Criminal Justice

Stop charging 17-year-olds as adults: The conservative case for ‘raise the age’

Michigan produces more cars and cherries than any other state, but it can do better with the state’s most important product: its children. Michigan is now just one of four states that automatically treats 17-year-olds as adults in the justice system, even for the lowest-level misdemeanors. Fortunately, legislation that was re-filed earlier this month with bipartisan support...

April 11, 2019

Taxes & Spending

Don’t Grow Government with Texas’ Rainy Day Fund

Benjamin Franklin said “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” It makes sense to prepare for the unexpected. That was the purpose of Texas’ Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF), also known as the state’s “Rainy Day Fund.” But there are efforts this session to abuse the ESF by excessively growing government. The ESF receives...

April 9, 2019

K-12 Education

Josh Grimes on Texas Teachers

“Around the time my grandpa passed away I just knew I couldn’t continue to settle for a career that wasn’t fulfilling. For my first three years of college I studied mechanical engineering, and I was sitting in classes hearing about heat transfer and thermodynamics. But people were giving me little hints here and there. I...

April 9, 2019

Local Government

La Joya ISD’s Six-Figure Severance Package Just Tip of Iceberg

La Joya ISD is back in the news again, and not for good reason. Many of us learned recently that the small, underperforming district spent $20 million to build a water park—and that a lot of that funding came from state taxpayers. It was also discovered that the district lost roughly $250,000 running the park...

April 9, 2019

Criminal Justice

The ‘Clean Slate’ bill would let people move on from their mistakes

Imagine if your whole life was defined by a mistake. A lapse in judgment at 19 or 20 meant you couldn’t get a job, find a place to live or provide for your children at 40 or 50. This is the unfortunate reality for many of the one in three Americans with a criminal record,...

April 9, 2019

Border Security

Dear Pope Francis: A Border Wall Is The Most Humanitarian Policy

Pope Francis has intruded into American politics again, riffing critically on border walls and capitalism. Once again, serious Catholics, including me, are dismayed by the holy father’s ignorance on the issue. Francis’ remarks— especially his comment that “those who build walls will become prisoners of the walls they put up”—reveals an incomplete understanding of the crisis....

April 9, 2019

Economy

Trump’s Economy Keeps Humming: Manufacturing Adding More Jobs Than Government, Reversing Obama Trend

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its March employment report this morning, estimating that employers added 196,000 nonfarm jobs. The official unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.8%. The federal bureau revised its January jobs estimate up by 1,000 to 312,000 jobs and revised February’s estimate upwards 13,000 to 33,000, for a total of 14,000 more nonfarm...

April 5, 2019

Taxes & Spending

What if ‘fair’ taxes don’t actually help the poor?

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy is at it again. The think tank, funded by organized labor, consistently pushes for higher, more progressive income tax rates. In a report profiled by major media, ITEP makes the case that “Fairness Matters” in who pays state and local taxes. Presumably, “fairness” is important because policymakers don’t want a tax...

April 5, 2019

Taxes & Spending

It’s the two-minute warning for House Bill 2

If the 86th legislative session were a football game, then the home team — the Texas Tax Reformers, of course — is battling back, with two minutes to go, and there’s a chance for overtime. The good news, at least, is that they have the ball and they’re driving. With almost every homeowner cheering them...

April 5, 2019

Economy

President Trump Visits El Centro, California, An Area Hard-Hit By California’s Minimum Wage Law

President Donald Trump is flying to El Centro, California on Friday, April 5 and then traveling five miles south to the border town of Calexico to inspect a newly completed section of the border wall. He is also scheduled to hold a roundtable discussion with local law enforcement officials. As Pres. Trump tours California’s Imperial Valley—a...

April 4, 2019

Health Care

Trump is right: Healthcare should be handled by the states

Not only is President Trump’s administration in agreement with the lawsuit brought by 20 states attorneys general — and the Texas Public Policy Foundation — against the Affordable Care Act, President Trump is leading the way on developing an alternative plan to present to Congress. That plan should be simple — empower the states to find solutions on...

April 4, 2019

Local Government

End Forced Annexation Once and For All

Forced annexation appears headed for the dustbin of history. Prior to 2017, Texas cities could unilaterally poach property just outside their official boundaries. The conscripted property owners were usually forced to swallow higher taxes, tougher regulations, and old public debts. That didn’t sit well with a lot of folks, including a big, bipartisan group of...

April 2, 2019