Perry Will Run on Pro-Business Record

Expect Gov. Rick Perry to tout Texas' business-friendly environment now that he's announced his presidential campaign.

Perry's devotion to supply-side economics has attracted new businesses to Texas, according to a recent report in Human Events magazine. A combination of a relaxed regulatory environment and low corporate taxes has made the state a beacon for entrepreneurship and commerce, said Human Events' Kenneth Hanner.

"Perry strongly indicated his support for the limited-government approach when he spoke about the state's economic success while attending the recent launch of the Texas Public Policy Foundation's (TPPF) new Laffer Center for Supply-Side Economics," according to Hanner. "Arthur Laffer, of course, was the Reagan economic aide who famously drew a curved line on a napkin, illustrating how decreases in tax rates can increase tax revenue."

Perry said Laffer's supply-side philosophy is consistent with his approach in governing the Texas economy, according to Hanner. An analysis by the TPPF, a free-market think tank in Austin, points to controlling the size and cost of government as the No. 1 reason Texas' economy has remained strong. "If we don't spend as much, we can have lower taxes," the director of the foundation's Center for Economic Freedom, Bill Peacock, told Human Events.

In addition to low state spending and a relaxed regulatory climate, Peacock told Human Events that the Texas economy has been aided by being a right-to-work state. "We don't have a lot of problems with union pressure," he said. Tort reform measures signed into law by Perry have lowered the number of frivolous lawsuits, according to Peacock.

Perry addressed the Laffer Center this spring. "By sticking to the principles Dr. Laffer has advocated, like low taxes, predictable regulations and a fair court system, Texas has become a beacon for employers fleeing the job-crushing atmosphere that has taken hold in other states," said Perry.