City Government is the Problem
What to know: Some Ft. Worth city councilmembers are calling for a $20/hour minimum wage for all city employees, potentially costing taxpayers “about $117 million.” Such a large spending increase would push everyone’s property tax bill higher.
The TPPF take: City government is the problem. It is not the solution.
“Of course, affordability is a major problem. However, the right way to attack it is not to raise everyone’s taxes for the benefit of a select few. Rather, councilmembers should reduce the cost of government for all residents—including city employees—by adopting the no-new-revenue tax rate,” says TPPF’s James Quintero. “Lower property taxes will benefit everyone.”
For more on local spending, click here.
Still Not Safe
What to know: A Maryland sheriff says that even 1,800 miles away from the border, the Biden administration is making Americans less safe with its immigration policies.
The TPPF take: Border security is national security—and a safer America.
“Lenient policies on border security have empowered transnational criminal organizations to seize control of the border and increase their profits on illegal drug and human trafficking,” says TPPF’s Selene Rodriguez. “If we don’t have operational security over the border, we cannot know everyone that is coming into the U.S. and what their intentions are.”
For more on the border and crime, click here.
Grading the Grid
What to know: Texans are worried about the reliability of the electricity grid, a new poll shows.
The TPPF take: Texans should not only be concerned about reliability but also about rising costs caused by the unchecked growth of wind and solar.
“More than $100 billion in private investment and tens of billions in taxpayer subsidies have been spent on wind and solar infrastructure in Texas, and that investment is not displacing the need for additional natural gas generation,” says TPPF’s Brent Bennett. “We cannot chase subsidies for wind and solar with subsidies for natural gas. Significant market reform is needed now to fix this problem.”
For more on the Texas Grid, click here.