It’s hard to imagine the same barbaric cartel activity that has ravaged Mexico spreading across the border we share, but make no mistake—cartel activity is no longer confined to Mexico. It is present in all of our communities. Drug cartels are ruthless, strategic, highly organized money-making entities that continue to evolve in strength and sophistication....
Since President Joe Biden took office, he has prioritized strengthening relations with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Biden has called the Mexican leader a “friend and partner,” proclaimed his “great respect” for him and often touted their “strong and productive relationship.” AMLO, as the Mexican president is commonly called, successfully campaigned on promises to pacify the...
It’s impossible to ignore the historically high level of violence in Mexico, the southern neighbor with whom we share the largest border, trade alliance, and heritage. For years, cartels in Mexico have engaged in mass killings, kidnappings, decapitations, rapes, and torture—nothing new. What’s concerning is the Mexican government’s involvement, now enabling drug gangs to operate...
Last week, journalist Hector de Mauleon published a column revealing alleged classified cables claiming the state of Tamaulipas’s governor-elect, Americo Villarreal, received up to $7 million from the Mexican gang Cartel del Noreste to finance his political campaign. To no one’s surprise, Villarreal is denying these allegations. However, accusations of cartel collusion are common in Mexican politics — and...
Ronald Reagan once observed that, “Whenever we lower the tax rates, our entire nation is better off.” The Texas version of that statement equates to: Whenever we lower property tax rates to the no-new-revenue level or lower, our entire state is better off. For those not familiar with the term, the no-new-revenue tax rate is...
On Wednesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pressed for property tax relief, telling a big crowd in Fairview that he wants to take half of the projected $27 billion state surplus and use it to reduce property taxes. If this happens, it’d make for the largest property tax cut in Texas history. The news is sure...
Former President Barack Obama once proclaimed that: “The last thing you want to do is raise taxes in the middle of the recession because that would just suck up and take more demand out of the economy and put businesses in a further hole.” Like a broken clock, he got that one right. Raising taxes...
The political elite continues to prove how out of touch they are with the needs of regular Americans, evidenced today by Austin City Council members who have approved a whopping 40% salary increase for themselves in the midst of an affordability crisis in the city of Austin. While Austin council members are preoccupied with how to...