Really, Rick?

        Rick Perry (remember him, the only human on earth who actually ever made Michele Bachmann seem sane and bright by comparison?) says he wants to "Get America Back on Track."

        This is actually a fairly common  statement by politicians, some Left, many more Far Right. They seem to feel it is an aphorism, full of pithy reality and meaning, but, looking at their beliefs, I feel otherwise. What they really are doing is making a statement that sounds good, like "Chocolate,"  but really has no real basis of either meaning or contextual form.

        I Have heard far more of ex-Governor Perry's mindless meanderings than any human should be subjected to, and therefore I feel qualified to examine what ol' Rick really means when he says "Back on track."  Fortunately, we have his own brain droppings to help us.

        Regarding the famous BP oil spill that cost billions and damaged the Gulf: "From time to time, there are going to be things that occur that are acts of God that cannot be prevented." As far as the term "Acts of God" is concerned, he is correct. These things are tornados, hurricanes, blizzards, etc (although human accelerated climate change and earthquakes due to "fracking" may be involved, too, but that's another discussion.) Using the term to explain away BP's gross negligence is quite another matter.  The exact term used in the court ruling  was "Grossly negligent." The label was applied proportionately to BP, Halliburton, and Transocean.  The details are technical but unarguable. Apparently, God just hates the oil business.

       "The reason we fought the American revolution in the 16th century was  ......"  Apparently the Gov is a little rusty in History as well as (just about everything else), since the American revolution occurred 200 years after the 16th century!

       "There is still a land of opportunity, friends, it's called Texas. We're creating more jobs than any other state in the nation." While that factoid is true, the nature of those jobs is such that in almost every other family welfare statistic, Texas is near the bottom of the barrel. These areas include:                    

        Low wages: In Texas, nearly one of every three employees worked in a low-wage job.

         Home ownership:  much lower than the national average in Texas at 61.8 percent, ranking No. 43.

         Banking: Texas is No. 47 in consumers with subprime credit and No. 41 in unbanked households.

         Low savings rate: In Texas, 64 percent of households have a savings account, ranking No. 40 and below the national rate of nearly 69 percent.

        Education: Texas ranks  50th (dead last)  for the number of people age 25 and older with a high school degree,  44th for student loan default rate and 38th in 8th-grade reading proficiency.

         Health care: Texas has the nation’s highest uninsured rate, with a quarter of its residents without health insurance. Texas, of course, did not expand Medicaid or avail thenselves of the Affordable Care Act.

        "It's time to just hand it over to God and say "God, you're gonna have to fix this." Really, Rick? How did that work for the six million Holocaust victims, most of whom were undoubtedly more truly devout that you strut and pronounce yourself to be? How did it work for the million and a half Armenian Christians killed or starved to death by the Turks? In fact, Rick, how has it ever worked except in Biblical fiction?

        "George W. Bush did an incredible job in the presidency, defending us from freedom."  Wow! Maybe being a babbling malaprop artist is just a Texas thang. 

        So here we have, in summary, the standard to which apparently Perry is referring when he says "Back on track."  It is, therefore,  germane to examine exactly where the train was (on that metaphorical track) when the "incredible" George W. Bush left office. 

       By just about every measureable economic indicator, the economy in 2015 is far better than when "W" left in January 2009.   Deficit - down by a factor of 4!, Unemployment - 5.6%, down from almost 10% in Jan 2009, Dow Jones averages - almost double that of 2009! US crude oil production - up 76%, petroleum imports down by 55%,  number of uninsured Americans down by about 14 million, Wind and solar power up by 248%, exports of goods and services up 39%.

        While no number can tell the whole story, it seems quite obvious (to you and me, but maybe  not to  Rick Perry) that the track today is significantly better than the track of January, 2009, when his idol left the White House . In addition, while crowing about no  income tax and generally lower high earner taxation in his state, the facts for the rest of Texas, as graded on the national infrastructure report are: Drinking water- D minus, Education - D minus, Transit -C, Dams, D minus, Roads -D, Flood control -D, wastewater - C minus. The right track?    

        Then again anyone who can state , and believe this, " We believe in government involvement that leads to independence: good schools, quality roads and the best health care." when his own state is diametrically opposite in all three categories, might just as well might believe in the tooth fairy, Creationism, and the great pumpkin.