Texas unemployment rises to 8.5%, the highest in 24 years. (h/t TPM).
Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, clearly a basket case due to liberal policies, the unemployment rate has dropped to 7.4%, the lowest in two and a half years.
It should be mentioned that Texas job losses stem from public sector reductions. Since public sector workers like teachers, police officers, and fire fighters don’t count as real people, this should not count against Perry. One of Josh Marshall’s commenters puts it well:
1. Is a Dem trying to take credit for creating jobs by creating public sector jobs? If so, they do not count and must be subtracted from the math.
2. Is a GOPer trying to take credit for creating jobs by creating public sector jobs (as Perry has done)? If so, then they count, but you must ignore that they were public sector jobs and never speak of it.
3. Is public sector job loss causing a Dem to look like his/her policies are causing unemployment to go up? If so, then they count, but you must ignore that they were public sector jobs and never speak of it.
4. Is public sector job loss causing a GOPer to look like his/her policies are causing unemployment to go up? if so, then they do not count and you must refer to it as controlling the size of and shrinking government.
There is an important point here: current GOP ideology holds that public goods are nonexistent. Police, fire, education, transportation, public works, etc. etc. have no value and add nothing to productivity. Thus, creating these jobs does not count. Simply put, that is a recipe for national decline.
[Cross-posted at The Reality-Based Community]
