Local Government

How Trump can build on regulatory reform: Borrow from Reagan’s playbook

One of the most successful policy achievements of the Trump administration and the 115th Congress has been rolling back excessive federal regulations. The synergy between the executive and legislative branches has helped stymie a veritable wave of onerous and dubious regulatory actions that would have negatively affected businesses, taxpayers, families, and individuals just trying to make...

May 17, 2018

Taxes & Spending

Trump’s historic tax reform is a strong step toward greater prosperity

  The good news keeps coming. Since the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, announcements about increased investment in the U.S. and various companies offering employees bonuses haven’t stopped. The vast majority of Americans will prosper from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. As an economist and policy analyst, we’ve been skeptical of...

February 7, 2018

Local Government

Paul Ryan should realize that federal earmarks are the currency of cronyism

  When asked if earmarks are making a comeback at a press conference last week, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) responded, “conversations are making a comeback.” But if Congress is serious about improving the lives of Americans by limiting the power of Washington and ensuring faith in our system, then this is a conversation that needs to end...

January 19, 2018

Health Care

One does not simply walk away from Obamacare repeal

  In an interview with NPR late last year, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced the Senate would turn away from pursuing Obamacare repeal through budget reconciliation in 2018 and “probably move on to other issues.” Indeed, as the second session of the 115th Congress gets underway, there have been many statements from both the Trump...

January 19, 2018

Taxes & Spending

Congress needs a vision for prosperity

  As 2018 begins, there’s chatter about what Congress will do after passing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The Trump administration signaled a new bipartisan approach on infrastructure, a sentiment shared by Senate leadership. The House, however, seems poised to reform welfare through budget reconciliation. Static analyses of the recently passed tax bill fail to capture...

January 4, 2018

Local Government

Tax plan’s proposed expansion of education savings is a game changer

  Last week, the Senate passed its version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, paving the way for a conference with the House. Congress is now preparing to iron out the details between the two bodies. That includes the late inclusion of an amendment by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) that would expand 529 savings accounts to...

December 12, 2017

Health Care

Leave Children’s Health Insurance to the States

  As Congress continues to focus on tax reform, there has been relatively little conversation about a recently lapsed federal program that funds health insurance for children in low-income households. The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is primarily targeted at households that have too much income to be eligible for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private...

November 7, 2017

Local Government

Rolling back the red tape

  There is nothing quite like the power of American ingenuity and innovation. And nowhere in the country is there a better example of economic growth and empowerment on display than right here in Texas. A primary reason for that? Freedom. Specifically, there is simply less government intrusion into the daily lives of families and...

October 5, 2017

Local Government

The Texan view on Harvey relief

  As the long recovery from Hurricane Harvey’s devastation begins in Texas and along the Gulf Coast, the debate over when and how to provide disaster relief is just getting started in Congress. Sadly, the type of bravery and selflessness on display in Houston and East Texas — with Americans rushing to help those in...

September 7, 2017

Health Care

A health care bailout for insurers paves the way to single-payer

We must not continue to have insurers serve as nothing more than another long arm of the state. Single payer health care is hardly distinguishable from that involving highly subsidized “third parties,” and yet that is precisely where the current GOP train is heading.

July 17, 2017

Local Government

An Obamacare Opt-In: Let Each State Choose

Eliminating all Obamacare regulations as the default while leaving an opt-in trigger, so states that wish to maintain the regulations may do so, is the only remaining compromise worth considering.

June 16, 2017

Local Government

GOP’s Health-Care ‘Deal’ Still Offering Fake Federalism And No Real Solution

If Congress is looking to promote real federalism and give states more control over health care, they should do it the right way—by affirmatively repealing all of Obamacare, including the Title I federal mandates and regulations that have taken such control out of their hands in the first place.

April 10, 2017