Policymakers should be concerned about the size and growth of local government debt in Texas – a contributing factor is that voters do not have enough information provided to them at the ballot box to make an informed decision about new debt issuances. Voters should be provided with basic fiscal facts at the ballot box to better understand how their decisions will affect their community.
America is the world’s engine for technology and innovation, powered by affordable, reliable, plentiful energy. These factors foster an environment that produces health and prosperity for people all over the world, for rich and poor nations alike.
Perhaps once the city has hired its Chief Equity Officer it can get started on finding a Chief Efficiency Officer to close bogus programs, eliminate waste, and budget smartly using zero-based budgeting.
But the cap-and-trade market is showing dangerous signs of weakness. Not only have auction revenues collapsed in the last two auctions in May and August, but the competitive landscape for the auctions has collapsed as well.
Property taxes in Texas are some of the nation’s most punishing and that burden continues to grow quickly (see pg. 5). Because of the size and growth of Texas’ property tax problem, state lawmakers passed a series of reforms during the last legislative session to help ease the swell of local tax bills. One of...
The Austin City Council has declared war on short-term rental houses. The constitutional rights of owners and tenants are that war’s collateral damage
Texas crime rates are at historic lows and its incarceration rates are heading lower, mainly due to a shift in treatment of non-violent offenders, which leaves more room in state lockups for the violent. These successful criminal justice reforms have resulted in improved public safety and a lower cost to taxpayers.
In an opinion issued today, the Court found in favor of the Laredo Merchant Association, a group challenging the city of Laredo’s plastic bag ban on the grounds that it is preempted by existing state law—a position supported by the Foundation, then-Attorney General Greg Abbott, and 20 current state lawmakers.
The idea of expanding Medicaid may be well intended, but it will lead to a unfortunate outcome for the people of Texas.
It’s high time to abolish our current system of civil forfeiture and reestablish a constitutionally sound process for relieving criminals of their ill-gotten gains, while protecting innocent property owners.
Interestingly but not surprisingly, there’s a lot of potential funding for transportation projects not involving roadways. Both the corridor and local mobility components advance an “all of the above” approach which, arguably, encompass a wide range of projects that, arguably, have done very little to meaningfully ease congestion in the past.
The proliferation of financial obligations imposed by the criminal justice system poses several problems.