Thursday, September 22, 2011
Gov. Rick Perry seen here going down on a wiener
Republican presidential candidate Gov. Rick Perry loves to tout the fact that 60% of the jobs created in the U.S. have been in Texas. But there’s a companion fact to this statistic he fails to mention.
According to a study by the Center for Immigration Studies, 81% of those jobs went to non-native born workers.
Among the findings:
- Of jobs created in Texas since 2007, 81 percent were taken by newly arrived immigrant workers – both legal and illegal
- In terms of numbers, between the second quarter of 2007, right before the recession began, and the second quarter of 2011, total employment in Texas increased by 279,000. Of this, 225,000 jobs went to immigrants (legal and illegal) who arrived in the United States in 2007 or later
- Of newly arrived immigrants who took a job in Texas, 93 percent were not U.S. citizens. Thus government data show that more than three-fourths of net job growth in Texas were taken by newly arrived non-citizens (legal and illegal)
- The large share of job growth that went to immigrants is surprising because the native-born accounted for 69 percent of the growth in Texas’ working-age population (16 to 65). Thus, even though natives made up most of the growth in potential workers, most of the job growth went to immigrants
- The share of working-age natives holding a job in Texas declined significantly, from 71 percent in 2007 to 67 percent in 2011. This decline is very similar to the decline for natives in the United States as a whole and is an indication that the situation for native-born workers in Texas is very similar to the overall situation in the country despite the state’s job growth
- Of newly arrived immigrants who took jobs in Texas since 2007, we estimate that 50 percent (113,000) were illegal immigrants. Thus, about 40 percent of all the job growth in Texas since 2007 went to newly arrived illegal immigrants and 40 percent went to newly arrived legal immigrants
- Immigrants took jobs across the educational distribution. More than one out three (97,000) of newly arrived immigrants who took a job had at least some college
- These numbers raise the question of whether it makes sense to continue the current high level of legal immigration and also whether to continue to tolerate illegal immigration
Gov. Rick Perry’s “Texas Miracle” is wrong for America.
From the Left 
What this also tells me is a lot of these jobs are likely minimum wage. Those are the kind of jobs illegal immigrants take that natives won’t.
Texas has the highest percentage of state residents with no health insurance too. Not exactly what I want for the rest of the U.S., as unemployment increases and Americans lose their health insurance.
Plus, many of the jobs Perry is touting are energy industry jobs in gasoline that would have been created if Pee Wee Herman were governor. Perry rode the wave. He was in the right place at the right time. He’s a moron who has lived off the state government teat his entire professional career.
Not only this but, do you folks know women in Texas have the lowest access to lifesaving mammography?
Mammography is critical to detecting breast cancer in its earliest stages so appropriate treatment can be given and women’s lives saved.
I’m sure it is directly tied to the 25% of Texas women who have no health insurance. I wish Michele Bachmann would press Rick Perry on this when they debate tonight.