tank and then some. and yet businesses will not use that fuel to a degree necessary to realize our job - creating potential and create a better world for the successor generation of americans until congress, working with the executive branch, does the responsible thing and pulls together a tax, spending and regulatory program that will induce businesses to step on the accelerator and engage the transmission mechanism of job creation so they and the consumers they create through employment can drive our economy forward. “ q & a : german finance minister takes on critics, ” by marcus walker, william boston and andreas kissler, wall street journal, jan. 29, 2012. bis central bankers ’ speeches

number of people earning minimum wage ; we have an unemployment rate that, while trending downward, is still too high, abetted by continued inflows of job seekers from less - promising sections of the country. but i ’ ll bet you that those who constantly enumerate our deficiencies and are given to habitual texas - bashing would give their right – or should i say, left – arms to have texas ’ record of robust long - term job creation instead of the anemic employment growth of other megastates such as california and new york. or even the job formation record of many other countries! the following chart shows that over the past two decades, the rate of employment growth in texas has exceeded that of the euro zone and its two anchors, germany and france, as well as that of two natural - resource - intensive countries with populations comparable to texas ’, canada and australia. bis central bankers ’ speeches now, is all this just prototypical texas brag, or are there lessons the nation can learn from the success that is enjoyed here? texans are hardly given to modesty, but i believe there are some undeniable lessons being imparted here. one lesson i draw from comparative state data is that monetary policy is a necessary but insufficient tonic for economic recovery. the fed has made money cheap and abundant for the entire country. the citizens of texas and the eleventh federal reserve district operate under the same monetary policy as do our fellow americans. we have the same mortgage rates and pay the same rates of interest on commercial and consumer loans, and our businesses borrow at the same interest rates as their brethren elsewhere in the country. which raises an important question : if monetary policy is the same here as everywhere else in the united states, why does texas outperform the other states? the answer is no doubt complicated by the fact that texas is blessed with a comparatively great amount of nature ’ s gifts, a high concentration of military installations and what some claim are other “ unfair ” advantages. but many of these “ unfair ” advantages are man - made : they derive from a deliberate approach by state and local authorities to enact business - friendly regulations and fiscal policy. for example, if you examine the differences between texas and two states that have been underperforming for a prolonged period – california and new york – you will note that these former power states have less - flexible labor rules. due to local taxes, differences in zoning practices and myriad other factors, the cost