Lessons from 2003

March 23, 2011

The Honorable Talmadge Heflin

Policymakers can learn some lessons from 2003 to help keep state spending under control this session.

Massive Downward Jobs Revision Reveals The Media Lied About Biden’s Economic Record

Media not only misled the public but may have delayed needed policy shifts, like Fed rate cuts. Americans deserve transparency, not gaslighting. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) delivered a body blow to the corporate media industrial complex’s narrative of a robust Biden economy. In its preliminary benchmark revision, the agency slashed its estimate...

September 22, 2025

Taxes & Spending

Assessing Tax Trends in the City of Austin

Does history suggest that property taxes are too high in the city of Austin? And, if so, have local decision-makers actively helped or hurt the situation? To help answer these questions, let’s review the city’s 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) and gather four types of data—i.e., tax levies, local population, total tax rates, and taxable values—over a 10-year time horizon. Using these audited estimates, we can gauge the growth of government (i.e., tax levy trends), assess its reasonability...

February 19, 2026

Economy

What the Private Sector can Teach the Public Sector about Efficiency

Recently, former President Trump floated the idea of creating “a government efficiency commission a federal commission to audit the entire federal government.” And even better, he suggested putting Elon Musk in charge of the commission, saying he is a great “cost-cutter.” Unleashing a commission of this nature on the federal government, led by a titan...

October 17, 2024

The Honorable Talmadge Heflin

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Massive Downward Jobs Revision Reveals The Media Lied About Biden’s Economic Record

Assessing Tax Trends in the City of Austin

What the Private Sector can Teach the Public Sector about Efficiency