Erin Davis Valdez is a policy analyst for Right on Work at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. She has been passionate about the transformational power of education all her life, having been given the gift of being homeschooled. She taught for over a decade in Austin-area schools and served as an assistant principal at a charter school in Lewisville. These experiences have given her the opportunity to see first-hand how students can thrive when they have excellent options.
Soon, every Texan will have more opportunity to pursue their dreams, to learn new skills, and to thrive. The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Opportunity Project supported and tracked important legislation that improved workforce development, removed governmental barriers, and reformed safety net programs—all of which will make Texas a more prosperous state. The 87th Texas Legislature...
We’re seeing a lot of California plates in and around Austin these days. It’s not just individuals from the West Coast pulling up stakes and moving here; businesses are also fleeing states with high taxes and unfavorable regulatory environments to the Lone Star State. To meet growing demands, our workforce must grow, as well. A...
It was national news. The Washington Post reported on two brothers-in-law who drove more than 20 hours to bring their skills as plumbers to a newly thawed Texas. Much of the work they performed was for free. “Yesterday, we went to a subdivision of very small houses and fixed income, and we could not feel...
Astronauts. Ballerinas. Doctors. Firefighters. Oilfield workers? One of these things is not like the others. When children daydream about what they want to be when they grow up, oil and gas jobs rarely make the list — even in Texas, the country’s top energy-producing state. That needs to change for sake of the future of...
Everything is different now. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we interact, how we conduct business and how we recreate. Public education will also have to change. We have an opportunity now to ensure that it changes for the better — that Texas schoolkids can learn in the way that suits them best, whether it’s...
More than 35 state representatives say Texas shouldn’t check whether applicants are actually unemployed before granting unemployment benefits. They have written a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Workforce Commission “requesting they temporarily suspend unemployment certifications in hopes of making better use of resources.” According to one of the letter’s authors, state Rep. Michelle Beckley, D-Carrollton,...
As of April 30, total Texas unemployment claims since mid-March have reached 1.5 million. This number is likely lower than the actual number of unemployed. To say that the state’s economy has taken a hit from COVID-19 lock-downs and the historical collapse of oil and gas would be an understatement. And the crisis also affects...
A Harvard law professor argues that home schooling is a form of authoritarian control but believes forcing all children to go to a government-run school is not. I wish this statement was a strawman. But it is not. Elizabeth Bartholet, professor of law at Harvard University, advances this exact argument in an interview in the...
More than 1 million Texans have filled for unemployment since mid-March. There will be many more individuals who will file in the coming weeks. This is a signal that something is very wrong—and it’s a novel virus. But this novel virus has also created a novel recession, and we can’t prepare to treat it with the same...
Who is “essential,” and what does that mean? I’ve been thinking about that lately. I get a lot of email these days; I’m sure we all do. It’s basically of three varieties: hey, we’re still open, please get take-out; hey, we’re closed, please buy a gift card; and, hey, COVID19 is going to affect our...
An article in the Wall Street Journal says there’s growing demand for college degrees, even for manufacturing jobs. It’s a trend that will have negative consequences for American workers and American businesses. The Journal’s analysis of federal data found that “U.S. manufacturers have added more than a million jobs since the recession, with the growth going to...
Texas has a lot going for it—low unemployment, population growth, and a favorable regulatory environment. People want to come here, and it’s not just for our brisket and breakfast tacos. But our prosperity is unevenly distributed, with some regions experiencing a disheartening “tale of two cities” dynamic. Port Arthur is one such place. With the enormous...