Amid a time with one of the highest unemployment rates in the U.S. since the Great Depression, some local Texas entities are trying to raise property taxes. This would be especially detrimental to low-income households, which are disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. A Problem with Property Taxes Taxes on property are not connected to...
Austin officials are pitching voters on a $7.1 billion transportation plan that includes a downtown subway system, light rail, electric bikes, and more. But will the plan’s tax increase scare voters away? It’s certainly possible after seeing the numbers. According to Community Impact, the average Austin-area homeowner will pay hundreds of dollars more per year...
As election day approaches, the polarization of our political climate has been on full display. It’s easy to fall victim to the temptation to lose hope that our increasingly divided electorate will ever be able to reach consensus on many of the most challenging issues faced by our nation. Yet, as Americans, we are united...
You can’t just put a child’s development on hold. That’s clear to every parent. And when schools shut down last spring, many watched nervously as the ad-hoc measures put into place — from Zoom classes to emailed assignments — failed far too many students. It’s time to renew our focus on students and their futures. Only one in...
We needed some groceries. Caring for my 95-year-old father-in-law at home, complicated by COVID-19 concerns, led us to do what we have increasingly done over the past few months: we ordered online for at-home delivery. At the appointed time, Billy, the driver, showed up with the groceries, driving his own car. From a respectful distance,...
So far, 2020 isn’t turning out to be a defense and foreign policy election, with voters viewing overseas commitments and threats as merely the sixth-most-important issue, according to a Pew Research poll completed in August. Foreign policy ranks behind the economy, health care, Supreme Court appointments, the coronavirus, and violent crime and just ahead of gun policy...
It was the best of rides; it was the worst of rides. I took an Uber drive from the White House to Reagan airport last March. When I got in, the driver, after saying hello, immediately informed me, “America was founded on slavery.” I was a bit taken aback by his assertion, not that I...
While the coronavirus pandemic and the upcoming election overwhelmingly dominate the nation’s attention, other critical challenges facing the nation continue to be dangerously ignored. One such issue is our country’s chronically dysfunctional asylum system which, a little more than a year after having provoked one of the most severe crisis on our southwestern border in...
President Trump recently introduced four executive orders aimed at reducing drug prices for all Americans. Affordability in health care is consistently a leading issue on the minds of the people, and the price of prescription drugs is a key component of that. Every president, regardless of party, wants to make medication more affordable. But more times than not, they...
Dallas ISD shocked the state earlier this month when it announced “the largest bond request in Texas history.” Now, another school district is raising eyebrows with its own record-breaking ask. On Monday, San Antonio ISD trustees voted to send a mammoth $1.3 billion bond package to voters in November. Its enormous size easily earns it...
Since March, when the lockdowns ordered by state and local governments began due to the novel coronavirus, Congress has passed $3.8 trillion in four COVID-19 response bills. While the economic damage continues from these lockdowns, Congressional discussions about more action is at a stalemate. In lieu of other Congressional action, the Foundation’s proposed Recovery Act...
Recent events have highlighted calls for policing reform nationwide, from both conservatives and liberals. At first glance, this sounds like a rare moment of bipartisan agreement. Unfortunately it is not. Both sides approach the concept of policing differently and share very little in terms of how it needs to be reformed. Conservatives are not new to the idea...