Local Government

Texas Gave Cities a Tool for More Housing Affordability. Some Are Throwing It Away.

Housing affordability is one of the Lone Star State’s – and greater Houston’s – most pressing challenges. Recent estimates suggest Texas’ statewide housing shortage exceeds 300,000 homes, applying upward pressure on rents and prices in ways that squeeze working households, young families, and seniors looking to downsize. The gap is especially severe for first-time homebuyers,...

August 7, 2026

Taxes & Spending

Higher Taxes on the Horizon: City of Early 

Many city, county, and school district officials are right now deciding where to set tax rates for the next fiscal year. In some cases, these local decisions will push property taxes higher, creating new challenges for families struggling with affordability.   Given the very real prospect of tax hikes on the horizon, now is the time for Texans to learn what their local elected officials are doing and get involved in the decision-making process—while there’s still time to push for taxpayer-friendly alternatives.   To better illustrate what may be around...

August 6, 2026

Property Rights

Watch out for that tree!

Are you familiar with your local tree ordinances? If not, you might want to do some research before breaking out the chainsaw. Cities and townships across the country have some version of tree-related rules that property owners must follow, or face consequences. The Center for the American Future, TPPF’s public interest litigation team, has now challenged...

August 6, 2026

Higher Education

The Dallas Morning News’s Bizarre Defense of Low Academic Standards

A recent Dallas Morning News editorial board article desperately wants Texas to pump the brakes on the Classic Learning Test (CLT). Why? It’s worried about politics creeping into college admissions and about the CLT’s thinner track record compared with the SAT and ACT. But let’s be honest: the politics and the diluted standards arrived a...

August 6, 2026

Health Care

Governor’s Healthcare Plan is a Solid Start

We applaud the Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to remove unnecessary Obamacare-era mandates.  It is critical to open up more options for Texans in the currently restrictive healthcare markets. Texas needs healthy healthcare again. Far lower costs with the same or even better level of medical care are easily achievable now, but restricted by outdated...

August 6, 2026

Border Security

Texas Takes Aim at Birth Tourism Fraud

In Mission, Texas, a south Texas border town, local residents noticed a new billboard advertising “Birth Packages in South Texas,” with maternity tourism services listed at more than $5,000. The advertisement directed customers to the website HaveMyBabyInTexas.com, which has since been taken down. It wasn’t just an advertisement for medical services, but rather an advertisement...

August 5, 2026

Election Integrity

Kansas Voters Can Clean Up Judicial Nominations

It doesn’t seem like a very big change. But it is. Today, Kansans will be asked to abolish their Supreme Court Nominating Commission, a committee that ensures unelected lawyers determine who will sit on the highest court of Kansas. Kansas is not alone in creating this body. Leaders across this country are nominating judges who...

August 4, 2026

Criminal Justice

America’s Promise to Veterans Shouldn’t End Behind Bars

The 250th birthday of the United States has been a time of celebration and reflection across the nation. It’s a moment to honor our proud history, our values, our freedoms, and the men and women in uniform who, across generations, have bravely fought to preserve them. However, in 1999, just two years before America deployed...

August 1, 2026

Election Integrity

New Jersey’s ‘Software Glitch’ Isn’t the End of the Story

“I promised New Jerseyans that my administration would confront the issue with accountability and urgency.” That is what New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said one week after she admitted at a press conference that roughly 6,600 noncitizens were registered to vote because of what she described as a “software glitch.” The governor also announced that the state...

August 1, 2026

Border Security

Spain’s Crisis is America’s Reminder—and Warning

Americans watching the events unfolding in Spain today should resist the temptation to dismiss them as Europe’s problem. In just a matter of hours, thousands of migrants crossed from Morocco into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta last week, overwhelming local authorities and prompting officials to plead for emergency assistance. These events follow a recent...

July 31, 2026

Higher Education

Don’t Shrink the Core. Fix It.

Just how bad is American higher education today? Consider this observation on today’s college students from Jessica Wilson, a professor of great books and humanities at Pepperdine: “It’s not even an inability to critically think. It’s an inability to read sentences.” She is not alone. Professors at elite colleges report that many incoming students arrive...

July 31, 2026

Higher Education

Texas Should Demand a Statewide AI Review to Enforce SB 37

Senate Bill 37, passed by the 89th Texas Legislature and signed into law in 2025, was a major step toward restoring academic integrity in Texas public higher education. The law requires every public university governing board to review its general education curriculum at least once every five years. The Legislature did more than require a...

July 31, 2026