This Letter to the Editor was written in response to the Austin American-Statesman article "Commentary: Tree legislation brings Texas to the edge of anti-localism." The letter was not published by the paper. The accusation that tree legislation in the Legislature would “grant all private property . . . the right to destroy and remove any...
This commentary was originally featured in Forbes on August 15, 2017. Remarking on the relation between education and politics, Joseph Stalin observed that “the writer is the engineer of the human soul.” In Stalinist fashion, today’s campuses are endeavoring to rewrite the souls of engineers. With this latest assault on science and human reason, one begins to...
This commentary was originally featured in the Tyler Morning-Telegraph on August 10, 2017. Texas has had unmatched economic prosperity for much of the last two decades. Limiting the government’s influence in our daily lives supports that growth. That’s why it’s essential in the 85th Legislature’s special session to promote statewide reform by passing a conservative...
This commentary was originally featured on TribTalk on August 12, 2017. Texas’ school finance system is on life support. For the last 30 years, the Texas Supreme Court has urged legislators to resolve the hemorrhaging system. Complicating things is whether the cure is more taxpayer money or something else. Legislators have long chosen to spend...
This commentary was originally featured in The Hill on August 12, 2017. The House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act. Though advertised as their repeal-and-replace bill, the AHCA amended and in some ways enhanced ObamaCare. In July, the Senate just said no to any action whatsoever on our failing healthcare system. Congressional Republicans seem...
The Texas House of Representatives is set to take up and debate two major local government reforms that, if done right, will positively impact the lives of millions of Texans. For conservative policy wonks, the next 48 hours promise to be nothing short of historic. First up today in the House is Senate Bill 6,...
This commentary first appeared in the Midland Reporter-Telegram on August 6, 2017. Gov. Abbott's Special Session Agenda Put Students, Teachers First by texaspolicy on Scribd
While Austin has grown in recent years, its government is growing far more rapidly, and residents—new and native—are faced with drastically increasing costs, exhausting the ability of some to start, or continue, calling this city home. Some of this was on display recently when Austin officials released the city’s proposed budget for FY 2017-18. Early...
Texas has a property tax problem. The Lone Star State currently imposes the sixth highest effective property tax rate in the nation, and in 2015 alone, more than 4,100 local taxing entities soaked taxpayers for $52.2 billion in property taxes. That’s enough to take $1,900 from every man, woman, and child in Texas or about $8,000 from...
This commentary was originally featured in Breitbart on August 9, 2017. Though the new budget hasn’t been finalized yet, an early draft recommends raising taxes and fees by almost five percent, meaning many could soon find themselves paying a lot more for city services. Already, city government costs the average Austinite $3,865 annually. Under the...
This commentary was originally featured in Forbes on August 8, 2017. States With the Highest Rate of Opioid Overdose Deaths in 2014 Earlier this year the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a report that suggested a significant number of opioid related deaths were incorrectly attributed to pneumonia and other infectious diseases...
This commentary was originally featured in Investor's Business Daily on August 4, 2017. Medicaid was originally intended as a health insurance plan for those "unable to support" their health care needs, specifically children, pregnant women, seniors and the disabled. Eligibility was gradually and subtly expanded so by 2010 Medicaid was made available to the unable...