Taxes & Spending

SPEAKING FREELY: KHOU Investigation- What Does It Take to Get Fired From the City of Houston?

A brand-new investigative report is raising serious questions about public employee misconduct, prompting some to ask: What does it take to get fired in the City of Houston? Source: KHOU-TV The new KHOU investigation details many examples of taxpayer abuse and unethical behavior. For example, one city employee was discovered to have filled an entire...

February 8, 2018

Higher Education

Outlawing The ‘Heckler’s Veto’: Drive To Restore Free Speech On Campus Gathers Steam In The States

  A wave of support for legislative efforts to restore free speech and debate on campus appears to be taking shape in a number of states across the country. As reported on the website of the Goldwater Institute, Nebraska recently became the latest state to consider “legislation to restore free speech on college campuses” when Nebraska State...

February 8, 2018

Taxes & Spending

Trump’s historic tax reform is a strong step toward greater prosperity

  The good news keeps coming. Since the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, announcements about increased investment in the U.S. and various companies offering employees bonuses haven’t stopped. The vast majority of Americans will prosper from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. As an economist and policy analyst, we’ve been skeptical of...

February 7, 2018

Economy

SPEAKING FREELY: Mapping Texas’ Local Public Pension Problems

Texas’ local public pension plans are overpromised and underfunded, as is clearly shown by a new mapping tool from the Reason Foundation. Last week, Reason’s Marc Joffe “built a map of Texas’ local pension systems using data provided by the Texas Pension Review Board” that shows the prevalence of these systems. The data that accompanies...

February 6, 2018

K-12 Education

Texans deserve a better deal on education

  Students across Texas enjoyed a rare snow day – or even two – last week, as ice and snow kept campuses closed from Houston to Tyler to Austin. For most, it was a welcome break, though they knew there would be work to make up when they return. One critical topic they’ll need to...

February 6, 2018

Energy & Environment

If it Doesn’t Work Throw More Money at it

Last week, the Department of Energy came out with a new contest intended to re-ignite the United States’ solar manufacturing market. This contest will award three million dollars to US industrialists working on solar energy. This is in addition to the four hundred million dollars already set aside for solar projects and technologies in 2017. The...

February 5, 2018

Taxes & Spending

Frustrated by soaring tax bills? The governor has your back

  Speaking at a news conference last month, Gov. Greg Abbott lambasted Texas’ broken property tax system, expressing the kind of frustration and fatigue that have become familiar to us all. “Texans are fed up with property taxes being raised with impunity. They are tired of endless government spending while honest, hard-working people struggle just...

February 5, 2018

Energy & Environment

Big Step Forward on Renewable Energy Subsidies

The Washington Post reports that the White House is pushing for a 72 percent reduction in spending for the Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). This would pull back funding for federal subsidies and targeted research grants and would allow states and consumers to make their own choices for energy needs....

February 2, 2018

Economy

SPEAKING FREELY: State government pushes more restrictions on beer industry

Excessive government intervention continues to brew trouble for the Texan beer business. The Foundation’s Carine Martinez-Gouhier’s recent Austin-American Statesman’s op-ed points out how recent legislation has tightened restrictions on brewer’s direct-to-consumer sales, reinforcing a longstanding posture favoring distributors. Since Prohibition, laws have kept the three tiers of the alcohol business strictly separated. Of the three...

February 2, 2018

Economy

THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF A SANDWICH: Straw Laws, Meat Taxes, and when ‘Science’ Infringes on Freedom

  A story out of the United Kingdom details a University of Manchester research project to determine the carbon footprint of the humble sandwich. The upshot: a prepackaged and refrigerated breakfast sandwich with egg, bacon or sausage, produces as much carbon dioxide as a 12-mile car trip. No word on what kind of car the scientists assumed...

February 2, 2018

Taxes & Spending

SPEAKING FREELY: New graph shows Texan property taxes continue to grow recklessly

Yesterday, the Senate Select Committee on Property Tax Reform  released a shocking new chart showing property tax levy growth over the last ten years. It helps explain why Texans have become so fed up with property taxes. Source: Senate Select Committee on Property Tax Reform, Houston Hearing   The largest growth, as shown in this...

February 1, 2018

Economy

SPEAKING FREELY: City council proposes ordinance without regard for local businesses

Business and labor are two sides of the same coin. Hurt one and the other does not go about unharmed. The Austin city council ignores this truth with their newly proposed ordinance mandating paid sick leave. The proposed plan would force “any person, company, corporation, firm, partnership, labor organization, non-profit organization or association” in Austin...

February 1, 2018