Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Rick Perry's Record on Unemployment, Ctd.

A quick follow-up to my prior post on Rick Perry's Texas Enterprise Fund: when I wrote that, I'd completely forgotten about the fact that Rick Perry had refused half a billion dollars from the 2009 stimulus package to relieve the Texas unemployment insurance program. His grounds, at the time, were that the bailout came with strings attached- requirements for Texas to reform its unemployment insurance program.

So, instead, Perry went to the feds not for a free handout, but for a loan.

And then another.

And another.

And now Texas's unemployment fund is $1.5 billion in the red.

And because of that, the Texas unemployment insurance tax will automatically triple in 2010 to make up the shortfall and pay the interest on the loans.

Way not to raise taxes, Mr. Perry. Good show of fiscal conservatism.

Thanks to 3horn.org for pointing this aspect out to me.

1 comment:

Diogenes said...

And in order to repay those massive loans from the federal government, will have to (you guessed it) pay more taxes.

Texas employers, who just a year ago paid $23.40 per employee in unemployment taxes will have to pay at least $64.80 in unemployment tax per employee in 2010.

Way to go, Perry!