Businesses Ripe For Texas To Steal

[UNTflyer]

It's time to start stealing, says the president and chief executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Not money, mind you, but talent. And jobs.

Texas is one of the few big states not flat on its back from the recession. Using its greener pastures as a selling point, the state should "go out and steal everything we can from the rest of the country," says Dallas Fed boss Richard Fisher.

"That means stealing the best brains from places that are depressed, like Rhode Island and Michigan and California," he said. "Jam them into what I call the triangle, which is Austin-San Antonio, Dallas, Houston."

And why not snag some choice employers, while we're at it?

"We ought to be out recruiting every business we can," Fisher said. "No one wants to operate a business in California anymore. Nobody."

So far, Texas has a milder recession than the rest of the country, a jobless rate well below the national average and a brighter forecast than many other regions have. The state's relative health might help it attract corporate bosses and recession refugees alike when the economy improves, according to economists, economic development officials and site selection analysts.