The Perryman Group reports that former Gov. Rick Perry’s deployment of National Guard troops to the Texas-Mexico border is a job killing drag on the Texas economy.  The Waco-based firm looked at previous troop deployments along the Rio Grande to estimate the potential economic impact of Perry’s recent use of one thousand National Guardsmen to patrol the border.  The Perryman Group estimated that businesses in Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley would lose $541.9 million in GDP and 7,830 jobs for each year of deployment. Texas as a whole would lose 8,680 jobs and $650 million in GDP per year. The primary reasons for the economic slowdown are the discouraging effect the troops’ presence has on cross-border business and tourism.