Is Gov. Perry A Moron ?

I think it's valid to ask if Governor Perry is a moron, especially in light of his speech to a business-group at a Houston luncheon on Thursday. He remarked that someone had said Texas would be the first to emerge from the recession, and then basically asked "What recession?" He tried to give that group the impression that Texas is recession-proof.

I suspect he was just playing politics, because he would have to be a moron to not see that Texas is definitely in the grip of a recession. The unemployment rate in Texas for August has now reached 8.0%. While below the national rate, that is a huge unemployment rate for Texas (a state where salaries are notoriously low even in good times). It is also three full points above last year's unemployment rate.

And there is no reason to believe the unemployment rate won't get quite a bit worse before it turns around. Here in Amarillo, two of the largest employers in the area have just announced a new round of layoffs. I imagine it's pretty much the same across the state.

In addition to a very high unemployment rate, Texas also has falling sales tax receipts. The sales tax has fallen every month this year, because the recession has scared people and they are spending less. If you have any doubt as to whether there is a recession in Texas, just ask any mayor in the state. City governments are scrambling to make up for the lost tax revenues.

Texas is definitely in the grip of a recession, and it's still getting worse. If Gov. Perry doesn't know that, then it's definitely time to get a new governor.