Perry’s ‘Pay-to-Play’ Job-Incentive Funds Miss Targets in Texas

Rick Perry touts Texas as home to more new jobs in the past decade than any other state. Yet the taxpayer-funded programs he has used to lure employers and finance expansion often fail to meet employment goals, according to officials and activists.

While basing his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on limited government, the governor, 61, oversees state job-stimulating funds that have provided almost $633 million to companies including retailers Cabela’s Inc. and Home Depot Inc. and agribusinesses such as Tyson Foods Inc. A Perry spokeswoman says the recipients have created almost 58,400 new jobs. A watchdog group says two-thirds missed their targets.