Farouk Shami: A Politician with a Money-Back Guarantee

In a world where politicians are routinely bought and sold by the highest-bidding special interest, Farouk Shami's "sale" is to the voter. Lots of politicians would say that, but Shami is putting his money -- or at least, his job -- where his mouth is: he comes with a "money-back guarantee."

Shami's guarantee is as simple as it is bold. If elected Governor, he will create 100,000 new jobs in Texas, or he will resign. It's as simple as that.

And Shami knows a thing or two about creating jobs. He came to the United States 44 years ago with only $71, and since then has built a billion-dollar hair-care company than employs more than 2,500 workers. He recently closed a plant overseas to move its 1,200 jobs to the United States, the country he calls home.

Shami is confident his business knowledge will set him apart from the ranks of career politicians he will face both in the Democratic Party primary and in the general election. In addition to the knowledge of budgeting and strategic planning as important to being a good businessman as a good governor, Shami points out that his experience as a businessman gives him insights that are just not available to a career politician.

He points out that a businessman must provide for the health care of his employees in a very regular and very involved way. Health care has not been a matter of speeches and theory for Shami; it has been a matter of meeting regulations, weighing costs, and implementing a system that works for him and his employees.

High-quality education is not a feel-good campaign promise for him. He knows from personal experience that good public education builds a healthy workforce. Why? He hires the products of that education system.

But the problem immediately confronting Texas and the nation is unemployment. And in Shami's view, solving the state's unemployment problem will go a long way toward solving other problems.

Consider: foreclosures are much more likely to strike homeowners who have lost one or more jobs in the family. Health insurance is available primarily through employers. Poverty goes hand-in-hand with unemployment, and good education depends largely on a healthy tax base -- which again goes right back to jobs.

But don't confuse Shami's guarantee with a desire to swell state payrolls. To the contrary, Shami says he will use the Texas Enterprise Fund to encourage growth among small businesses. Shami envisions luring companies to Texas, where a company could base its high-wage, high-capital operations in-state, while taking advantage of proximity to Mexico, where the company's low-wage, low-capital operations could be based.

Shami's committed to building a modern manufacturing economy in Texas, including green jobs in research, new transmission lines, and solar panels and wind turbines. There's no shortage of either wind or sun in Texas, and Shami has no intention of letting either asset go to waste.

But of course, as a businessman, Shami knows that a product without a guarantee relies on faith and good intentions. The more important the product, the more important the guarantee, and the more likely the buyer is to demand one. And what is more important than the political leadership of a state?

Shami is comfortable with his guarantee, because his mind focuses on business solutions, not typical government solutions. Business solutions come with real costs, and real, measureable benefits. Shami's guarantee is his way of acknowledging the bar he's always had to meet: effective, efficient decisionmaking and leadership.