The Democratic National Convention is resurrecting the Affordable Care Act as the centerpiece of the party’s healthcare policies. One speech featured healthcare activist and cancer survivor Laura Packard, who credits the ACA and its rules on preexisting conditions for her survival. Yet there are other stories that should be told, stories about the families that “Obamacare” failed....
Most signs point to an improving COVID-19 situation in Texas—unless you consider the recently questionable elevated test positivity rate that’s keeping us from reopening. On Aug. 13, Texas reported 6,879 hospitalized COVID-19 patients statewide, the lowest number since June 30. And on that day, the Texas Medical Center in Houston had its 27th consecutive day...
Until now, governments in America have never shut down society like they did due to COVID-19. Unfortunately, the destruction by the novel coronavirus and the lockdowns have devastated lives and livelihoods. But we must consider not only the effects we can see such as the number of cases and deaths reported, but also the unseen...
Last Thursday, the EPA announced the adoption of new environmental standards that will reduce overburdensome regulations on methane emissions from oil and natural gas operations. While the climate alarmists will scream that the end is near, the EPA estimates the new regulations will increase methane emissions by only a few percent over the next 5 years. And...
For decades, America has failed to instill a love of country in its younger generations, with a recent poll finding that only 51 percent of young Americans are proud of America, while only 40 percent would be willing to sacrifice for their country. Along the same lines, most Americans do not know even the basics...
On Saturday, August 8, President Donald Trump signed four executive actions in response to a Congressional stalemate on the next round of COVID-19 relief. This brief covers the memorandum allocating federal Disaster Relief Funds (DRF) to enhance state unemployment insurance (UI). Background on UI: The federal-state UI system was created in 1935 as a form...
On Saturday, August 8, President Trump signed four executive actions in response to a Congressional stalemate on the next round of COVID-19 relief. This brief covers the memorandum deferring some employees’ payroll taxes to Social Security without affecting the program. Background on payroll taxes: There are two types of payroll taxes: Social Security rate is...
In America’s season of unrest, calls for police reform have too often been met with sloganeering rather than considered debate illuminated by fact and data. Unfortunately, one major city in Texas isn’t immune to this phenomenon: Austin. Of Texas’ six most-populous cities, five plan to increase their law enforcement budgets: Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth,...
To quote Right on Crime’s director, Derek Cohen, “prison is for the people we’re scared of, not the people we’re mad at.” However, this is not always the case in Louisiana, where a person who commits multiple felony offenses can lose their freedom for extended periods of time — even life — regardless of how...
People passionate about public policy don’t aspire to make a dollar. They strive to make a difference. And having an impact is almost always deeply satisfying. That was certainly the case with Pflugerville this week. On Tuesday, the Texas Public Policy Foundation hosted Senator Paul Bettencourt and Representative Dustin Burrows to talk taxes and the...
Congress should scrap what’s currently being discussed in the next round of COVID-19-related recovery efforts. Instead, it should focus on getting businesses operating and workers working again after governments’ lockdowns severely disrupted the lives and livelihoods of Americans. This can be done with the Foundation’s proposal of the Rehire America Workplace Recovery Act that includes the essential...
School supply lists are an annual tradition; parents know that every August, they’ll start filling backpacks with pencils and paper and three-ring binders. This year is different: It includes masks, hand sanitizer, and an awful lot of uncertainty. That uncertainty isn’t good for families. For our children’s sake, we must reopen schools for in-person learning. President Trump’s...