Richard Fisher, president and CEO of the Dallas Federal Reserve, defended Texas’ economic record in a speech yesterday while blaming the poor national economy on “fiscal malfeasance in Washington.” Fisher implicitly responded to critics of presidential candidate Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, and took aim at President Obama and Congress for causing uncertainty among business owners and investors.
Fisher contradicted three general arguments made by skeptics of the Texas economy. He explained that the oil industry does not prop up the state economy, noting that the education and health industries added the most jobs of any sector in Texas. The mining sector added the third greatest number of jobs to the state. Mining sector employees comprise a mere 2.1% of the Texas workforce; education and health industries account for 26% the jobs in the state.
