Summary
The article starts by critiquing President Obama’s job plan as it let politics get in the way of properly informing our country. During his speech, the President complimented a Georgia job plan when he should have addressed Texas’ model. If Texas’ Governer Rick Perry wasn’t challenging Obama for presidency next term, Barack could have addressed the Texas job program that won an award for innovation last year.

Unlike Georgia’s plan, which essentially gives a tax break to employers, Texas’ job plan is much simpler. Hire an unemployed resident who is eligible, and the employer gets $2,000. For employers to get the full subsidy, workers must be on the job at least 30 hours a week for 120 days, and the program is limited to people who made $15 an hour or less in their previous job. “Since Texas Back to Work was introduced in February 2010, more than 3,000 employers have signed up, and 18,314 unemployed workers have been hired, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Nearly all are being paid as much as they were previously.”

Some criticism to the Texas Back to Work job plan is that employers can hire these candidates even if they were already planning on hiring a new employee and the government will have to flip the bill. Also, employers can take advantage of the system by letting go senior employees while bringing in younger and cheaper versions.

As a leg up in interviews, job seekers can bring a letter that explains the program to prospective employers to show the employer that they are eligible for a $2,000 incentive by hiring that individual. They can also print it out, attach it to their resume, and talk about it during the interview to give them confidence during their interview.

Reference
Schurman, Mitchell. How Texas’ government helped put people back to work. http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/09/10/3354116/how-texas-government-helped-put.html. September, 10, 2011.