Texas Gov. Rick Perry Indicted For Abuse Of Power

[PaintMyHouse]

That didn't sound like the Houston Chronicle to me. Besides if he was preparing to do something illegal why didn't people just wait until he committed the crime ?

When I wrote "Ill bet" i assumed you would be smart enough to know that was my opinion. If you read the original post, it's almost all straight from the newspaper. Why didn't they wait until he committed the crime? I assume that the Special Prosecuter believes Perry did already commit the crime, or else he would not have been indicted.

I'm sure he wove a nice story for the grand jury. I bet he left out the drunk DA portion.

Yeah, probably because that matters not a damn in this case.

 

[PaintMyHouse]

Let me help you out...

Bush pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence. Just like the prosecutor.

Your position is that such a plea, finding of guilt, disqualifies you from serving as a prosecutor in a county.....shouldn't it really disqualify you from serving as President which is a much more responsible position?

If there were videos of him acting like that, he wouldn't have even been considered for dog catcher.

You know it and I know it.

Technology...it's a bitch.

A recap:

All of which matters not a damn in an Abuse of Power case...

 

[Old Rocks]

Well, given this is Texas, get some popcorn, lean back, and watch the fun.

 

[dilloduck]

If there were videos of him acting like that, he wouldn't have even been considered for dog catcher.

You know it and I know it.

Technology...it's a bitch.

A recap:

All of which matters not a damn in an Abuse of Power case...

I bet the jury gets to hear it if it even gets that far.

 

[bluesguy1952]

Example:

Time for an overhaul or slashing of business incentives

Is it a business incentive or corporate welfare, a tax break or a slush fund to give away taxpayer money to corporations.

Activists from across the political spectrum are questioning Gov Perry’s “Open for business” schtick of funding corporations, and frankly it’s about time.

Bill Peacock, VP of Research at the CONSERVATIVE think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation calls incentives an inefficient use of taxpayer money. They take money from taxpayers and place a bet It takes money from a group of taxpayers and gives it to a company.

Texas democrats have long criticized Perry’s funds as enriching corporations while leading to cuts in public schools and health care etc. The democratic candidate for Governor, Senator Wendy Davis, authored a law that requires a public audit of them for the first time.

State Tech Fund Under Fire

In 2009 Gov Perry awarded $2.5 million of taxpayer money to new bio tech firm American Stem Cell. Five years later, its CEO and employees live in California and its San Antonio headquarters amount to little more than a horse pasture.

When it comes to startups supported by the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, this story is nothing new. More than 20% of the firms that received money from the state fund have gone bankrupt.
Now as the fund nears its 10th anniversary and the governor who oversaw its creation reaches the end of his tenure, it and other incentive programs are facing scrutiny

 

[PaintMyHouse]

A recap:

All of which matters not a damn in an Abuse of Power case...

I bet the jury gets to hear it if it even gets that far.

It won't matter to them either since it is entirely irrelevant...

 

[dilloduck]

All of which matters not a damn in an Abuse of Power case...

I bet the jury gets to hear it if it even gets that far.

It won't matter to them either since it is entirely irrelevant...

You're a fool. Anything the jury hears is relevant

 

[bluesguy1952]

Example:

Rick Perry gives Toyota millions $ in Taxpayer money to move a plant to Texas. Does Toyota need that money? They are the most profitable company in the world. That money would buy a lot of food stamps that you guys are yelling about.
Perry has about 3 slush funds, again taxpayer money, that he uses to pay friends to run companies that go broke or do not meet the hiring employee quoatas that were a condition of the gift

 

[PaintMyHouse]

I bet the jury gets to hear it if it even gets that far.

It won't matter to them either since it is entirely irrelevant...

You're a fool. Anything the jury hears is relevant

Yes, but there's no reason any of that would be presented. It has nothing to do with the case. You might as well show a performance of the Austin Ballet.

 

[bluesguy1952]

It's not about if she should have resigned or not. It's not about if she is a drunk or not. It does not matter how she acted. It's about "coercion of an( elected) public official" and "official oppression". Those were the two indictments.

As I said before, I am NOT defending her. Perry is coming under a LOT of scrutiny for giving Taxpayer money to companies. She was trying to expose it, he was trying to cover it up.

