Greenland isn’t just an Arctic landmass — it’s a North American strategic economic and military asset that America cannot afford to ignore. The time to secure it is now. When President Donald Trump proposed that the United States purchase Greenland in 2019, the idea was met with ridicule from the media and establishment politicians. The...
In Johnson County, Texas, ranchers are facing sickened family members and dying cattle—not from nature, but from man-made chemicals. Tony Coleman and James Farmer, two local ranchers, noticed rancid odors from their neighbor’s property— stemming from the large, conspicuous piles of smoking fertilizer. Then when heavy rain poured down, the runoff flowed into Coleman’s and...
On Sunday, Governor Greg Abbott delivered the State of the State address, covering a wide range of critical issues, like border security, school choice, and cybersecurity. However, for many tax-weary Texans, his remarks on the property tax were perhaps the most welcome. As he has done on prior occasions, Governor Abbott urged the Legislature to...
According to a new survey conducted by WPA Intelligence for TPPF, the vast majority of Texans have no idea what charity care is or that it could be an important solution to providing health care for low-income patients. Every non-profit hospital is required by Section 501 (r) of the federal tax code to set forth...
The undeclared war against the Mexican criminal cartels went hot again last Monday, when cartel gunmen opened fire on U.S. Border Patrol agents in Fronton, Texas, during an illegal smuggling operation. Mexican cartels, terror organizations by any reasonable definition, now feel so emboldened they are shooting at American law enforcement on U.S. soil. This is precisely...
The Austin city council is once again patting themselves on the back for a tremendous nonachievement. Without any change in strategy to serve the homeless population of the city, officials have decided to continue throwing money at the problem and hope that, this time, $350 million over ten years is the charm. The Council touts...
In 2023, the Texas Legislature passed a historic tax relief package to lower school taxes, primarily through tax rate compression and an increase in the homestead exemption. Together, these measures were supposed “to cut the average homeowner’s tax bill by roughly $1,300 per year,” thereby providing much-needed relief to those laboring under the twin ills...
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts has published a new report offering interesting insights and details on local property tax trends, with a particular emphasis on “tax rate and value information for tax years 2022 and 2023.” This information has the potential to illuminate certain aspects of the hotly anticipated property tax relief and reform...
Every Friday morning at 8:30 a.m., I join the Cardle & Woolley show, Talk 1370 Radio in Austin where we discuss who made the list of Winners & Losers for the previous week. President Donald Trump’s makes it clear daily that he intends to change pretty much everything, which gets him on the top of...
“We have school choice in Texas. If you don’t like your public school, you can go to private school or homeschool.” That’s a familiar refrain from opponents of creating school choice programs, like vouchers or education savings accounts. They are, of course, technically correct because those are legal alternatives to sending kids to public school....
Congressman Tom Cole once stated, “Private ownership of property is vital to both our freedom and our prosperity.” This could not be truer, whether that includes one’s home, car, and the myriads of other types of real and intangible property. Protection of private property rights is a cornerstone of both Texas and the U.S. While...
The next Texas Legislature began on January 14, 2025, giving state-level policymakers their next best opportunity to revisit property tax relief and property tax reform. The former refers to lowering tax bills while the latter speaks to keeping them down. This column concerns itself with the latter, tax reform, and offers several suggestions to protect...