Home Prices
What to know: Illegal immigration drove up housing prices, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas says in a draft report.
The TPPF take: There’s no mystery here; millions more people means millions fewer affordable homes.
“Housing markets are governed by the same economic principles as every other market,” says TPPF’s John Bonura. “When millions of additional people enter the United States over a short period of time, each of them needs a place to live. Whether they rent an apartment, share housing with others, or purchase a home, the result is the same: increased demand. When supply cannot expand quickly enough, prices rise for everyone.”
For more on housing prices, click here.
Efficiency Audits
The TPPF take: Polls show that efficiency audits are very popular with the public.
“When it comes to spending public money, Texans want transparency and accountability,” says TPPF’s James Quintero. “Public opinion firmly rests on the side of creating a new efficiency audit requirement for local governments. The question now is, are state legislators ready to deliver on it?”
For more on efficiency audits, click here.
Drone Strikes
What to know: Ukraine’s drone strikes are wreaking havoc in Russia.
The TPPF take: Russia is unprepared for unlimited drone warfare. So is the U.S.
“Ukrainian industry has scaled production of AI-enhanced drones and cruise missiles at a pace that Russia’s legacy, Soviet-style, rigid, top-down systems cannot match,” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore. “There is a painful lesson here for the United States. Much of our Navy — aircraft carriers and submarines alike — remains vulnerable to massed drone attacks, both by air and sea, when at port.”
For more on drone warfare, click here.