Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) often touts his state's business climate to encourage more companies to move there, as well as to urge other states to adopt the Lone Star State's model.
Perry often knocks California in the process, which makes it surprising that he recently told The New York Times he loves the Golden State and is considering moving there in January, when his final term in the governor's office ends.
Below are some of the instances in which Perry has undermined California:
"If you rent a U-Haul to move your company, it costs twice as much to go from San Francisco to Austin than the other way around," joked Perry. "Because you can't find enough trucks to flee the Golden State."
"There’s a real message there: More wealth left the state of New York and California than any other two states in the nation," said Mr. Perry. "And you have to be honest about this: It’s about tax policy, it’s about regulatory policy, it’s about the legal system, and then it’s about a skilled workforce."
"Building a business is tough, but I hear building a business in California is next to impossible," says the governor in the radio spot. "This is Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and I have a message for California businesses: come check out Texas. There are plenty of reasons Texas has been named the best state for doing business for eight years running. Visit texaswideopenforbusiness.com, and see why our low taxes, sensible regulations and fair legal system are just the thing to get your business moving to Texas."
"California has substantially more liberal public assistance programs," said Perry, considered a possible 2016 GOP presidential candidate, in a wide-ranging interview with the San Francisco Chronicle. "This is a state that’s going bankrupt. You have huge debt out here..and part of that is driven by these very expensive, very rich programs."
"Twelve years ago, California wasn't looking over its shoulder," he said. "They're not looking over their shoulder now -- they're looking at our backside."
"While my heart, naturally, will always belong to Texas, I understand the Landsbaums’ love of California, and their frustration at seeing the state they love erode its many strengths with steadily-rising taxes, onerous regulations and mounting encroachments into the way they live and work."
"People here used to say, 'We don't need to worry, we're the center of innovation, we've got Silicon Valley--Texas is for minimum-wage jobs.' That's not the reality any more," Gov. Perry warns.
"Some time in the past, California became uncompetitive with other states because of their tax (and) regulatory policies in particular," Perry said. "There is somebody that wants to knock you off your perch. That's what's happened to California."
Before You Go
