Governor Perry presented his State of the State address to the Texas Legislature yesterday, followed by the submission of his version of the state budget.

The Governor discussed the need to keep our business climate friendly. He believes that attracting new business to the state will cure our economic woes. Well, not exactly. He doesn’t technically admit we have “woes.”

He wants to continue funding for the Emerging Technology Fund, Economic Development and Tourism and the Film and Video Game Incentive Program (for attracting moviemakers and game developers to the state). The total for these programs – 46.3 million.

Actually, the Governor is right. We need businesses to relocate to Texas to bolster our economy and create jobs.

But I have a bone to pick with the Governor. I have worked with businesses considering relocating to our fine state. They always welcome incentives provided by state governments and we must be competitive in this environment.

However, they also look for overall quality of life for their employees. For national and multi-national companies that are seeking to recruit the best employees from around the world, they need to present an overall attractive package.

Culture is critical. Quality schools are necessary. Access to high quality research institutions is vital to the growth and development of their businesses.

Most of Texas, and certainly our urban areas, are not the most beautiful cities in America. We must prove to business that we have cultural options and a trained workforce.

Governor, I support your economic development initiatives. But please look at the overall picture. Businesses do not want to relocate to a state devoid of arts, a workforce that includes one of the highest dropout rates in the nation, and higher education institutions that are suffering due to lack of funding.

Let’s commit to true economic development in Texas and prove to business that we are committed to maintaining quality of life in our state.