If ever there was a clear-cut case for getting rid of the Texas Enterprise Fund, it is Rick Perry’s decision to give Chevron, one of the world’s richest corporations, a $12 million TEF grant, as reported by Forrest Wilder of the Texas Observer. It is a total waste of public money. Perry’s office uses these grants to tout how many jobs he has created during his years in office. In the case of the Chevron grant, Perry is claiming it will create 1,752 jobs. But this begs the question: What kind of jobs? More important, would those jobs have been created without the grant in the first place?
There has been considerable speculation about whether Attorney General Greg Abbott, the heir-apparent to Perry, would preserve the Enterprise and Emerging Technology Funds in the governor’s office. In mid-July, Abbott told the Associated Press that Texas needs to cease “picking winners and losers” in business. However, he stopped short of saying he would end the funds. The AP story continued, “Asked if the programs have been successful, Abbott declined to assess the impact.” Abbott has likewise distanced himself from Perry over Perry’s decision to strip funding from the Public Integrity Unit, having gone on record as saying that the state needs a Public Integrity Unit.
AP Photo | Elaine Thompson