 

[dilloduck]

Example:

Rick Perry gives Toyota millions $ in Taxpayer money to move a plant to Texas. Does Toyota need that money? They are the most profitable company in the world. That money would buy a lot of food stamps that you guys are yelling about.
Perry has about 3 slush funds, again taxpayer money, that he uses to pay friends to run companies that go broke or do not meet the hiring employee quoatas that were a condition of the gift

Irrelevent

 

[PaintMyHouse]

Example:

Rick Perry gives Toyota millions $ in Taxpayer money to move a plant to Texas. Does Toyota need that money? They are the most profitable company in the world. That money would buy a lot of food stamps that you guys are yelling about.
Perry has about 3 slush funds, again taxpayer money, that he uses to pay friends to run companies that go broke or do not meet the hiring employee quoatas that were a condition of the gift

Irrelevent [sic]

Remarkable. See how that works...

 

[Ibentoken]

Example:

Rick Perry gives Toyota millions $ in Taxpayer money to move a plant to Texas. Does Toyota need that money? They are the most profitable company in the world. That money would buy a lot of food stamps that you guys are yelling about.
Perry has about 3 slush funds, again taxpayer money, that he uses to pay friends to run companies that go broke or do not meet the hiring employee quoatas that were a condition of the gift

How much taxpayer money did Perry give Toyota?

 

[Where_r_my_Keys]

Well, given this is Texas, get some popcorn, lean back, and watch the fun.

Best make it quick, because this will be over 5 minutes after it hits the first judicial hearing.

 

[bluesguy1952]

I'm sure he wove a nice story for the grand jury. I bet he left out the drunk DA portion.

Oh I think everyone in Texas, if they read the newspaper, knows about the drunk DA portion of it. I rather imagine the grand jury heard it all. I can't imagine they did not. It's like I said, this has nothing to do with her DUI. there have been writeups about all of this and political cartoons in the paper now for months.

And it seems all that most of the republicans on this thread want to talk about is the DUI. Hey, I'm not supporting her. And I have not said perry is guilty. Except for that one "Ill bet" sentence, everything I wrote is straight out of the paper. If you don't like it or don't believe, take it up with the paper. I'm just the messenger. trying to get a little more detailed info into this discussion that so far has mostly talked about "how can she prosecute DUIs when she has had one", and erry can veto whatever he wants" etc. You guys are way off target.

It's about taxpayer money going to companies that were not approved or did not go through the vetting process or whatever the right term might be. " Without proper review" is the term in the paper. $11 million

There have also been several stories about taxpayer money (several $million) going to a company that was supposed to move to Texas from California. They bought a few acres of land and several years later they are still in CA with no employees in Texas.

He's not being indicted for diverting any money.

No but the head of CPRIT, who was handpicked by Perry to run it, was indicted for giving the money "without proper review". And as Lehmberg was investigating into it further, that is when all this happened.

 

[Where_r_my_Keys]

Example:

Rick Perry gives Toyota millions $ in Taxpayer money to move a plant to Texas. Does Toyota need that money? They are the most profitable company in the world. That money would buy a lot of food stamps that you guys are yelling about.
Perry has about 3 slush funds, again taxpayer money, that he uses to pay friends to run companies that go broke or do not meet the hiring employee quoatas that were a condition of the gift

How much taxpayer money did Perry give Toyota?

It doesn't matter. The use of tax incentives is perfectly legal, logically sound and the returns to Texas taxpayers will be enormous.

 

[Ibentoken]

It's not about if she should have resigned or not. It's not about if she is a drunk or not. It does not matter how she acted. It's about "coercion of an( elected) public official" and "official oppression". Those were the two indictments.

As I said before, I am NOT defending her. Perry is coming under a LOT of scrutiny for giving Taxpayer money to companies. She was trying to expose it, he was trying to cover it up.

It is about her. She runs the Department of Public Integrity and she endangered the public she serves, and then made a complete ass out of herself. She should have no position of authority in government.

 

[bluesguy1952]

Example:

Rick Perry gives Toyota millions $ in Taxpayer money to move a plant to Texas. Does Toyota need that money? They are the most profitable company in the world. That money would buy a lot of food stamps that you guys are yelling about.
Perry has about 3 slush funds, again taxpayer money, that he uses to pay friends to run companies that go broke or do not meet the hiring employee quoatas that were a condition of the gift

How much taxpayer money did Perry give Toyota?

