Out of Control What to know: Barbers Hill ISD, a small suburban school district located in western Chambers County, will soon ask voters to approve “a $95 million bond package [to] upgrade the district’s athletics facilities.” In 2024, the district’s debt outstanding totaled $562.1 million or $72,781 per student enrolled. The TPPF take: School district debt is...
Government is the Problem What to know: Texas’ most progressive city is incredibly hard for the average person to afford. In fact, “the typical household in Austin needs 8.2 years to save for a down payment, easily topping the national average of seven years.” The TPPF take: Government is the problem. The free market is the solution. “Progressivism tends to make housing...
Going to the Chapel? What to know: According to Cosmopolitan, Generation Z and Millennials are “losing interest in marriage.” The TPPF take: Increasingly, our culture looks at togetherness with suspicion. “Rather than a mutual bond of love, ‘being together’ in marriage is perceived as an institution where wives are ultimately reduced to emotional anchors and laborers while...
Dis-Comforting What to know: Comfort ISD is a small school district located in the heart of the Hill Country that’s eyeing massive new debt. This May, the district—whose 2024-25 student enrollment totaled just 1,072 kids and has shrank over the last 3 years—will ask voters to approve “a $47.3 million bond election,” which does not include interest...
Love and Marriage What to know: Marriage and childbirth rates are falling fast in the U.S.—particularly among those who see themselves as liberal or progressive. The TPPF take: As we celebrate National Marriage Week (Feb. 7–14), we should reflect not only on the romantic symbolism of marriage but on what decades of research show: Marriage measurably benefits individuals, families,...
It’s Not About Speech What to know: According to Education Week, the recent student walkouts from class in planned protests against ICE are reviving “free speech debates.” The TPPF take: It’s not about free speech; it’s about schools’ duties and responsibilities. “Districts cannot simultaneously claim that students are their responsibility during the school day while asserting that no action will be taken if students simply decide to leave campus,”...
Family Matters What to know: There’s a growing marriage gap; young men are more likely than young women to say that marriage and family are more important to their future. The TPPF take: Our culture is sending negative messages about getting married and having children. “Young Texans are being told by our culture and by misguided government...
Reading, Writing and Rioting? What to know: The student walkouts continue in Austin and elsewhere, as education leaders allow students to leave class to protest ICE. Often, school officials accompany them. The TPPF take: Students shouldn’t be collateral in adults’ political disputes. “Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura attempted to clean up the mess, but only created more questions,”...
Striking It Rich What to know: Some city workers are striking it rich. A new Austin American-Statesman analysis reveals more than 85 city workers’ total pay exceeded $250,000 last year, with the top paid employee (i.e., city manager) earning a whopping $538,608. This sky-high amount “makes him among the highest-paid city managers in the country.” The TPPF...
Education Freedom What to know: The Texas Comptroller’s Office is accepting families’ applications for Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFAs) from today until March 17. The TPPF take: This pivotal new program offers an unprecedented opportunity for parents and students across the state. “By placing decision-making power directly in the hands of families, we’re encouraging parental engagement in...
Booming What to know: More and more people are calling Texas home, according to newly-released Census Bureau data. “For the third year in a row, Texas’ population increased more than any other state.” The TPPF take: Freedom is popular. “Americans are voting with their feet and, by their actions, they’re signaling the popularity of low taxes and limited government....
Bad Ideas Keep Popping Up What to know: A socialist mayor has taken the reins in New York City. Zohran Mamdani declared “I will not abandon my principles for fear of being deemed radical.” The TPPF take: Like the proverbial groundhog, some ideas just keep popping their heads above-ground. Mamdani’s brand of socialism won’t work, either. ...