Drive a Stake Through It
What to know: Governor Abbott is calling for big property tax changes next session, with the goal of “driv[ing] a stake to the heart of property taxes in Texas.”
The TPPF take: Texans continue to endure high property taxes, despite the best efforts of past Legislatures. The reason is a loose local environment.
“Opportunistic local governments have stolen nearly all past tax relief through aggressive rate hikes, large bond elections, and spending largesse. The net effect of these local decisions has been to deny Texans any real relief,” says TPPF’s James Quintero. “The best way to bring permanent change to Texas’ property tax system is enforcing strict local spending and debt limits. If they can’t spend it, then they won’t collect it.”
For more on property taxes, click here.
Nervous in the Service
What to know: Europe’s leaders are refusing to “get involved” in protecting the Strait of Hormuz, even though much of their oil comes through there.
The TPPF take: Europe has an Iranian war on its hands by reason of those interests, whether Europe cares to see it or not.
“European powers themselves have stated openly why they will not act to reopen the Straits: doing so would necessitate a wartime partnership with the United States of America, and their politics are more strongly oriented against the American President than the Iranian Ayatollah,” says TPPF’s Joshua Treviño. “The Europeans expect the Americans to do it. They expect us to handle all of it: the regime, the nuclear program, and the Straits of Hormuz.”
For more on Iran, click here.
AI and Education
What to know: The Alpha School is a new education model that uses AI to make classroom time more efficient. It’s already generating controversy.
The TPPF take: What’s different about Alpha School is not technological. It’s structural.
“The truth is, structure has consequences,” says TPPF’s Tom Lindsay. “When you remove the compliance load and re-aim time, authority, and accountability at the mission, you don’t just improve performance—you treat people like humans and form them into self-governing adults. Most employers are doing the opposite, and they are shaping the very disengagement and risk-aversion they complain about. The real innovation is subtraction.”
For more on Alpha School, click here.