The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas recently released the report Regional Outlook: Moderate Growth Ahead. They discuss the current state of the Texas economy and where it’s likely headed. They find a combination of challenges and opportunities on the horizon. Here are the highlights: Economic growth in the Eleventh District moderated somewhat as oil prices fell...
The first figure shows data indicating that December marked the 96th consecutive month that the Lone Star State’s unemployment rate has been at or below the national average.
Texans deserve a transparent Texas budget. The Foundation provides more budget transparency by publishing The Real Texas Budget and an associated worksheet with our data since the 2004-05 budget. We find that the 2014-15 (adjusted) total budget is up 13.4 percent above population growth plus inflation since 2004. We understand that this is at odds with the Legislative Budget Board’s reported adjusted total budget decrease of 1.2 percent since 2002 as noted in their table published in August 2013. Let’s consider the following changes we made to accurately compare past budgets and calculate our 2014-15 budget of...
Last week, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar released the Biennial Revenue Estimate 2016-17 that acts as a guidepost for how much revenue the 84th Texas Legislature will have available to appropriate during the 2015 Legislative Session. Given the state’s constitution requires a balanced budget, the report also sets the stage for how much legislators have available...
Former Texas Comptroller Susan Combs released her last report “Path to Stability: ERS at the Crossroads” before leaving office. This report provides valuable information on the Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS), the pension fund for state employees, that includes the following highlights: “Based on ERS’ fiscal 2014 actuarial valuation, if current assumptions hold, the...
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary report today for November 2014 providing more evidence of the Texas model’s success of creating more jobs compared with other large states and national averages. The following figures tell the story:
Despite the higher sales tax rate, this swap would benefit Texans because a sales tax is more transparent, efficient and simple than the 4,000-plus property taxes statewide, providing improved government accountability and more money in your pocket.
The vastly greater opportunity to prosper in those states without an income tax provides evidence that Texas would be wise to never pass an income tax.
No American ought to suffer the slings and arrows of a punishing property tax system to pay for our government. Not only is a break from the status quo possible, but it’s also potentially prosperous for all Texans in a big way.
As Texans, we all know that people continue to move here. Just look around when driving to the grocery store or your favorite restaurant. In rural and urban areas, you not only see more people, but license tags from other states. A recent report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas highlights the large sum...
The 84th Texas Legislature will convene at noon on January 13, 2015. Legislators will then have another opportunity to determine the appropriate level of taxation to fund basic public necessities. The two primary types of taxes used to fund the bulk of state budgets nationwide are consumption (i.e. sales tax) and personal income taxes. Compared...