What do Scott Walker and Rick Perry Have in Common? Jobs.

Here's two facts that are connected, but don't expect to hear about the connection from the mainstream media.

First, Wisconsin in June created more than half of the nation's net jobs gains, adding 9,500 jobs out of the country's total of 18,000 new jobs.  

State officials note that in the first six months of 2011, Wisconsin’s total private sector job growth of 1.7% has been almost twice the national rate of 0.9%; and in the manufacturing sector job growth has been more than twice the national rate, 3.2% compared to 1.2%.

Wisconsin total nonfarm job growth (1.4%) has been more that twice the national rate (0.6%).

Governor Walker has made job creation a focus of his platform, vowing to help Wisconsin’s private sector create a quarter of million new jobs by the end of his term.

Second, Texas has created 45% of America's jobs since June 2009, when the recession officially ended.   Hmmm, I wonder why:

Texas has no state income tax. Its regulatory conditions are contained and flexible. It is fiscally responsible and government is small. Its right-to-work law doesn't impose unions on businesses or employees. It is open to global trade and competition: Houston, San Antonio and El Paso are entrepôts for commerce, especially in the wake of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Based on his conversations with CEOs and other business leaders, Mr. Fisher says one of Texas's huge competitive advantages is its ongoing reform of the tort system, which has driven litigation costs to record lows. He also cited a rule in place since 1998 in the backwash of the S&L debacle that limits mortgage borrowing to 80% of the appraised value of a home. Like a minimum down payment, this reduces overleveraging and means Texas wasn't hurt as badly by the housing crash as other states.

What do they have in common?  A pro-business conservative governor:  Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Rick Perry of Texas.