There's no place like home: Plano, Collin County catalyst for economic growth in Texas

State and local dignitaries joined business and community leaders in welcoming Gov. Rick Perry to the Collin College Spring Creek campus on Wednesday.

Perry was the keynote speaker for the Plano Chamber of Commerce's quarterly luncheon series, which was presented by the chamber and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano.

"Plano has a history of strong leadership and foresight when it comes to creating the best environment for businesses to thrive in our community," said Nancy McSwain, Plano Chamber executive board chair. "Our speaker today has shown the same type of leadership. Texas continues to be a leader in job creation, and we can thank our leader, Gov. Rick Perry, for his role in our state's success."

The state's longest serving governor spoke for roughly 20 minutes, discussing topics like the state's current business climate and unemployment rate. Perry also talked about the importance of cultural arts as a vehicle for attracting business and corporate relocations.

Mayor Phil Dyer gave a brief introductory speech, welcoming Perry to Plano and calling him a "champion of fiscal and regulatory discipline."

"Today we are honored to have with us a gentleman who has committed his adult life to public service and the pursuit of the greater Texas," he said. "He is an exceptional leader ... Thanks [to him] and the efforts of you hard working Texans, our state is consistently the nation's leader in export business development and job creation."

Perry could not begin his keynote speech on Texas's past, current and future economic resurgences, however, without a little comedic relief, as the once presidential hopeful said after his experience over the past several months, there's no place like home.

"You may have forgotten, but there was a time when I led the nomination for the Republican Party; it was three of the most exhilarating hours of my life," he said. "I am pleased to be in Collin County and discussing these important issues that you really care about, unlike the debates. I really get a little bit nervous if I have to get on a stage where there's more than one podium."

Earlier Wednesday, Perry met with local business leaders so he could better understand their needs and how those concerns can be focused on during the upcoming legislative session. Listening to people on the "frontlines of business" are important the keeping taxes low, delivering services people desire, keeping a regulatory climate that is fair and predictable and a legal system that doesn't allow for over suing, and making sure government stays out of the way, Perry said.

"This community and this area of Texas has been a joy for me to work with over the course of the years, and has been a real catalyst for the Texas economy," he said. "As we go forward, allowing you the flexibility necessary to deal with the individual challenges, is one of our goals. Nobody's better positioned to take care of their own than the men and women of the communities in which you live."

Keeping local businesses thriving is also a way in which Texas has been able to stand out amid the recent recession years, Perry said. For example, he said, Texas is the only state to regain all of the jobs that were lost in the recession that started in 2009, with the private sector adding 331,000 jobs from February 2011 to February 2012, more than any other state in the nation.

"Our unemployment rate is well below the national average," Perry said. "Even as we continue to recruit people into this state, people come here, and our unemployment rate is less than the national average. People know this is the place to come find a job. People are moving to Texas because they know what's going on here."

Another way Texas is becoming a competitive "beacon" for economic growth is through the promotion of cultural arts facilities, he said. Cities like Dallas, San Antonio, Houston and Austin continue to build museums, symphony halls and performing arts centers, amenities that Perry said are being used to attract major corporations to Texas.

"They're going to find out we don't all ride horses to work [or] that we don't all have oil wells in our backyards. They're going to find out this is one of the most dynamic, technologically-driven states in the nation," Perry said. "That's what this state has become over the course of the last decade, and you have been a great part of that. No longer is there a question of does Texas have cultural arts; we use it to go sell to people."

While most of the governor's speech related to business and economic growth, Perry did make a few comments about health care spending in Texas, emphasizing the need to put spending in the hands of local lawmakers instead of the federal government's.

"We have a ticking time bomb in this state, and it's called Medicaid," Perry said. "It can bankrupt this state [and this country]. It already consumes massive amount of our budget and promises to eat up more and more as the years go by. It is wrong for Washington to tie the hands of the state, forcing one size fits all. Delivering health care in Texas is different than delivering healthcare in North Dakota. States are different."

Perry's comments regarding cultural arts projects struck a chord with Peter Krause, an agent at The Insurance House in Plano. The governor's sentiments were an ironic contrast to the history of local events, Krause said, in light of efforts to keep the Arts Center of North Texas afloat. The project was dissolved last month, when efforts to keep the assets together by spinning the project off into a separate nonprofit fell through when the Frisco City Council voted against the proposal.

"If you want to be king of the hill you need arts," Krause said. "I don't think the people who were against it saw the whole point of it for future growth. Had we not had a couple of people against it and fighting it so hard, we would have been breaking ground and getting started already."

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