Perry, O’Malley spar over whose economy rocks more

Rick Perry, Republican governor of Texas, says his state’s business climate beats conditions in Maryland.

Martin O’Malley, Democratic governor of Maryland, says bull puckey.

The pair, who took questions and traded shots on CNN’s Crossfire Wednesday, had already aired competing claims.

Perry, who personally brought his pitch for businesses to move to Texas to Maryland the same day, went first with ads, similar to ones he has tried in other states, saying in one spot: “You grow tired of Maryland taxes squeezing every dime out of your business, think Texas.”

O’Malley countered in an opinion column published in the Washington Post.

“Perry and like-minded Republican governors subscribe to the slash-and-burn economic philosophy — a belief that ‘less’ will somehow become ‘more,’” O’Malley wrote. “In Texas, he has implemented this vision with gusto, cutting taxes and slashing funding for critical middle-class priorities such as public schools, higher education, health care and infrastructure. The results? Texas ranks 49th in high school graduation, 10th in the rate of poverty and 50th in the percent of residents with even basic health insurance.

The column continues: “And while Perry likes to promote the job creation in Texas during his time in office, he leaves out a critical point: The jobs ‘miracle’ he touts is driven by low-paying, non-sustainable jobs. This year, Texas — tied with Mississippi — leads the nation for the percentage of hourly paid workers earning equal to or less than the minimum wage. More than one in 10 workers nationwide earning at or below the minimum wage works in Texas.”

In past months and years, we checked some claims like these. Those fact checks are stacked to the right.

Now, what should we check from the Crossfire blow-by-blow? We’ll be reviewing the transcript.