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As governors of states whose residents, like all Americans, are desperate for the restoration of fiscal responsibility in Washington, we are proud to have signed the “Cut, Cap and Balance Pledge” amid the debate over once again raising the federal debt ceiling.

We oppose an increase in the federal debt limit unless three common-sense conditions are met: substantial cuts in spending; enforceable spending caps to put the country on a path to a balanced budget; and congressional passage of a balanced-budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That amendment should include a requirement for a congressional supermajority to approve any raises in taxes.

At heart, the pledge represents the reality that yet another temporary fix to our nation’s budgetary woes is no fix at all. The time has come for all of us to begin holding the federal government to the same common-sense standards in place in most states, including South Carolina and Texas.

If you don't believe Reaganomics can still work in this day and age, for whatever reason, I say you should look no further than the state of Texas.

Under the leadership of Gov. Rick Perry, Texas has championed and built upon the concepts my father used to rebuild America in the 1980s.

The results, again, are unassailable.

Over the decade between April 2001 and April 2011, more than 730,000 private-sector jobs were created in the Lone Star State. During that same stretch of time, the next-best state added just over 90,000 and the nation as a whole lost 2.2 million.

Texas became the USA's second-largest economy during the past decade — displacing New York and perhaps heading one day toward challenging California — in one of the biggest economic shifts in the past half-century.

The dramatic realignment of the nation's economy was illustrated by North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia all overtaking one-time industrial powerhouse Michigan in economic size from 2000 to 2010. The economic winners of the last decade are states that focus on raw materials, government and senior citizens. The big losers are places that make things — industrial states and even California.

USA TODAY examined each state's gross domestic product to determine how the country's economic output has shifted within its borders. The data, recently released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, reflect both population growth and income increases — in short, the economic weight of each state.

Gov. Rick Perry told state legislators Tuesday to get to work on some immigration-related measures while they're in town for their overtime session.

Among them is a measure banning so-called sanctuary cities, which got House but not Senate approval in the regular five-month session that ended last week.