Perry Campaign Press Release - "Business Leaders Trust Texas Gov. Rick Perry"

Sean Mahoney, former Congressional candidate and RNC Committeeman in New Hampshire, wrote this op-ed in support of Rick Perry. It appeared in Thursday's Foster's Daily Democrat

With 14 million Americans unemployed, we have to address a very real problem before we can revive our economy and our prospects for job growth: our government simply isn't trustworthy. Business leaders — those who create jobs -have been given little comfort about the goals and direction of our government.

Is the president focused on deficit reduction, or stimulus spending?

Do we want to unleash the innovation of the private sector, or create more regulatory burdens for job creators?

Business leaders are looking for leaders who they can trust and we found one in Rick Perry. We can trust Governor Perry to answer those questions in a credible, consistent fashion and to create an environment where job creation is rewarded, not punished.

The best way to establish trust is through actual performance, and based on his record as Governor, Rick Perry is the right candidate to provide firm, consistent leadership, to limit the size and growth of government, and to provide a stable economic outlook that will encourage businesses to hire new workers.

Faced with a significant budget shortfall, Perry resisted calls to drain his state's rainy day fund or hike taxes, and instead signed a budget that reduced spending by $1 billion dollars. While reducing overall spending, he was able to increase vital areas because he made smart managerial choices. For example, efficiency and cost containment measures in the state's Medicaid program created several billion in savings that allowed Texas to increase spending on border security by nearly 25%.

Investors and job creators seek environments where investment is rewarded and where they can reasonably predict outcomes, and Perry's strong leadership in Texas has created a hothouse of economic activity. Between 2009 and 2010, the value of Texas exports grew by more than 26%. During that time, Texas GDP grew by nearly 5%, far outpacing the national average of 3.8%.

Unsurprisingly, the additional economic activity resulted in a more robust jobs market. The governor's home state has one of the highest rates of job growth in the country — accounting for half of all new jobs in the US, according to the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank. On every measure, Texas does better than the national average in employment statistics, substantially below the national average.

Jobs are created by investors willing to take risks and invest. Investors are willing to start businesses where there is a stable, pro-growth economic climate. The right climate is created through restraining the size and scope of government. Rick Perry understands the mechanisms that lead to job creation, has a track record of pursuing pro-growth policies, and has the documented results of creating more jobs than any other state.

Other candidates in the race like to claim they would create jobs, but their claims are either theoretical or flat out false. For example, Governor Romney's signature achievement in Massachusetts was to pass Romneycare, which has killed 18,000 jobs in his home state. According to August 2011 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that means he is responsible for nearly 7% of the unemployed in Massachusetts. A similar result in New Hampshire would mean an additional 2700 unemployed, or the equivalent of eliminating all the jobs at Portsmouth Regional Hospital AND all the jobs at New Hampshire Motor Speedway AND roughly half the jobs at Hypertherm in Hanover. No matter how Romneycare is explained, eliminating the equivalent of several major state employers is not the record of "job creation" that Granite State voters are seeking.

Because he has a consistent record of smaller government and job creation, business leaders can and will trust Rick Perry to lead the federal government as he has led state government, and we trust Rick Perry to give the private sector the confidence it needs to invest, create jobs, and put our friends and neighbors back to work.

That's why I hope you'll join me in supporting Rick Perry.

Sean Mahoney

Portsmouth

Sean Mahoney was a candidate for Congress in 2010. Prior to that served as the Republican National Committeeman from New Hampshire. Mahoney is also the former owner of Millyard Communications, Inc. of Manchester and former publisher of BusinessNH Magazine.

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