When the much-ballyhooed Green New Deal came before the Senate — shortly before its anticlimactic demise — Democratic Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono waxed poetic about climate change as an agent of women’s oppression. “While the negative impacts of climate change often impact women the most, they too often don’t have a seat at the table when it comes...
Not all unintended consequences are bad. One consequence of the election of President Donald Trump is that blue states and progressives find themselves keenly interested in the age-old debate about federalism. But as one writer noted for Vox.com in 2016, “it doesn’t have to be your father’s (or grandfather’s) federalism.” Whether it’s your father’s federalism or not, welcome back....
In running for the Democratic nomination for president, former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke wants voters to believe two things—that he’s a champion of the poor and working Americans, and that he’ll prioritize climate change in his administration. But his climate change framework, recently announced, shows that he’ll achieve neither. His personal rewrite of the Green...
In the corporate world, there’s something called the Peter Principle, which robs organizations of their most effective people by promoting them past the levels of their expertise. Teachers have their own version — let’s call it the Principal Principle. Good teachers, effective teachers, who wish to advance in their careers often have only one pathway....
Texans are famous for their independence. But it appears there’s at least one thing the vast majority agree on: government should not be spending Texans’ hard-earned tax dollars on lobbyists. According to a survey of registered voters in Texas from WPA Intelligence, 91% oppose using tax dollars to fund lobbyists, with 80% saying they strongly...
For many, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process can seem either a hazing ritual or a rite of passage. Submitting the form is the gateway into the world of federal financial aid. It’s first step in getting a Pell Grant, a student loan, or a work-study campus job. So why must it...
HB 2806 would create the Music Incubator Rebate program to be administered by the Music, Film, Television, and Multimedia Office in the Office of the Governor. The program would consist of some tax revenues from the mixed beverage gross receipt tax and from the sales tax on the sale of beer and wine that would...
With a little help from the Local & Consent Calendars Committee, the Texas House could be getting ready to help make local elections more transparent. There’s a bill currently pending in committee—Senate Bill 1229—that would require local officials to post a lot more information online. If the bill gets out of committee and is approved...
According to some politicians, climate change hurts minorities the most. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez writes in her Green New Deal that “climate change, pollution, and environmental destruction have exacerbated systemic racial, regional, social, environmental, and economic injustices.” She’s got it backward. In reality, expensive and regressive policies that drive up the cost of energy — and...
Trying to stand out in a crowded field, Democratic candidates for president have so far proposed nine separate tax increase ideas totaling more than $10 trillion. We can break them down into three basic groups. First are tax hikes that hit banks or Wall Street—two interests without a lot of friends. The problem with these is...
TPPF’s Chuck DeVore addressed the Independent Power Producers of New York and spoke about the difference between logic and virtue-signaling. Logic, he said, is about the facts. Virtue-signaling isn’t. Take Georgetown, Texas—the Austin suburb that has pledged to use 100 percent renewable electricity. Its promise achieves all the right political goals, but when the facts...
The Texas Legislature is in the final stages of passing a budget that will determine whether Texans get real property tax relief or whether our property taxes will keep skyrocketing year after year. The good news is that there is a simple solution. If your elected officials commit $2.3 billion from the Senate’s version of...