Texas has the most heavily regulated title insurance market in the country. Unlike all but one other state, the government sets a fixed rate for title insurance, preventing competition for consumer’s business. This rate functions as a monopoly price that consumers are forced to pay. By requiring the purchase of comprehensive, one-size-fits-all title insurance policies at a fixed rate, Texas increases costs for both consumers and businesses by millions of dollars every year. This paper shows the source of these excess costs that consumers pay and the excess profits that flow to the Texas title insurance industry: heavy regulation championed by the industry that has resulted in Texas having some of the highest prices for title insurance in the country.
Houston’s Fat Cat Superintendents: The Hidden Benefits How Some of Texas’s Highest-Paid Public Employees Are Systematically Underreporting Their Compensation
Exorbitant and hidden superintendent pay reflects a culture of self-enrichment that has no place in Texas public schools, diverts taxpayer dollars from students, and betrays the public trust. Key points: The Texas Education Agency (TEA) understates the total compensation for some of Texas’s highest-paid superintendents. Though they oversee fewer people, many superintendents have drawn a...