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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.

Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston continue to lead the nation's largest metro areas in new jobs and the rate of job growth compared with a year earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday.

Total nonfarm employment in the 12-county North Texas area stood at 2,929,700 in April, up 83,100 over April 2010, said the bureau's regional commissioner, Stanley Suchman.

The same week in April that a delegation of government officials from beleaguered California came to Texas to examine the state’s sound economy, Republican Gov. Rick Perry announced deals with three major corporations, creating new jobs in the Lone Star State.

It’s no big secret why Texas has been attracting businesses, while corporations are fleeing California. As Perry told the Golden State visitors, Texas’ low taxes and regulatory sanity offer a friendly business climate for companies looking to set up shop.

For four years, the Republican Governors Association has methodically built toward establishing a majority of governors — on the promise that executives at the state level would transform the nation.

One hundred days ago this week, the last of the Republican Party’s new majority of 29 governors was sworn in. Now the nation can see the tremendous impact made possible by a group of governors committed to sweeping reforms in every facet of government. Over this short time, new GOP governors have redefined the nation’s politics by hitting the reset button in their states — promoting fiscally responsible policies to lead the way back to national prominence.

When a group of legislators proposed a trip to the state capitol of Texas to see what they do right that California does wrong, I first thought "I don't need to go because I'm a business owner and I know why businesses are leaving California -- we're over-regulated, we're taxed too much, and there's a constant war being waged against business and job creators."

But I decided to go -- at my own expense -- and in those three days, I heard first-hand testimony from political and business leaders in Texas and came away with great respect for their political leadership , something sorely missing here but something I hope to restore.

Austin, Texas

It wasn't your usual legislative hearing. A group of largely Republican California lawmakers and Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom traveled here last week to hear from businesses that have left their state to set up shop in Texas.

"We came to learn why they would pick up their roots and move in order to grow their businesses," says GOP Assemblyman Dan Logue, who organized the trip. "Why does Chief Executive magazine rate California the worst state for job and business growth and Texas the best state?"

The contrast is undeniable. Texas has added 165,000 jobs during the last three years while California has lost 1.2 million. California's jobless rate is 12% compared to 8% in Texas.