Today, I, like many other Americans, woke up to news that Russia had launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For some, this was a shock—not everyone expected that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be brash enough to invade. At time of writing, Ukraine has weathered a storm of missile fire and has lost land but...
A California lawmaker has pulled down his own bill that would have created a single-payer healthcare system in the Golden State—even before a vote was scheduled. Even with the Democrats’ supermajority in the California capitol, he couldn’t round up the votes. According to the Sacramento Bee, the bill by San Jose Assemblyman Ash Kalra “threatened the existence of...
This year’s Winter Olympics, usually a time of international cooperation and friendly competition, was tainted by tensions unfolding between communist China and the Western world. The ambiance was eerily reminiscent of the Cold War, with diplomatic boycotts, questionable disqualifications, and now anti-China legislation flying. Recognizing the growing threat of dependence on China for everything from...
A 13-year-old child in Connecticut collapsed during gym class and was rushed to the hospital; he died two days later of what doctors concluded was a fentanyl overdose. Two other students at the school were also rushed to the hospital over similar concerns. When school officials investigated, they found 40 bags of powdered fentanyl hidden...
Watching the screen on a gas pump while filling your vehicle’s tank is liable to induce a panic attack. Paying for a used car almost requires taking out a second mortgage. Speaking of mortgages, members of the middle class are being priced out of the housing market as home prices march relentlessly upward. Many price increases are...
The media is quick to explain away the runaway inflation that is squeezing American families and darkening the prospects of Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections. “The U.S. economy has been hit with increased gas prices, inflation, and supply-chain issues due to the Ukraine crisis,” CBS News tweeted on Tuesday. Its article went on to...
America determined decades ago that unionizing the military was a terrible idea. Yet last month, the Biden administration’s Justice Department signaled in a court filing that National Guard troops on state active duty can organize as if they’re civilian first responders or civil servants, and members of the National Guard in Texas are now using...
We think about poverty all wrong. And because we think about poverty all wrong, much of our approach to alleviating it is wrong. Thus, poverty stubbornly persists and the trillions of dollars we spend barely nudges the needle to long-term poverty relief. The problem is the disconnect between what poverty really is and what our public policies are trying to solve. A clear...
What’s the purpose of city government? Most people would probably say that cities exist to police the roads, to fill the potholes, and to put out house fires. But at least some Austin bureaucrats also believe that it’s the city’s role to also teach your kids about sex. Over the weekend, the Austin Public Library...
Earlier this month, the Texas Public Policy Foundation published a new report looking at the heavy burden of property taxes in Texas’ major urban areas. In the report, the authors compare the growth of property tax levies with population and inflation increases in the top 10 most populous cities, counties, and school districts. The facts...
Recently, the Texas Public Policy Foundation published a new report looking at property taxes in Texas’ major urban centers. In the report, the authors, Anthony Jones and James Quintero, compared property tax levy growth with population and inflation increases over a five-year period for select communities. The facts and figures are aimed at helping taxpayers...
A press release on the federal Health and Human Services (HHS) website boasts that Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace enrollment reached historic highs under the Biden administration. That is correct—14.5 million Americans signed up for government-sponsored healthcare. But such a hasty celebration—either deliberately or obliviously—overlooks the original goals that democratic lawmakers had in mind for...