Don't mess with Texas' jobs.

By D.C.

 You are beginning to hear the left's attack machine try to tear down Rick Perry's job creation record.In general they are saying most of Perry's job creation is low wage work.I am not going to make wise cracks about "Little" Bobby Reich today,but I am going to use his most recent blog post as an example of this.Then I want to point out a few facts about median incomes.

 In "Little" Bobby Reich's post,"How to create (lousy) jobs",he writes;
  "If governors try hard enough, though, they can create lots of lousy jobs. They can drive out unions, attract low-wage immigrants, and turn a blind eye to businesses that fail to protect worker health and safety."

 "Rick Perry seems to have done exactly this. While Texas leads the nation in job growth, a majority of Texas's workforce is paid hourly wages rather than salaries. And the median hourly wage there was $11.20, compared to the national median of $12.50 an hour."

 Then Reich goes on to use other facts and figures to try and make his point.

 Median incomes from one state or city to another are totally set by the cost of living in that given area.Lower cost of living equals lower wages.Comparing the national average to any single state means nothing.

 Let's imagine 3 families.A single earner,4 member family.A working Dad,a stay at home Mom and two wonderful kids.Each of these families live in different states.One in Texas,the other two in a couple of liberals favorite places to live,New York and California.Let's also say these families earn their respective states' annual median income for a family of this type.

 The Texas family earns $66,145.The New York family earns $82,164.The California family earns $79,194.(These are 2010 numbers.)

 That would seem to prove the liberal theory about Texas having lower incomes.Only that we now need to adjust their incomes for state taxes.State income taxes for the New York family are 6.85%*,leaving them with $76,535.The California Family pays 8%*,leaving them with $72,859.The Texas family pays zero.Now these incomes are closer to being equal.(*The Tax Foundation)

 We must also factor in the cost of living.In the 2nd quarter 2011,Texas has the 2nd lowest cost of living.California and New York are 45th and 46th on the list.

 California and New York with their high property taxes,state worker unionization and heavy business regulation,drive up the costs of everything from housing to groceries and services like restaurants or having the oil changed in your car.Let's not even add the cost of insurance in these high litigation/payday states.This is Keynesian economics at work.

 When you take these other factors into account,I would argue that the Texas family comes out at least equal to the other families,if not better.Wages in any area are totally dependent upon the cost of living in that area.When you look at it this way,these 3 median income families are equal.That is what matters.