This piece originally appeared in TribTalk on July 18, 2017.
2017 07 SpecialSessionInvestment CEF PeacockQuinteroGinn TribTalk by texaspolicy on Scribd
James Quintero is the policy director for the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Government for the People campaign. Since joining the Foundation in 2008, Quintero has focused extensively on: state & local government spending, taxes, debt, public pension reform, annexation, and local regulations.
Vance Ginn, Ph.D., is an accomplished economist finding free-market solutions that let people prosper. He is founder and president of Ginn Economic Consulting where he provides high-quality research and trusted insights on how to affect change at the federal, state, and local levels. Ginn’s experience includes time in public policy, government, and academia. He is chief economist at Pelican Institute for Public Policy and a senior fellow at several think tanks, including at Americans for Tax Reform, Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), and Young Americans for Liberty.
This piece originally appeared in TribTalk on July 18, 2017.
2017 07 SpecialSessionInvestment CEF PeacockQuinteroGinn TribTalk by texaspolicy on Scribd
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....
Over the last few months, local property taxes have been described as: “steep,” “burdensome,” “stressful,” “too high,” and “out-of-control.” Yet despite these sharp (and accurate!) criticisms of Texas’ property tax, many local governments seem oblivious to the system’s excesses, as evidenced by the adoption of high tax rates this year (see TPPF’s Taxman Cometh series) as well as historical tax, spending, and debt patterns. Worse, what once may have been excused as indifference or detachment now borders on exploitation. Consider some recent revelations about local government compensation. ...
Recently, former President Trump floated the idea of creating “a government efficiency commission a federal commission to audit the entire federal government.” And even better, he suggested putting Elon Musk in charge of the commission, saying he is a great “cost-cutter.” Unleashing a commission of this nature on the federal government, led by a titan...