Compassionate Conservatism

October 15, 2000

Marvin Olasky

Compassionate conservatism. Many reporterssee it as a sugary concoction, word candy for apolitical campaign. But that conventional wisdomis wrong. Compassionate conservatism is neitheran easy slogan nor one immune from vehementattack. It is a full-fledged program with a carefullyconsidered philosophy.

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Fool Me Twice: Why the Texas Grid is Still Vulnerable to Winter Storms | Part 3: How Texas Can Solve Its Winter Reliability Problem

Part 3: How Texas Can Solve Its Winter Reliability Problem Five years after Winter Storm Uri, the ERCOT grid is still not ready for the next major winter storm. The first two installments of this series showed that demand has grown more than 20% since 2021 while firm generation capacity has barely budged, and the...

February 12, 2026

Election Integrity

Consolidating Elections to Increase Turnout and Save Taxpayer Dollars

Uniform election dates produce four main benefits: 1) higher voter turnout, 2) election administration cost savings, 3) decreased likelihood of special interests dominating a low-turnout election, and 4) reduced election worker burnout. Key points: Seven states require municipal elections to be consolidated with even-year federal election dates. This increases turnout and saves $29.5-129 million for...

March 20, 2026

Taxes & Spending

Austin’s rising utility fees are taxes by another name

Rising utility bills are one of many factors exacerbating Austin’s well-documented affordability crisis. When Austin utility bills went up last winter, many residents probably didn’t even notice — mostly because the increase in fees was hidden by reductions in other costs. But here’s the truth: The city of Austin is squeezing its customers more than they know....

April 2, 2026

Marvin Olasky

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Fool Me Twice: Why the Texas Grid is Still Vulnerable to Winter Storms | Part 3: How Texas Can Solve Its Winter Reliability Problem

Consolidating Elections to Increase Turnout and Save Taxpayer Dollars

Austin’s rising utility fees are taxes by another name