Telephone rates in Texas reflect substantial distortions that were intended to make basic local service “affordable.” Measured only by that narrow goal, the policy might be considered a success. Local rates for large incumbent carriers fall about $600 million short of covering long-run incremental costs, and consumers pay higher prices for other services to make up the difference. Local wire-line rates are cheap, but consumers bear a high cost in exchange for these bargain rates.
Higher Education
Student-Athletes Are Not Employees
College athletics is approaching a crossroads. After years of rapid, sweeping change in student-athlete compensation practices that have left a patchwork of state regulation in its wake, some in Congress now propose to reclassify collegiate student‑athletes across the country as employees of their universities. While we sympathize with the desire to provide certainty and uniformity to student-athletes and universities, and although we see the need for some revenue-sharing framework, workplace regulation...
May 19, 2026