$40 million of taxpayer money.

This was reported in the Texas Monthly, the Houstion Chronicle and several other places as well. It was on TV. To answer your question I did a google search and the first one I found is this. The paper and the magazine said the same things.

Rick Perry Wasted $40 Million on Toyota - The Texas Observer

Rick Perry Wasted $40 Million on Toyota
by Forrest Wilder Published on Friday, May 2, 2014, at 2:35 CST



If there was any lingering doubt that Gov. Rick Perry’s Texas Enterprise Fund functions more as a corporate cookie jar than a “deal-closing” job machine, it should surely be put to rest with today’s news. Earlier this week, Perry announced that Toyota would receive $40 million to move its North American headquarters from California to Plano. In a press release, Perry crowed, “Toyota understands that Texas’ employer-friendly combination of low taxes, fair courts, smart regulations and world-class workforce can help businesses of any size succeed and thrive.”

The press release went on to claim that Toyota had “cited a number of factors in choosing” Plano, including the Texas Enterprise Fund investment.

But today, the Los Angeles Times reports that that’s so much horse hockey.

“Taxes, regulations and business climate appear to have had nothing to do with Toyota’s move,” the paper reported. And that’s coming from a top executive.

“It may seem like a juicy story to have this confrontation between California and Texas, but that was not the case,” said Jim Lentz, Toyota’s North American chief executive.

Toyota left California to move its company’s brainpower, now divided among offices in three states, into one headquarters close to the company’s manufacturing base, primarily in the South.

“It doesn’t make sense to have oversight of manufacturing 2,000 miles away from where the cars were made,” Lentz said. “Geography is the reason not to have our headquarters in California.”

Oops.

So what did Texas taxpayers get for their $40 million? If you take Lentz at his word, basically nothing. Toyota was coming to Texas with or without the Enterprise Fund money. An incentives program like the Enterprise Fund is premised on the idea of being a “deal-closer.” You have to ask the “but-for” question: But for this incentive, would X company move to Texas? If the answer is, “Yes, the company would move anyway,” then there is no reason to offer the incentive.

What’s remarkable in the Toyota case is that an executive is admitting as much. You can’t blame Toyota—a for-profit company responsible to its shareholders—for taking the $40 million, but you have to wonder if the state of Texas shouldn’t now ask for its money back.

And what did Perry get? Bragging rights, the ability to lay claim to the “job creator” mantle, another notch in his belt for the silly zero-sum California vs. Texas pissing match and associating himself with a popular brand of Texas-made trucks. (Full disclosure: I own a Toyota Tacoma.)

Of course, this isn’t the first time that the true nature of the Enterprise Fund, which has paid out $558 million since its inception in 2003, has been made apparent. Last year, the governor offered Chevron $12 million for an office tower it was already planning to build in downtown Houston and the company’s own application made scant reference to other sites it was considering. Chevron also noted that it planned to use the money to lavish employees with moving benefits and perks.

If there is a “Texas miracle,” Perry’s Enterprise Fund doesn’t seem to have much to do with it.

 

[candycorn]

Wasn't GW Bush arrested for drunk driving....

Did you vote for him for President?

Let me help you out...

Bush pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence. Just like the prosecutor.

Your position is that such a plea, finding of guilt, disqualifies you from serving as a prosecutor in a county.....shouldn't it really disqualify you from serving as President which is a much more responsible position?

If there were videos of him acting like that, he wouldn't have even been considered for dog catcher.

You know it and I know it.

Technology...it's a bitch.

I'll take that as a "no". Makes me wonder why others would vote for a criminal for President....

Are you really stating that someone competence is best judged by how they act when they are intoxicated?

 

[dilloduck]

Let me help you out...

Bush pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence. Just like the prosecutor.

Your position is that such a plea, finding of guilt, disqualifies you from serving as a prosecutor in a county.....shouldn't it really disqualify you from serving as President which is a much more responsible position?

If there were videos of him acting like that, he wouldn't have even been considered for dog catcher.

You know it and I know it.

Technology...it's a bitch.

I'll take that as a "no". Makes me wonder why others would vote for a criminal for President....

Are you really stating that someone competence is best judged by how they act when they are intoxicated?

I think the behavior of a DA around law enforcement would be pretty significant.