Paying more for housing? Blame City Hall. In spite of paying regular lip service to affordability, city officials continue to push big government policies that make it more expensive to live in Austin. In fact, officials are exploring a new one now. Earlier this month, Austin’s Code Department began seeking public input on a...
A new article lays bare the increasing irrationality of ISD administrator compensation. According to the Texas Monitor, over the last 15 months, ISDs around the state have approved severance packages to 24 superintendents worth an estimated $6 million or an average of $250,000 per official. Troublingly, many of these arrangements appear to have been much...
Austin is in the throes of an “affordability crisis” that is being driven in large part by poor public policies, according to a recent op-ed in the Austin American-Statesman. In 2016, nearly 58,000 moved to the Austin area, marking a significant increase in population. But, as the author notes, city policies made it hard for...
The reality of high home prices in Austin was the topic of discussion in a recent Community Impact article. But while much of the piece seems to suggest that more government intervention is the solution, most of us recognize that city government is the problem. To its credit, the article touches on the ill effects...
Late last month, Houston-area taxpayers scored a big win. In what is being hailed as “perhaps the first time in state history that a Texas government entity has been forced to shutter by its own citizens”, the Montrose Management District voted to dissolve itself, according to the Texas Monitor. This was a hard fought win for...
Austin’s education lobby is pushing the narrative that public schools are underfunded and the state is to blame. Though imaginative, this account falls short in several ways. To begin, public schools have sufficient funding. In the 2015-16 school year alone, Texas school districts spent a total of $64.8 billion on 5.3 million schoolchildren. That...
Even though the historic tax reform took effect only recently, almost 450 businesses nationwide have announced “pay raises, bonuses, utility rate cuts, or 401(k) hikes,” according to a detailed list maintained by Americans for Tax Reform. The pay and benefit increases have helped pad the pocketbooks of an estimated 4.2 million working Americans —...
A new report from the Texas Monitor is raising some serious questions about taxpayers and public pensions. In 2016, Carolyn Foster, Grand Prairie ISD’s former chief financial officer, was arrested and later convicted of stealing $600,000 from the district. That money was originally slotted to go toward “awards to teachers and other needs”, but instead...
On Tuesday, Think Local Liberty’s Bryan Mathew appeared on FOX 7 to point out some of the many flaws with Austin’s paid sick leave ordinance, which is expected to be voted on tomorrow. “When we have a regulatory environment where many firms are able to enter and compete, you’ll see that they start to compete...
Criminal justice reform is a prominent issue in the public square, capturing the interest of both ends of the ideological spectrum, as well as celebrities, think tanks and even the White House. Propelling this issue forward, both nationally and in the Lone Star State, is a recognition that change is needed. Especially when it...
Speaking at a news conference last month, Gov. Greg Abbott lambasted Texas’ broken property tax system, expressing the kind of frustration and fatigue that have become familiar to us all. “Texans are fed up with property taxes being raised with impunity. They are tired of endless government spending while honest, hard-working people struggle just...
Shoppers might soon discover that the grocery store is less expensive and more convenient. Two weeks ago, the Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case questioning the legitimacy of municipal bans on plastic bags. If justices reaffirm an appellate court ruling, consumers will be unburdened from this clear example of government overreach....