Rick Perry. Big Hat; No Cattle

Now before y'all go gittin' yerself bamboozled by Rick Perry, y'all might wanna set a spell or two.

Republicans, many disillusioned with the current crop of GOP presidential hopefuls, and who wouldn't be, are gushing over Perry as the Second Coming and holding up his record as three-term governor of Texas as inspirational. It's no surprise really. Perry combines those attributes of cowboy capitalism, secessionist lunacy and cornpone religion so beloved by the rightwing.

His economic stats do look impressive -- till you peek behind the curtain.

Since 2007 Texas has produced over a third of all new jobs in the nation with an unemployment rate of 8 percent. What's less reported is that Texas, the second most populous state and second largest economy, ranks 24 in GDP per capita. In other words its overhyped economy is proportionately inferior to that of 22 smaller states plus first place California.

What's more, nearly 40 percent of the jobs created were at or below federal minimum wage - Texas has the highest proportion of those workers in the country - and 23 states have lower unemployment rates including so-called Tax-achusetts. Due to inadequate safety regulations, Texas is the most perilous state in which to work. And while wages have gone up 5 percent nationally over four years, those in Texas went up only 0.6 percent.

Now having a minimum wage job in this economy is better than having no job at all, but those underpaid, dangerous jobs will be around long after the recovery. They, along with insufficient taxation and underfunded education, health care and social services, are at the heart of Perry's "pro-growth agenda."

For instance, the Commonwealth Fund rates Texas among the three worst states for health care with 30 percent of adults under 65 lacking insurance, the worst in the nation. The United Health Foundation ranks Texas 46 based on a variety of health markers.

In education, Texas comes in 44 in per student funding. It places 49 in SAT verbal scores and 46 in math. Not one Texas public university ranks among the top 50 national research universities. According to the EPA Texas is the worst polluted state in the nation. The bleakness index goes on and on.

Here's one more stat. Texas is the second worst state based on economic equality. With its Gini ratio of 0.474, it has the same level of economic inequality as China.

Happens China also has millions of low paying jobs, inadequate worker and consumer protections, lousy health care, a putrid environment and huge economic inequality. Or what Florida Republican senator Marco Rubio characterizes as "a better place to do business than America."

This is what electrifies Republicans. This is what they mean when they talk about "a favorable business climate" and "smaller government." Texas is their idea for America.

Perry? Really?