Either Rick Perry is a liar, or he just doesn’t know the residents of his state that well.
The Texas governor recently announced his intention to run for the Republican nomination to take on Barack Obama in the 2012 Presidential elections, and he often quotes his “success” in Texas as his main qualification for president. But if this new report is true, the question begs to be asked – why exactly are Texas residents the second hungriest folks in the nation?
Yes, despite Perry’s claims that Texas has the best economy in the nation, and despite his claims that his state produced more jobs than any other state, why are the people wanting for something as basic as food?
From the USDA report;
An estimated 85.5 percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2010, meaning that they had access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households (14.5 percent) were food insecure at least some time during the year, including 5.4 percent with very low food security—meaning that the food intake of one or more household members was reduced and their eating patterns were disrupted at times during the year because the household lacked money and other resources for food.
So where do Texans falls? Well in 2010, under the auspicious leadership of Mr. Perry, 18.8% of residents reported not having enough food at some point during the year. That number was only second to Mississippi’s 19.4% who made the same claim.
This report shows the emptiness of Perry’s job creation claim. Although data shows that 4 out of every 10 jobs recently created in the nation came from Texas, something is drastically wrong if the citizens of your state still can’t afford to buy food. But there is no surprise here. Although Perry’s claim is partly correct, the fact remains the same – Texas leads the nation in minimum wage jobs.
Texas has more people earning the federal minimum wage or less than any other state and is tied with Mississippi for the highest percentage of minimum-wage workers. New York follows Texas and Mississippi by three percentage points.
