In 2017, Louisiana’s criminal justice system took a turn for the better. Realizing that Louisiana’s largest per capita prison system had one-third of the prison population released only to return in three years, lawmakers, law enforcement and other stakeholders came together to pass a package of reforms based on what works in states such as Georgia, South...
This issue of Veritas, the quarterly publication of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, features the Foundation's efforts to inform the public of the human cost of subsidizing wind energy, abolishing the "Robin Hood" school property tax, combating our growing civic illiteracy, and our part in the ACA lawsuit.
Last week, The Hill reported that the Congressional Budget Office is refusing to score a Medicare-for-All bill now before the House. That’s probably because the CBO doesn’t think it’s going to get a vote anytime soon — despite growing support from Democrats, 123 of whom have now signed on as cosponsors. The lack of reliable numbers from the...
Property tax abatements under Chapters 312 and 313 of the Texas Tax Code allow counties, cities, school districts, and special purpose districts to reduce the amount of taxes paid by favored businesses that locate or expand within their geographic boundaries. They are used by renewable energy developers in concert with state and federal subsidies to turn...
The stock market responded immediately to news on Monday that a preliminary bilateral trade deal had been reached with Mexico, in the Trump administration’s effort to modernize NAFTA. The Dow closed above 26,000 points — a sign that investors reluctant to execute deals out of fear of a trade war are ready to get into the game. Still,...
For roughly the past fifty years, higher education reformers have been warning about the decline in civic education in this country. National polling consistently shows that Americans, even college graduates, are growing increasingly civically illiterate. A recent survey found that only 36% of respondents can identify the three branches of American government. A mere 27% know that...
2018 08 Testimony Deregulating Occupational Licensing CEP Ginn by texaspolicy on Scribd
Right on Crime Director Derek Cohen walked through the history of Texas’ criminal justice overhaul with Judy Maggio of KLRU. The Lone Star State has been called the birthplace of criminal justice reform, but it wasn’t too long ago that it was known for its “lock em’ up” approach. In 2015, Texas “got to the point...
USA Today published a piece from 24/7 Wall St. on the best and worst state economies. The Drudge Report linked to the piece, likely multiplying its readership manifold. Unfortunately, the ranking is fundamentally flawed for two key reasons which will be explained below. Colorado, Utah, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Washington captured the top-5 in the ranking. Among the...
After months of vocal criticism, Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa suddenly gave credit to Texas’ new A-F school accountability system for “moving in the right direction.” Hinojosa changed his tune about the new system after learning that, for the 2017-18 school year, Dallas ISD — one of the most beleaguered urban school districts in the nation...
The most important obligation of our schools is to ensure our students are reading. In Texas, 58 percent of our third-graders are reading below level, and we rank 46th nationally in fourth-grade reading skills. We have an early reading crisis on our hands — a concern because reading success in the early grades strongly correlates...
California is the home of the original Magic Kingdom — and magical thinking. The California legislature is deliberating whether to mandate 100 percent renewable energy for its electric grid by 2045. In a recent op-ed, the Manhattan Institute’s Robert Bryce points out that simple math demonstrates the futility of this effort. Bryce explains that to fill all of...