The story of how Texas was brought to its knees by crippling cold weather leaving millions without power is a complex one, yet entirely predictable and avoidable. The details matter, so it is important to know the long story, but let’s start with the short version: For years, Texas’ grid operator (ERCOT) has overestimated the...
Editor’s note: TPPF’s Chuck DeVore breaks down for us exactly what went wrong with the Texas power grid—and why so many of us have been without power in this week’s epic winter storm. There were two problems, one short term and one long term—which exacerbated the short-term one. The short-term failure came at about 1...
Punxsutawney Phil wasn’t kidding when he predicted six more weeks of winter. As most of the nation plunges into a bitter cold snap — with temperatures falling into the unheard-of single digits in Texas — we have fossil fuels to thank for keeping Texans warm and safe. For now, anyway. This week, as the state...
Upon news that the city of San Marcos could soon be officially designated as “the mermaid capital of Texas,” the Texas Public Policy Foundation submitted the following Public Information Act request: “Please provide a list of mermaid-related expenses in fiscal year 2020. City expenditures may include (but are not limited to): marketing, advertising, public art,...
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is worth an estimated $4.3 billion. The team’s players have salaries ranging from $449,114 to $29 million for star Kristaps Porzingis. Yet the team ceased opening its games with the National Anthem for several weeks, in what Cuban later said was an experiment. He has said not because they don’t...
Yesterday, the Foundation released a new poll of 800+ registered voters, conducted by WPA Intelligence between Feb. 2 – 4, 2021, that asked Texans whether local governments should spend tax money to hire lobbyists. The poll’s findings mirror results from a similar survey conducted in 2019. Here’s the major takeaway: Texans overwhelmingly oppose allowing tax...
Do you think France, Canada or Great Britain would be OK if the Americans detained their defense secretary without telling them?” a Mexican official asked rhetorically in the January 2, 2021, issue of The Economist. Anyone versed in the Mexican criminal underworld might respond by noting that cabinet officials in Europe and Canada generally don’t...
President Joe Biden appears to be looking to California for policy inspiration. This bodes ill for Americans. California, a beautiful land graced by mild weather, lost population last year for the first time in its 170-year history as a state. That 80,000 residents are fleeing annually to Texas, where summers are markedly less enjoyable, speaks volumes about California’s craptacular governance....
Words mean things—and that’s just one of the flaws in Pedro L. Gonzalez’s latest piece in Newsweek, titled “The Conservative Case for a $15 Minimum Wage.” There’s nothing conservative about the class envy Gonzalez leans so heavily upon. Nor is there anything conservative about his reliance on the left-leaning, union-friendly Economic Policy Institute to downplay...
Are the ranks of the U.S. military riddled with white supremacists? CNN thinks so, and won’t let the facts get in the way of this compelling narrative. CNN makes its case in a story headlined, “Disproportionate number of current and former military personnel arrested in Capitol attack, CNN analysis shows.” This is both factually untrue...
Texans are ready to return to work. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and forced business shutdowns by state and local government mandates, Texas’s unemployment rate in December sits at a staggering 7.2%, compared to 3.5% the previous year. Not only is unemployment high, but many businesses have failed or are on the verge of failing....
To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World— Fellow Citizens & Compatriots— I am besieged by a thousand or more… So opens the famous letter from William Travis at the Alamo. Our situation isn’t nearly as dire, but our cause is the same. The Texas Public Policy Foundation is proud to announce...