The Production Tax Credit (PTC), a federal subsidy for renewable energy, is a $24-per-megawatt-hour credit based on energy production rather than demand. That means those who produce renewable energy can receive the credit regardless of whether or not that electricity is actually needed. The incentive is so immense that at peak hours of output wind...
As taxpayers and citizens, we expect our Federal Government to responsibly use its resources and to be responsive to the will of the people as expressed in elections. But all too frequently, the bureaucracy — the administrative state — churns on with its agenda, untouched by mere elected officials or appointees of the administration. This...
Most Americans embrace the concept that incarceration is for people we are afraid of, not those we are mad it. Are we afraid of our fellow Americans who haven’t paid a traffic fine or court fee? Put another way, who is really scared of an Austin mother of five named Valerie Gonzales who in 2016...
A new piece in the Houston Chronicle says “transmission is the latest front” in the battle for renewable energy subsidies. They report that Calpine Corp. and NRG Energy have asked the state Public Utility Commission to change the way transmission costs are apportioned among power generators. This move, according to the Chronicle, would undo a...
American government is divided into three branches. Can you name them? If so, you’re in the minority. National polling finds that only 26 percent of Americans can name all three branches of the government. This is down from 38 percent in 2011. Worse, 33 percent of Americans surveyed were unable to name even one branch of government....
At the end of October, several electricity generators asked the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) to impose an electricity “tax” on Texas consumers of up to $4 billion a year in order to increase their revenues. The money would go to coal, natural gas, wind, solar, and nuclear generators. The PUC commissioners may act on...
Texas has been criticized recently in both the Houston Chronicle and the Texas Tribune for having the highest uninsured rate in the nation, 17 percent. While this is true, it is unfair. Texas is getting a bad rap. No one creates a health care system in order to insure people. Health care systems exist to...
California’s politicians, bureaucrats, electric utilities and even celebrities have taken to using “climate change” as a multipurpose excuse for having done nothing to prevent deadly wildfires. Doing nothing, at least nothing effective, has been a central public policy feature in the climate change debate, especially when it comes to wildfires. The facts are clear: California’s deadliest year...
Most kids, at least in my generation, played some variation of “Cops and Robbers.” Some hid, some chased. The goal was to bring evildoers to justice. The lawlessness of “Cops and Robbers” was make-believe, of course, but the freedom for kids to play with their friends is becoming illegal in more and more instances. The...
It’s no mystery that Texas is open for business. In fact, it earned the prize of being the top spot for business this year. As the United States takes the top spot for oil production, Texas leads the way. When you discount U.S. Department of Energy employment figures to exclude initial construction—focusing on jobs that...
Answer: $354,563,202,276. According to newly released figures from the Texas Bond Review Board, local government debt grew to a staggering $354.6 billion in fiscal year 2018. On a per capita basis, that’s enough public debt to swamp every man, woman, and child in Texas with more than $12,500 in red ink. As in years past,...
The midterm elections reinforced the point that institutions matter for our livelihood and prosperity. If our economic and political institutions support freedom, then our social institutions – families, charities and churches – can thrive. If they don’t, then our republic could crumble. The recent Economic Freedom of the World report notes that the U.S. has...