Proponents argue that economic development incentives – such as tax credits – provide a multitude of benefits to taxpayers and society at large. This apparent popularity could be due to the perception that government subsidies effectively “have no downside and cost taxpayers nothing.” However, this is simply not the case. Tax breaks do in fact have...
With a no shortage of candidates vying for attention ahead of the 2020 presidential election, health care reform remains a popular talking point. Universal coverage is back with a vengeance, but remains a complex issue that looks pretty on the surface and gets uglier the closer one looks. Plenty of universal healthcare plans are being proposed...
When the Sons of Liberty rioted in Boston Harbor over a small tax on their beloved tea, they surely had no idea what lay ahead for what would soon become the United States of America. Imagine if Sam Adams and his crew had known that nearly 250 years later, the nation’s duly and constitutionally elected...
One of the joys of writing for the public is that, occasionally, the public contacts you. If it’s on Twitter, you learn not to take it personally—especially if the tweeter is anonymous. Same with email—sometimes the responses are supportive, sometimes they’re not. And almost always, anonymous comments tend towards the downright hateful or weird. Over...
Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation filed a second lawsuit on behalf of Michigan clients who are in trouble with the township of Canton for clearing a 16-acred lot—their own land—of brush, dead trees and undergrowth so they could start a Christmas tree farm. The township said they violated a tree ordinance and initially sought...
Bob Dylan said it best: “For the times they are a-changin.’” It used to be that cities had their way at the Texas Capitol. By wielding local control as a cudgel, city officials and their favorite trade association expertly advanced their agenda and killed any bills that threatened their power or revenue. But no longer....
Let’s be clear, the Affordable Care Act was never about reform of health care it only reformed health insurance. Care is something different, and if we’re going to evaluate the ACA fairly—and honestly debate alternatives—our focus must be on how much care people are getting. Healthcare systems exist to optimize the health of individuals through timely access to...
Dark horse presidential candidate Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y., recently unveiled her “family bill of rights,” a plan she claims “will lift many of the financial burdens on families and help level the playing field for children” within her first 100 days as president. Unlike the actual Bill of Rights, Gillibrand’s proposal expands the role of government while...
Just one day after the conclusion of the 86th Texas Legislature, Hank Whitman announced that he will be retiring as commissioner of the Department of Family and Protective Services at the end of this month. Appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2016, his tenure as the head of the state’s child welfare agency was a...
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics issued its May jobs report Friday morning, estimating that nonfarm payrolls went up 75,000 with the unemployment rate holding steady at 3.6%, remaining at low levels last seen in December 1969. The Hispanic unemployment rate remained at a record low of 4.2% in May while the unemployment rate for workers without...
A series of three seemingly unconnected events over five days in Ohio and California hint at a fundamental political realignment, underscoring the fragility of the American left’s coalition going into the 2020 election. There is a growing, and likely irreparable, rift between elite progressive environmentalists who are accustomed to dominating the narrative within the Democratic...
Los Angeles has a growing problem with diseases borne by both flea and feces. An LAPD officer was just diagnosed with typhoid fever along with two more from the same workplace displaying symptoms. Meanwhile, cases of typhus, caused by a different bacterium, have soared in California from 13 in 2008 to 167 in 2018. In addition, there have...