AUSTIN – Yesterday, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released state-level personal income data for 2014. The report notes that Texas nominal personal income, which includes the sum of net earnings, property income, and personal current transfer receipts, increased by 5.6 percent last year. This is the nation’s fifth highest growth rate with the national average increasing by 3.9 percent.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Fiscal Policy Economist Dr. Vance Ginn issued the following statement:
“Today’s BEA state-level personal income report shows that Texans benefited from another year of robust economic activity in 2014. Total personal income increased by 5.6 percent to $1.2 trillion, or $45,426 for every man, woman, and child statewide,” said Ginn. “This 44 percent increase in Texas’ personal income above the national average increase in personal income along with 392,900 net nonfarm jobs created last year supports the success story of the limited government framework in Texas known as the Texas model.
“Texas House budget writers are working to continue that model by restraining the footprint of government and passing along a conservative 2016-17 budget to the full House. Though there is much work to do before it’s ready for the governor’s signature and much can happen in the meantime, it’s reassuring to know that at this stage the $209.8 billion budget is below the recommended maximum of $214.9 billion supported by 15 organizations in the Conservative Texas Budget Coalition. By holding spending in check and providing substantial tax relief, last year’s economic gains for Texans will continue.”
Vance Ginn, Ph.D. is an Economist in the Center for Fiscal Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin, Texas.