Big Win?
What to know: Many in the media are celebrating last week’s off-year elections as a big win for Democrats.
The TPPF take: They’re not entirely wrong.
“In the rest of the country, Democrats and their progressive left-wing alliance ran the table, taking both of the gubernatorial races that were up, electing a socialist as mayor of New York City and passing the California redistricting plan that will add enough new Democrat house seats to cancel out the new Republican house seats we added in Texas,” says TPPF’s Sherry Sylvester. “It’s a reminder that being right about the issues is never enough.”
For more on the elections, click here.
The Cost of Living
What to know: The off-year elections were a referendum on affordability, observers say.
The TPPF take: The Texas Legislature has made progress on addressing the drivers of housing affordability.
“Texas has a big problem: Regular folks can’t afford regular homes anymore,” says TPPF’s Brian Phillips. “The main culprits? Local rules and red tape that make building new houses harder, slower, and way more expensive than it needs to be. So, the 89th Texas Legislature stepped in and passed a batch of reforms to help fix it. But, of course, some local governments didn’t love the changes. Instead of helping, they added more hoops, like fancy design mandates, unnecessary amenities, and alleyway rules that make building harder again.”
For more on affordability, click here.
A Non-Starter
What to know: Ford is considering axing its all-electric pickup, the Ford Lightning.
The TPPF take: Now that Congress and President Trump have eliminated federal fuel economy and emissions mandates, automakers have no reason to lose billions subsidizing excess EV production.
“Ford would not be considering canceling the F-150 Lightning entirely if they were just going to have to raise the price by $10k to make it pencil out,” says TPPF’s Brent Bennett. “They fear they’ll need to raise the price so much that they won’t be able to sell many of them. Ford’s attempt to focus their EV marketing on a truck first was destined to fail. They’ll now have to pivot to physical reality since they can’t rely on the federal government to subsidize further follies.”
For more on EVs, click here.