DALLAS â The Preston Hollow neighborhood has been home to many of Texasâ rich and powerful â George and Laura Bush, Mark Cuban, T. Boone Pickens, Ross Perot. So it is hardly surprising that a recent political fund-raiser was held there on the back terrace of a 20,000-square-foot home overlooking lush gardens with life-size bronze statues of the hostâs daughters.
The guest of honor was Gov. Rick Perry, but the man behind the event was not one of the enclaveâs boldface names. He was a tax consultant named G. Brint Ryan.
Mr. Ryanâs specialty is helping clients like ExxonMobil and Neiman Marcus secure state and local tax breaks and other business incentives. It is a good line of work in Texas.
Under Mr. Perry, Texas gives out more of the incentives than any other state, around $19 billion a year, an examination by The New York Times has found. Texas justifies its largess by pointing out that it is home to half of all the private sector jobs created over the last decade nationwide. As the invitation to the fund-raiser boasted: âTexas leads the nation in job creation.â
Yet the raw numbers mask a more complicated reality behind the flood of incentives, the examination shows, and raise questions about who benefits more, the businesses or the people of Texas.
Along with the huge job growth, the state has the third-highest proportion of hourly jobs paying at or below minimum wage. And despite its low level of unemployment, Texas has the 11th-highest poverty rate among states.
âWhile economic development is the mantra of most officials, thereâs a question of when does economic development end and corporate welfare begin,â said Dale Craymer, the president of the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, a group supported by business that favors incentives programs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/us/winners-and-losers-in-texas.html?hp&_r=0
The guest of honor was Gov. Rick Perry, but the man behind the event was not one of the enclaveâs boldface names. He was a tax consultant named G. Brint Ryan.
Mr. Ryanâs specialty is helping clients like ExxonMobil and Neiman Marcus secure state and local tax breaks and other business incentives. It is a good line of work in Texas.
Under Mr. Perry, Texas gives out more of the incentives than any other state, around $19 billion a year, an examination by The New York Times has found. Texas justifies its largess by pointing out that it is home to half of all the private sector jobs created over the last decade nationwide. As the invitation to the fund-raiser boasted: âTexas leads the nation in job creation.â
Yet the raw numbers mask a more complicated reality behind the flood of incentives, the examination shows, and raise questions about who benefits more, the businesses or the people of Texas.
Along with the huge job growth, the state has the third-highest proportion of hourly jobs paying at or below minimum wage. And despite its low level of unemployment, Texas has the 11th-highest poverty rate among states.
âWhile economic development is the mantra of most officials, thereâs a question of when does economic development end and corporate welfare begin,â said Dale Craymer, the president of the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, a group supported by business that favors incentives programs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/us/winners-and-losers-in-texas.html?hp&_r=0
