Color Me Shocked
What to know: Waste, fraud, and abuse are rampant throughout the city of Austin. For example, the city committed taxpayer resources to creating an adult coloring book featuring a drag queen who crows: “Quitting tobacco has allowed me to be the best performer that I can.”
The TPPF take: If Austin has enough money to create comics and coloring books, then it has too much money.
“The city of Austin is unmatched when it comes to wasting Other People’s Money in new and bizarre ways. From creating drag queen coloring books to embedding artists in city departments to hanging condoms in trees, there seems to be no end to Austin’s absurdities,” says TPPF’s James Quintero. “If ever there was a poster child for a strict local government spending limit, then Austin is it.”
For more on local spending, click here.
Resist!
What to know: Republicans in Congress should resist the pressure to bail out Obamacare, health care expert Christopher Jacobs says.
The TPPF take: There are much better approaches to health care than the unaffordable Affordable Care Act.
“The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) has opened up opportunities for better medical care at a fraction of the cost,” says TPPF’s Dr. Cliff Porter. “The OBBB forces many states to reform how they handle Medicaid funds, but it is far more transformational than that. The OBBB expanded alternatives to traditional Medicaid and insurance by allowing individuals to have more options that are far better at a fraction of the cost.”
For more on Obamacare, click here.
What Works
What to know: ICE Houston arrested more than 1,500 criminal aliens, transnational gang members, foreign fugitives and other immigration offenders during a 10-day operation in Southeast Texas, the federal government reports.
The TPPF take: Soon, more county sheriffs will join the fight against illegal immigration.
“Texas is vast, and for every arrest made, there are countless others who have slipped through the cracks,” says TPPF’s Selene Rodriguez. “But that number will soon grow even higher thanks to a new law passed by the Texas Legislature this year requiring nearly all county sheriffs to request entry into the federal 287(g) program. The 287(g) program allows state and local law enforcement officers to partner directly with ICE to identify, detain, and remove illegal aliens. This model — expanded successfully in Florida — gives local law enforcement officers the authority and training to enforce immigration law as a true force multiplier.”
For more on what works to stop illegal immigration, click here.