It is inaccurate for anyone to claim that state spending in the House budget is failing to keep pace with population growth and inflation. In fact, even after accounting for the correction of past deferrals, state spending in HB 1 is increasing faster than estimated population growth and inflation. Spending in all areas other than public education is increasing by over 13 percent, five percentage points higher than inflation and population growth are prognosticated to be.
Economy
Don’t Fence Me In: Lianne’s Story
Family, then finances—and opportunity. Those are what brought Lianne Halpern back to tiny Shamrock, a small, dusty stop on the famous Route 66 in the Texas panhandle. Like generations of Americans before, Lianne and her family had traveled west along that route in search of the golden promises of California. Lianne’s father worked in the...
January 29, 2026