Bill White urges Rick Perry to return $161 million in unemployment money from Texas Enterprise Fund

[sonias]

Dallas Morning News 5/12/10
Bill White urges Rick Perry to return $161 million in unemployment money from Texas Enterprise Fund

AUSTIN – Bill White called on Rick Perry to help small businesses whose payroll taxes have doubled by returning $161 million in unemployment funds taken for the governor's Texas Enterprise Fund.

(snip)

White spokeswoman Katy Bacon said that the Houston fund was created from private contributions and included no taxpayer money.

And White argued that in the past year, a number of things have happened to challenge the wisdom of the Perry's Enterprise Fund.

He cited the fact that unemployment insurance fund maintained by the state has dropped to zero and the state has had to borrow $2.5 billion from the federal government interest-free to keep it solvent. Since 2005, $161.5 million in payroll taxes that help fund unemployment insurance instead were siphoned off by the Enterprise Fund – including $52 million taken during the recession in 2009.

Allotments made by the Enterprise Fund, which is directed largely by Perry's office, also have come under question. He doled out $35 million to subprime mortgage lenders Countrywide and Washington Mutual, which have been engulfed in scandal and have slashed jobs.

Oh snap!

Hit him again Bill!

[Richardo]

1. Thank you sonias!

:hi:

:kick: &R

[sonias]

3. Hey Richardo

It's summer and the campaigns are going to get hot, hot, hot.

Bring it on!

:hi:

[sonias]

2. Bill White Demands Audit of Texas Enterprise Fund

Burnt Orange Report 5/13/10
Bill White Demands Audit of Texas Enterprise Fund

(snip)
Bill White's campaign has taken issue with the Governor's approval of $20 billion dollar subsidy to sub-prime mortgage broker Countrywide; therefore, White is calling for a full audit of the Texas Enterprise Fund.

In 2004, Perry heralded his tax subsidy to Countrywide as the "crowning jewel" of the TEF. Really? Nice double standard, Rick. You spent more than a year bellowing about Washington's bailouts, but your $20 billion "crown jewel" handout to a company being sued for fraud isn't worth your answering for?

White's campaign had this to say:

"If Rick Perry is so proud of handing $20 million to a failed mortgage lender that's being sued for fraud, why won't he welcome an independent audit?" said Katy Bacon, campaign spokesperson. "Rick Perry is attempting to avoid public accountability."

:kick:

[sonias]

4. More Perry corruptness...

Dallas Morning News 5/14/10
Perry holds on to donation from TaxMasters president, who is accused of fraud
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry will keep $23,500 in campaign money for now from a major political donor accused of defrauding customers with tax problems.

Attorney General Greg Abbott filed suit Thursday against Patrick Cox and Houston-based TaxMasters, which advertises that it helps defend people facing Internal Revenue Service audits.

The lawsuit cites nearly 1,000 consumer complaints that say the company misled customers, failed to disclose its no-refunds policy and falsely claimed employees were working on cases when they weren't.

TaxMasters spokesman DeWayne Logan said the company had not reviewed the complaint and would not comment on the charges.

Cox, president of TaxMasters, gave Perry $23,500 in February for his re-election campaign. Perry spokesman Mark Miner said the governor will not return the donation pending the outcome of the case.

When has Perry ever turned down or returned tainted money? Never. But he's quick to thumb his nose at Federal money.... sometimes. Other times he rails on Obama while holding his hand out.

[ceile]

5. Can someone splain to me what the TEF is?

I read the article, but it doesn't say what it's function is....
Is it some kind of fund that repays tax credits that were given to new businesses?

[sonias]

6. We call it Perry's slush fund, basically

Because he has total control over it. The other two votes Lt Gov and Speaker Straus rubber stamp Perry's recommendations. And then Perry can amend the contracts totally at his discretion. It's supposed to be a tool to grant new business development or expansion credits in the hope of creating jobs in Texas. The companies do not have to pay back the money so long as they comply with the contract to create the agreed upon jobs. Perry however keeps letting them off the hook, so essentially it's free money for his buddies. Who then in turn give him huge donations. (See link below to the Texas Observer story)

Texans for Public Justice has the best and latest review of it here

Watch Your Assets 1/27/10
Recession Pounds Perry’s Jobs Fund

The global recession that hit Texas in 2008 is playing havoc with Governor Perry’s signature business-incentive program: the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF). A review of 45 TEF projects that received $363 million in public funds reveals that an increasing number of TEF recipients defaulted on their job commitments in 2008—with even more defaults expected to be reported in the 2009 compliance reports that TEF is now beginning to receive.

