I just found this little op-ed on Rick the Dick to be interesting
Robert Scheer: The Biggest Little Hypocrite in Texas - Robert Scheer's Columns - Truthdig
The Biggest Little Hypocrite in Texas
"To begin with, Texas is not and never will be a model for the nation unless the other states discover similarly rich deposits of oil and natural gas that account for one-third of jobs and supply 40 percent of tax revenues within those states. If Texas energy receipts and jobs helped float Gov. BushÂ’s reputation, they have been nothing short of miraculous for PerryÂ’s tenure."
"In addition, thanks to breakthroughs in oil field technology that Perry had nothing to do with, there have been controversial new drilling techniques that have vastly expanded the exploitation of gas and oil reserves, producing many of the new jobs that the Texas governor claims. For a relatively ineffectual governor, in a state in which the part-time Legislature holds the power,
to take credit for this job boom is as ludicrous as a Saudi prince bragging of his entrepreneurial skills as the source of royal wealth."
"There is, however, something very important in the Texas experience that could serve as a model for the nation, and that is the stateÂ’s success in avoiding the worst effects of the housing crash. Texas has not suffered anything like the crushing foreclosure crisis that is the main source of joblessness in states from Florida to California.
But Perry surely will not dwell on the reasons for Texas having escaped that fate, because his mantra of less government regulation doesnÂ’t work in this instance. If lax environmental and zoning codes were the secret, neighboring Arizona and Nevada would not be the housing basket cases that they are.
The difference for Texas is one that most free-market conservatives ignore: It was precisely the tight government regulation of the housing market that spared Texas a similar fate."