This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Aug. 29, 2013: Texas Gov. Rick Perry says his foray into Missouri’s tax debate is the latest in a series of trips around the country intended to continue what he calls “a public discourse about 'red state versus blue state' policies.”
Most of the states he has visited in the last six months have a Democratic governor, like Missouri. Or they have both a Democratic governor and legislature, like New York, California and Illinois.
“Generally Democrat governors and legislatures have policies characterized as ‘blue-state policies,’ that have higher taxes,” Perry said in a telephone interview Wednesday. “They’ll have a more onerous regulatory climate, they’ll have a legal system that allows for more suing, if you will.”
In Republican-controlled Texas, Perry said, none of that is true.
To that end, the controversy over the Texas governor’s ads airing here, and his planned private pitch Thursday to St. Louis businesses, doesn’t bother him a bit.
“I think it’s always fair game to talk about the comparisons, if you will, between states,” Perry said, referring to the back-and-forth over taxes in Texas and Missouri. “That is exactly what I wanted our results to be.”
“Competition is good, and I hope we do this in a civil way," he added.
Perry will spend much of Thursday in the St. Louis area. Plans include a private reception aimed at attracting executives from many of the region’s biggest firms.
The public is invited to a rally he’s headlining later Thursday at the Doubletree hotel in Chesterfield, 16625 Swingley Ridge Road. The event, from 5-7 p.m., is sponsored by some Missouri groups. The speakers will feature various Republican leaders, including House Speaker Tim Jones, R-Eureka.
Rally to promote override of Nixon's veto of tax-cut bill
Perry and Jones, among others, are expected to make their case in favor of a legislative override of Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto of HB253, the tax cut bill that likely will be the marquee issue during the legislative veto session that begins Sept. 11.
The measure reduces taxes on businesses by 50 percent within five years, with a smaller cut for individual taxpayers phased in over 10 years. It also eliminates the current sales-tax exemption for prescription drugs and textbooks that has been in place for decades, although some legislators have pledged to restore the exemption.
Nixon was back in the St. Louis area on Thursday, for a second day in a row -- calling for his veto to stand. Nixon maintains that the bill is poorly written and would cut taxes so much that the state would have to slash its aid to public education. Republican supporters contend the governor is scaring the public.
Nixon also took sharp exception to Perry's "red state vs. blue state" approach, saying it was too divisive. "Missouri is one of the most diverse states in this country," the governor said. "If you think the way to solve things is to divide it by two, and to get those two sides fighting against each other. Folks, we tried that 150 years ago and it didn't work."
Referring to "blue states'' and "red states'' is "dividing this country just by starting that discussion,'' Nixon said.
Nixon and Perry each said that their policy differences weren't personal. Nixon noted the two had traveled together to Afghanistan, as part of a contingent of governors.
Said Perry: "I respect Jay Nixon, I respect his public service."
Perry even chuckled at Nixon’s statements and new ad in which the Missouri governor has highlighted some of the taxes – such as sales, fuel and property taxes – that are higher in Texas.
Perry said that may prompt him to ask Texas legislators to consider “lowering some of those taxes’’ cited by Nixon.
But the Texas governor emphasized that what’s most important is “the overall tax burden. Texas has among the lowest in the country.’’ And that, Perry said, is what has attracted business to Texas.
Lack low taxes, less regulation, limits on lawsuits
Texas has attracted 30 percent of the jobs created in the United States over the past 10 years, Perry said. Among Texas’ biggest selling points is that it has no income tax.
Like Missouri, Texas’ constitution requires it to balance its state budget. Texas has benefited from its longstanding oil and gas industry, which the Texas governor’s staff says brings in about 10-14 percent of the state’s annual income.
But Perry contended that the key to Texas’ success has been its focus on attracting more businesses and jobs. That means, he said, creating policies that are business-friendly.
Businesses are flocking to Texas, Perry continued, because they see “freedom from over-taxation, over-regulation and over-litigation and there’s a big supply of skilled workers for the jobs they’re creating.”
He said he disagreed with critics who contend that his approach, including trips to other states, amounts to "poaching jobs" or “just moving jobs around" from one state to another.
Perry contends that Texas has attracted jobs that might not have been created at all. “If you keep high taxes, a high regulatory burden… and business cannot expand and grow, then that is a downward pressure on the total number of jobs created in America,” he said.
Promotes education, blasts Medicaid expansion
The Texas governor also sought in the interview to counter any impression that Texas' public schools are sub par. Nixon has emphasized in his counter campaign that Missouri has higher test scores and graduation rates.
Perry said that Texas students have improved their standing dramatically, citing gains by minorities, in particular. In a recent national assessment evaluation, Perry said that 8th grade math scores for Hispanic and African-American students "were second in the nation,'' a stark improvement from 10 years ago, when he said they ranked in the lower third in the country.
His staff added later that "statewide enrollment in higher education has increased 57 percent, while Hispanic growth has increased 110 percent between 2000 and 2012."
Perry contended that Texas' improvement in public schools was linked to its economic policies.
In Texas, as in Missouri, there's also been a lot of discussion about the federal recommendation to expand Medicaid coverage. The program calls for the federal government to pick up the added costs for the first three years and then at least 90 percent thereafter.
As in Missouri, Texas legislators have rejected the proposal as federal overreach. But in recent weeks, Perry has sought additional federal Medicaid money if Texas also had flexibility on how to use it.
Perry said that the states often have served as "laboratories of innovation." He cited the Wall Street Journal's recent coverage of Rhode Island, which received a federal waiver on Medicaid rules, and has used that flexibility to cut per-patient costs and improve care.
"The key to Medicaid is flexibility," Perry said, adding that he objected to the proposed federal expansion of the program, which he called, "basically trying to blackmail us with our own money.”
Echoing some Missouri critics, Perry contended that the Medicaid expansion -- as structured under the Affordable Care Act -- was economically unsustainable. He concluded, “We’re not going to go into a program that is broken and will guarantee the bankruptcy of our state.”
