Dignity What to know: Holding the homeless responsible for their actions isn’t “punishment,” the head of a Reno shelter explains—it affords them a dignity that hand-outs alone don’t. The TPPF take: When someone can spend a lifetime in the same poverty-based system, “compassion” begins to look less like true help and more like resignation. “Too often, approaches to poverty...
Rising Costs What to know: Rising health care costs are now Americans’ top worry, according to a new Gallup poll. The TPPF take: Those rising costs are why TPPF has put out its Health Care Agenda for the upcoming 90th Legislature. “Health care is a case study in the negative consequences of market consolidation, anti-competitive practices, and government...
Sleight of Hand What to know: McAllen ISD wants voters to approve a $335 million bond proposal next month and to help ease cost concerns, the superintendent is telling voters that: “the district’s 93-cent tax rate will not increase if the measure is passed.” The TPPF take: Taxpayers can still pay more even if the tax rate doesn’t...
‘We Got Him’ What to know: The full story of the rescue of a downed U.S. pilot in Iran is now coming out. The TPPF take: This will go down as one of the most daring rescue operations in our nation’s history. “The pilot was badly injured but still managed to climb a 7,000-foot ridge in the Zagros Mountains...
Ill-Gotten Gains What to know: Fort Worth ISD’s academic performance has long been miserable, to the point that the district has been under a state takeover since October. Even still, Fort Worth ISD’s superintendent started the school year earning a $367,000 base salary, which “ranks 22nd statewide.” The TPPF take: Why are superintendents getting paid so much when the...
Profiting off Public Schools What to know: School districts throughout Texas have put bond elections before the voters in May; these include a $6.2 billion bond proposal for Dallas ISD. The TPPF take: A network of consultants, vendors, and special interests have been profiting off of the state’s school bond system at taxpayers’ expense. “This is a system that...
Divided by War What to know: Much of the rest of the world is divided on the war in Iran. The TPPF take: The U.S.-Israeli air campaign has already delivered historic results. “Ultimately, the regime faces a binary choice: recognize the futility of defiance or cling to its apocalyptic ideology at ever greater cost,” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore. “The Iranian...
A Huge Exodus What to know: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon issued a stark warning that “high taxes and declining quality of life are driving a ‘huge exodus’ of people and companies.” The warning was aimed at America’s left-leaning states, which are losing loads of people and income to well-governed conservative states, like Texas. The TPPF take: Americans are...
Just Plains Silly What to know: Plains ISD is a very small rural Texas school district with expensive tastes. Despite teaching only 414 kids in 2025-26, the district plans to build a $21 million sports complex featuring “a two story football facility with updated locker rooms, weight rooms, coaches offices and a film room that is intended...
Here They Come Again What to know: The city of Plano is, again, considering raising taxes to pay for “additional spending needs.” The last time city officials deliberated on setting a tax rate, the average homesteader’s tax bill jumped by 13.4%. The TPPF take: City Hall taxes too much. “The city of Plano has long shaken down taxpayers. From...
Not Happy What to know: California Gov. Gavin Newsom is disappointed in Elon Musk for pivoting to robotics and self-driving technologies, rather than remaining focused on expanding the market for electric vehicles. The TPPF take: Musk is smarter than Newsom. Most Americans simply don’t want electric vehicles right now, and with the federal EV mandates now gone, it makes...
Birthright Citizenship What to know: The Trump administration is suing to test whether the “birthright citizenship” doctrine is constitutional. The TPPF take: In the U.S., the very concept of “citizenship” is under siege. “The Left frames illegal immigration as a humanitarian right; the Right now echoes that framing under the guise of compassion and market necessity,” says TPPF’s Ammon Blair....