Property rights in Texas suffered a setback recently when the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department approved an unprecedented expansion of regulatory power under the state’s endangered and threatened species laws. Even though the proposal was opposed by the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Texas Farm Bureau, and written concerns were expressed by Texas Railroad Commissioner...
After 31 years in California, making a good living in commercial real estate, John Ghiselli had enough. His youngest child was out of high school and he was free to move where he wanted to with minimal disruption to his family life. He chose Texas. And he’s hoping you will, too—he’ll even help. Ghiselli wasn’t...
January is National Slavery and Human-Trafficking Prevention Month. It’s estimated that there are 25 million victims of human trafficking around the world and that human trafficking is a $150-billion-per-year industry globally. In the U.S., the National Human Trafficking Hotline has received almost 300,000 contacts, and around 52,000 cases of human trafficking have been reported since 2007 While human-trafficking — also known as modern-day slavery...
A recent article published by the Austin American-Statesman reported that 678 foster children did not have a home for two or more nights in 2019, leaving children to sleep in state offices or hotels. This number reflects a 49% increase since 2018, and can be attributed to the state’s struggle to recruit foster families, along with the...
Economists used to that say “when America sneezes, the world catches a cold.” Could the same apply to China—as it struggles to contain the fallout from the coronavirus? After days of paralyzing dithering, the U.N.’s World Health Organization (WHO) finally declared a Global Health Emergency yesterday over the Novel Coronavirus, a week after failing to...
Many universities today, stung by growing public criticism of college tuition hyperinflation, have engaged in public relations efforts highlighting their attempts to curb tuition growth. This is understandable. There is only one problem: A new study argues that tuition increases nationwide continue nonetheless to outpace inflation. According to the study, performed by the tech finance outfit, Self, “in...
Leave it to Austin’s single-minded central planners to pitch a transportation plan that is both rooted in the past and a burden on future generations. While the newly unveiled proposal is still in its infancy, it aims to bring 18th-century technology back with a vengeance by adding and expanding fixed rail systems. That could include...
An entire cottage industry has sprung up around the nation, with books, articles, and pundits warning about an impending Electoral College blue shift. The theory is simple; blue-state economic migrants, in search of the opportunity they can’t find in their high-tax states, bring their liberal voting attitudes to their new homes, and then vote to enact the...
Public education advocates regularly criticize the Legislature for what they perceive as limited resources, tight budgets, and low salaries within the education system. But that narrative often doesn’t quite align with the facts. Case in point: sky-high superintendent pay. As the Foundation has noted in the past, superintendents in Texas frequently bring home six-figure salaries...
New open government legislation went into effect recently, letting the public finally get answers to some long-lingering questions, like how much did the city of McAllen pay entertainer Enrique Iglesias for a 2015 concert? According to the Texas Tribune, Iglesias was paid $485,000 for his performance and “provided with a chartered flight from Guadalajara, Mexico;...
John Merline, writing in Issues and Insights notes the elite left’s “apoplectic fit when President Donald Trump started talking about dishwashers at his Milwaukee rally this week.” This isn’t the first time Trump talked dishwashers and it likely won’t be the last. Republican electeds and their consultants have been openly fretting about professional suburban women. These largely...
Last week, the New York Times published an editorial declaring the seemingly imminent extinction of Republican women at multiple levels of government. Largely crediting the rise of Donald Trump, the article ends with a discouraging statement — and thinly veiled wishful thinking — that the “future for Republican women in politics looks very bleak indeed.” While unquestionably...