On March 5, National Public Radio (NPR) posted an investigatory piece entitled, “How Federal Disaster Money Favors The Rich,” which asserted that the U.S. is experiencing more disasters due to climate change and that federal disaster assistance favors the wealthy over the poor. This is a classic call to action: things are bad and getting...
A new infection may be spreading through Texas like a brushfire — the Washington Monument Syndrome. No, a virus has not been transmitted from our national mall to the San Jacinto Monument. The syndrome is a moniker coined back in 1969 when George Hertzog, then head of the National Park Service, was so unhappy with...
Recently released video shows just how dysfunctional the Houston ISD school board is. A four-hour session intended to teach board members how to govern effectively turned into a shouting match and an “airing of grievances,” according to the Houston Chronicle, which obtained the video through a public information request. “The turmoil has stalled efforts to...
A recent University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll shows that 72 percent of Texans support “requiring local governments to ask voters before raising property tax revenues more than a set amount.” This support was on display during recent public hearings on nearly identical bills in Senate Bill 2 and House Bill 2, both of which would...
Braving cold temperatures and a constant drizzle, East Texans gathered in Tyler on Saturday to learn more about property tax and school finance reform. The event, hosted by Grassroots America-We The People and the Texas Public Policy Foundation, brought TPPF experts Rafa Bejar, Kara Belew and James Quintero in for a closer look at how...
Christy called the ambulance on Christmas Eve because her husband passed out and was unresponsive. He was rushed to the hospital and remained there for three months before passing away. While Christy sat by his silent bedside—he was in a coma the entire time—she watched person after person come into the room to read the...
Property taxes in Texas have skyrocketed over the last two decades. But state lawmakers may be getting ready to finally rein them in. Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen recently unveiled a historic property tax reform package and announced that identical bills — Senate Bill 2 and House Bill...
Austin has a long history of abusing local control, but its recent push for mandatory paid sick leave may end up being the straw that breaks the camel’s back. That much is evident by what’s happening at the Capitol. What exactly is unfolding? Maybe something big. But first a brief bit of history. In February...
With the 86th Legislature getting into full gear, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has listed school finance reform and increased teacher pay as the first emergency item. Directly related to teacher pay is a teacher’s pension in the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) of Texas. Unfortunately, this pension plan is in dire need of reform. TRS’s primary...
No, the world is not going to end in 12 years if we don’t do anything to combat climate change. But you already knew that. How do you know? Because Al Gore predicted we had about a decade left back in 2006. And in 1989 a senior environmental official at the United Nations said “entire nations could be wiped off the face of the...
Texas is one of seven states that doesn’t levy a personal income tax. And while Texas’ overall state and local tax burden is considered relatively light, putting Texas 15th on the Tax Foundation’s 2019 State Business Tax Climate Index, the Lone Star State’s property tax ranking is 37th, meaning that 36 other states have a...
When property tax reform—embodied in Senate Bill 2 and its companion, House Bill 2—comes before the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, local governments and their lobbyists will be out in force to testify against it. Many expect a repeat performance of what transpired in a packed Senate committee hearing earlier this month, with...