ECONOMY — ANTI-STIMULUS CRUSADER GOV. RICK PERRY BALANCES HIS STATE’S BUDGET WITH STIMULUS FUNDS: Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) joined a handful of Republican governors last year in rejecting various portions of the economic recovery package. Perry explained his position: “[It] was pretty simple for us. …We can take care of ourselves.” The Texas state legislature eventually pushed Perry to accept the money but he still insisted he believes “there are better ways to reinvigorate our economy and believe [the stimulus] will burden future generations with unprecedented levels of debt.” However, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that “billions of dollars from that initiative helped Texas legislators balance the current budget.” Perry is not the only governor to rail against the stimulus while relying on it to balance his budget. Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) called the stimulus “incoherent” and “largely wasted,” but still used it to fix one-third of his state’s budget hole. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office recently found that the Recovery Act not only prevented key state budget cuts around the country, but also raised GDP by up to 4 percent and created 2.8 million jobs.