Recently, the Texas legislature devoted two days of hearings to the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, which was proposed last June. This rule aims to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide from existing power plants by 30 percent. Although opinions widely vary in the testimony, one thing was clear: the EPA’s plan assigns to Texas a regulatory...
Many in higher education worry continuously over the fact that only roughly half of students who enroll in college ever graduate, and that those who do graduate often take more than four years to do so. But few seek to go to the roots to attempt to discover the ultimate causes explaining these depressing...
If you think President Obama’s unilateral exercise of executive powers granting near-blanket amnesty to illegal immigrants was an abuse of power, get a load of what this administration is doing over at theEnvironmental Protection Agency. The EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan regulations are the most expansive and economically disruptive rules in four decades from an...
It’s hard to open a major newspaper without reading about another Texas city cutting a special deal with a private corporation. This happens so regularly that it almost seems normal for government to throw public money at well-connected private interests. But it isn’t. The proliferation of economic development incentives in Texas begs the question:...
In recent years, the public’s awareness of crony capitalism, whereby government picks winners and losers, has increased tremendously. This is a good thing for advocates of free markets, because no market can be free where politicians use the power and largesse of government to benefit the well-connected. Unfortunately, many see the federal government’s favoritism...
Despite the higher sales tax rate, this swap would benefit Texans because a sales tax is more transparent, efficient and simple than the 4,000-plus property taxes statewide, providing improved government accountability and more money in your pocket.
Over 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course during the fall 2010 term, an increase of 560,000 students over the previous year. With each additional online course taken, the need for space decreases.
The vastly greater opportunity to prosper in those states without an income tax provides evidence that Texas would be wise to never pass an income tax.
Perhaps the largest hurdle facing Lynch in her upcoming Senate confirmation hearings is her affinity for seizing real and financial assets to be put to use in her office... The Wall Street Journal reported that Lynch's office made $904 million dollars in criminal and civil asset seizures in fiscal year 2013.
A study led by the prominent economist Arthur Laffer recommends raising the total sales tax rate, which includes the state and local portions totaling 8.25 percent, to 11 percent. This plan would also broaden the tax base by taxing property and all goods and services taxed in at least one other state.
Americans generally dislike paying taxes, and this sentiment is especially true when it comes to property taxes. According to a study produced by the American Enterprise Institute, of all taxes imposed on the general public, property taxes are the form for which citizens hold the highest degree of indignation. The public’s ill-will is not without merit, according...
Attempting to keep pace with these price hikes, students and their parents have amassed historic debt, which now stands at $1.2 trillion. For the first time, national student-loan debt is higher than national credit-card debt.