Caroline is a policy analyst for the Government for the People initiative at the Foundation, where she works to affect policymakers and Texan citizens with sound research on matters related to local government.
Put a finger down if you’ve ever 1) had surgery or another medical procedure 2) received unexpected or confusing bills for the service 3) tried to understand the healthcare system to no avail 4) given up and concluded it’s all a racket where everyone but the patient has control over cost and quality. If you...
“You can’t come in for your steroid injections without scheduling an extra appointment because your insurance isn’t paying us enough.” That’s what I was told at my most recent visit to an orthopedic surgeon I’ve seen for years. I expected relief from my pain, not a surprise medical bill—or as I learned later, “cost-shifting.” My...
The United States has created only a dozen federally recognized holidays (counting the quadrennial Inauguration Day). One scholar has suggested these be categorized into holidays celebrating America’s Christian and European heritage, American groups, and American individuals. It is to the last category I devote my inquiry. Three federal holidays commemorate individuals, these being Christopher Columbus,...
In the political context, the term “sunshine” originated in U. S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis’ book Other People’s Money and How the Bankers Use It, where he argued that “sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.” While initially aimed at the business sector, Brandeis’ axiom is...
On Wednesday, the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) met to adopt a spending limit to govern how fast the next two-year budget will grow. The biennial ritual is performed in service of observing the state’s two primary spending limits, one constitutional and the other statutory. More specifically, those limits are: “the Article VIII constitutional tax spending...
North Dakota, Detroit, and rural Vermont are not necessarily what comes to mind when you think of growing tech hubs, but they are. From students in Vermont to doctors in Michigan to entrepreneurs in North Dakota—all have had their lives transformed by broadband expansion. Broadband internet is defined by the FCC as internet with 25...
The city of Austin is becoming an increasingly expensive place to live, not least because of the overgrown local governments which seem determined to drain taxpayers’ money. It might be different if this money at least be spent on things within the proper sphere of government, which would will serve Austin citizens and protect their...
Loyal iPhone users are familiar with ever-rising standards: “bringing incredible speed to everything you do,” costing only a mere $1000, and minus the functionality of a headphone jack or charging port. And many customers do in fact find the faster speeds, higher definition cameras, and longer lasting batteries to be a good enough value add...
On July 15, Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk laid out a proposed $5 billion city budget for fiscal year 2023. While introducing the mammoth 971-page document, Cronk said: “We are always mindful of our impact on the pocketbooks of Austinites. At the same time, we firmly believe that effective city government is critical to the...