Energy & Environment
Humanity did not escape the Stone Age for lack of stones
Until then, the Renewable Age is a reversion to the pre-industrial era when human life was far poorer, painful, and short.
July 29, 2015
Other
TOMORROW: TPPF hosts Wage Wars: An Interactive Economic Experiment
The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) will host a “Wage Wars: An Interactive Economic Experiment” TOMORROW, Thursday, July 30, at 3:00 p.m. in the Red McCombs Event Center at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. The event will be held in honor of Milton Friedman Legacy Day and explores how government-mandated minimum wage salaries affect employers and employees alike.
July 29, 2015
Economy
Minimum wage hurts most those the government tries to help
The 3 million workers earning at or below the minimum wage today, which is less than 5 percent of all workers paid hourly, deserve more than to be mandated toward unemployment and on the government’s dole.
July 28, 2015
Energy & Environment
The Interstate Power Compact
Interstate compacts are also highly effective in resisting and shielding against federal overreach. The Interstate Power Compact would protect states’ systems of electric generation from the unconstitutional expansion of federal power.
July 28, 2015
Taxes & Spending
Most amortization pension periods beyond “recommended” range
When evaluating the financial health and well-being of Texas’ public pension systems, the Pension Review Board (PRB), the state agency charged with overseeing state and local retirement systems, considers a plan’s amortization period to be best measure.
July 28, 2015
Taxes & Spending
Private and public sectors are worlds apart on pensions
Over the last few decades, a majority of private sector employers have abandoned defined benefit (DB) pension plans, which guarantee beneficiaries a lifetime of monthly benefits irrespective of the fund’s fiscal health, in favor of defined contribution (DC) plans, which are individual accounts that employers and employees can make contributions into.
July 27, 2015
Economy
Local governments are the source of housing inequality
Instead of federal tax credits and lawsuits trying to force what the market won’t or can’t do because of zoning and other restrictions, what if property owners were simply allowed to develop their property in a reasonable way?
July 27, 2015
Economy
Big jolly politics highlights Houston’s debt woes
With the City of Houston facing such large and growing problems, now is the time to make bold and lasting reforms.
July 23, 2015
Property Rights
ICYMI: Forced annexation threatens Texans’ liberties
It’s no secret that the Lone Star State’s population is booming, thanks in large part to the Texas Model of low taxes and limited government. And as more and more people move to Texas, many are making the conscious decision to put down roots in suburban areas, outside of any existing city limits. But, as many of these new Texans are coming to find out, there’s a potentially big problem here that they can do almost nothing about.
July 22, 2015
Economy
Piketty vs. Rognlie: Land use restrictions inflate housing values, drive wealth concentration
Persistently high unemployment and poverty levels in Los Angeles might, in a free market for labor, cause some people to either reduce their wage demands to get a job or move to a location where their labor can command a higher premium. But, in the this age of welfare, housing subsidies and the minimum wage, the unemployed are less likely to move for work.
July 22, 2015
Criminal Justice
Juvenile justice victories and continued effort
Adult after adult in the criminal justice system have a characteristic in common; they committed offenses as juveniles, oftentimes early on in adolescence.
July 22, 2015
Energy & Environment
The future of renewable energy is in private investment
Critically, Gates’ investment in renewables would also urge governments to switch from subsidizing renewable energy sources to funding energy research and development — on the scale of the Manhattan or Apollo projects.
July 21, 2015