs and $14.7 billion in capital investment to Texas.
But the number of jobs his office credits the program with creating has been scrutinized by Mr. Perry’s opponents, who say the fund’s contributions to the Texas economy have been far overstated. And a national nonprofit has said the Enterprise Fund lacks the accountability measures to ensure it is creating quality jobs.
Mr. Perry helped create the program in 2003 with the goal of luring new companies to Texas by providing grants. Companies undergo an 11-step “due diligence” process before a contract is signed, and the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the Texas House must all approve, said Lucy Nashed, a spokeswoman for Mr. Perry.
The contracts require companies to meet job-creation milestones each year and maintain those jobs for an extended period of time. 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.
(More here.)
NYT
As Gov. Rick Perry pushes his job creation initiatives on the presidential campaign trail, he often touts the Texas Enterprise Fund, an economic development program that the governor’s office says is bringing 59,000 jobs and $14.7 billion in capital investment to Texas.
But the number of jobs his office credits the program with creating has been scrutinized by Mr. Perry’s opponents, who say the fund’s contributions to the Texas economy have been far overstated. And a national nonprofit has said the Enterprise Fund lacks the accountability measures to ensure it is creating quality jobs.
Mr. Perry helped create the program in 2003 with the goal of luring new companies to Texas by providing grants. Companies undergo an 11-step “due diligence” process before a contract is signed, and the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the Texas House must all approve, said Lucy Nashed, a spokeswoman for Mr. Perry.
The contracts require companies to meet job-creation milestones each year and maintain those jobs for an extended period of time. 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.
(More here.)
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