Run out of the Governor’s Office,1 TEF has been a centerpiece of Perry’s administration, with the governor often convening media events to unveil TEF awards. The political role of the program has become more problematic in the last year. As a brutal economic downturn coincides with Perry’s reelection campaign, the governor has not publicly addressed his job program’s mounting woes. Instead, his office has quietly redefined success. When the 2008 recession struck, the Governor’s Office increasingly amended TEF deals to ease the contractual requirements of what a recipient must do to hold onto its public funds. In its first four years of operation, TEF formally amended just one development deal.2 Since the recession struck in 2008, Governor Perry has signed amendments diluting six additional development contracts.3 While the governor, House speaker and lieutenant governor all approve TEF grants, the Governor’s Office said it acts alone when amending the deals.

Texas Observer 3/11/10
Slush Fun
At least one Texan has benefited from Rick Perry's Enterprise Fund.
For the past six years, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has lorded over a controversial stash of taxpayer money known as the Texas Enterprise Fund, dispensing huge sums—$345 million and counting—to large corporations, ostensibly to spur job growth. Critics call it the governor’s slush fund. “He takes from us so that he can play with his corporate slush fund and award his friends’ businesses,” said Debra Medina, one of Perry’s two challengers for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, at a recent candidate’s debate.

Perry defends the fund as a much-needed economic-incentive program. He credits the disbursements with creating 55,000 jobs in Texas and helping keep the state’s economy out of recession. Whether the program has boosted the state’s economy depends on your point of view. But at least one Texan has greatly benefited from Enterprise Fund outlays—Rick Perry.

Many companies that have received money from the fund have, in turn, aided the governor. An Observer investigation has found that 20 of the 55 Enterprise Fund companies have either given money directly to Perry’s campaign (through their political action committees or executives) or donated to the Republican Governors Association, a Washington, D.C.-based group that Perry presided over in 2008.

The 20 companies have received a combined $174.2 million from the Enterprise Fund. During the same time period, those 20 corporations have donated $2.2 million to Perry and the governors association. Several companies made donations around the time they received grants from the Enterprise Fund. It’s even possible that taxpayer money from the fund came full circle into Perry’s own campaign.

TEF = a way for Perry to siphon off public money into his political campaigns.

[ceile]

7. Thank you

I'll read more indepth about this. Taxpayer money or public funds? Or is there a difference? There seems to be some confusion about this (according to the articles in this thread). This may be something White can REALLY go after him about!

[sonias]

8. The TEF is taxpayer money

Your money, my money all of our money. The state created the fund and funds it with a yearly allocation. That's the money Perry has been wasting and getting a kick back from the companies that take it.

Houston's city version of an economic development fund was privately created when Bill White was Mayor. That's why he says there is a big difference between what he did as Mayor and what Perry does as Governor. That money came from private business or individual contributions, not taxpayer money.

The only part White used to model the TEF was to create an economic development program for Houston. He didn't follow Perry's model of abusing it as a quid pro quo scheme.

[sonias]

9. White camp blasts Perry over fund use

San Antonio Express News 5/19/10
White camp blasts Perry over fund use

The war of words between the two men who want to be governor escalated Tuesday, with the Bill White campaign insinuating that Gov. Rick Perry has used a business incentive fund to provide "kickbacks" to friends and supporters.

A week after insisting that Perry allow an independent audit of the Texas Enterprise Fund, which the governor uses to entice companies to relocate to Texas, and a few days after a poll showed Perry lengthening his lead over White, the White campaign suggested for the first time that some campaign contributors were, in effect, repaying the governor for grants they received from the fund.

"Rick Perry recently asked reporters to use a dictionary to look up the definition of the phrase 'act of God,'" said White campaign spokesperson Katy Bacon in a statement released Tuesday afternoon. "Perhaps they should also look up the definition of kickback."

The statement noted that Peter M. Holt, chairman of the Holt family's Caterpillar business in San Antonio, as well as chairman of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs, has contributed about $424,000 to Perry's political campaigns over the years and that Holt donated money to Perry in 2008, 2007 and 2004.

The alleged kickback, the White campaign charges, came in the form of an $8.5 million subsidy to Caterpillar Inc. from the Texas Enterprise Fund, created by the Texas Legislature at Perry's behest in 2003. The Illinois-based company is in the process of building an engine manufacturing plant in Seguin that will employ 1,400 people

Perhaps the MSM reporters should look up the definition of kickback.

Let me help Perry and his MSM reporters use a dictionary here:

kickback –noun
a percentage of income given to a person in a position of power or influence as payment for having made the income possible: usually considered improper or unethical.

:kick: