Criminal Justice

Trump’s safe policing executive order is a game-changer

President Trump’s Executive Order on Safe Policing for Safe Communities will help continue the criminal justice reform momentum that began when the FIRST Step Act was signed into law. Importantly, the president’s executive order increases the likelihood that people returning from incarceration who have nonviolent or minor encounters with the police will be connected to the social services that...

June 23, 2020

Economy

Tesla to Texas — contrary to expectations, things are getting real

When, on May 9, Tesla CEO Elon Musk registered his frustration, via Twitter, over California’s COVID restrictions making it impossible to build cars, he wrote, “Frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately.” He then added, “Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA.” Musk’s...

June 23, 2020

Election Integrity

Mail-In Ballot Law? What Mail-In Ballot Law? We Have Elections to Win!

There’s been a yearslong political fight over the issue of mail-in ballots in Texas. This struggle has taken on a new intensity in the wake of the coronavirus from China and the feeling that Texas’ shift from red, if not to blue then at least purple, is one election cycle away. Texas law on mail-in...

June 22, 2020

Economy

Texas can weather this storm

As of February, the US is in a recession, and Texas is no different. While the cause is different than prior recessions, people’s financial struggles are the same. With the voluntary social distancing and forced disruptions by state and local governments due to COVID-19, economic activity has collapsed, people have lost their jobs, and employers...

June 22, 2020

Economy

Don’t Bail Out Profligate States

Writing for FiveThirtyEight.com, Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux has a dire warning for Congress if it fails to bail out the states. “Without a lifeline from the federal government,” she writes, “states would have no choice but to start slashing budgets and raising taxes.” Meanwhile, governors like Gavin Newsom of California are threatening to shut down first responders, hospitals, and...

June 18, 2020

Energy & Environment

The 100% Renewable Dream: A Problem of Physics and Scale

Introduction  The drumbeat of press about the declining costs of installing wind and solar generators have led most of the public and our policymakers to believe that an “energy transition” from fossil fuels to wind and solar is just around the corner. However, this belief overlooks the fundamental physical limitations of producing electricity from wind and solar. There is a...

June 17, 2020

Criminal Justice

Hiring the Formerly Incarcerated Can Help the Whole Nation Emerge from the Economic Impact of COVID-19

One thing these trying times have taught the entire nation is the vulnerability of our essential businesses to disruptions that can massively impact our society as a whole. One such disruption has been the COVID-19 pandemic and its crippling of the meatpacking industry. Practically every person living in the country is affected by the alarming...

June 17, 2020

Health Care

HHS Deputy Secretary Hargan: Hospitals Struggling During COVID-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has been hard on the U.S. health care system. But our government’s response to it—including heavy-handed demands that all but “essential” care cease—has been harder still. Recently, the Texas Public Policy Foundation held a webinar with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan. He discussed the COVID-19...

June 17, 2020

Energy & Environment

Hurricane season is here, but don’t believe climate change pandering

With hurricane season looming, it’s time to be prepared both for the possibility of severe weather and for the inevitable media circus touting falsehoods about climate change. NOAA is predicting hurricane activity will be above normal in 2020. Climate alarmists will make every effort to convince you this increase is being caused by man. Supposedly, droughts and...

June 17, 2020

Economy

Let Freedom Ring Over COVID-19

This has been a wild year. For me, my family moved last year from our beloved Texas to Virginia for my job with the extraordinary folks at the White House. While there, I helped write the president’s budget that found taxpayer savings of a record $4.6 trillion over a decade, made permanent the Trump tax cuts, noted...

June 16, 2020

Local Government

Face Masks May Be Symbols for Some, or They Could Have Cost You $1,000

As America begins to reopen, many states and counties have face mask requirements in addition to social distancing and hand washing. Some even include an enforcement mechanism. But should not wearing a face mask in public make you a criminal? Some places say yes. In late April, Harris County, Texas became one of those localities...

June 16, 2020

Criminal Justice

Faith leaders needed in discussion on policing and race

Years ago the commencement speaker at my graduation from Wiley College in Marshall was James Farmer, founder of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and organizer of the very first Freedom Ride in 1961. Following the ceremony, he shook my hand and said, “It’s your turn now to go out and change the world.” Like...

June 15, 2020