Living High on the Hog at Taxpayer Expense

The TPPF take: No one should get rich from public service.

“An elite few in public education are getting rich at taxpayer expense—and it’s 100% wrong. It’s well past time for the Texas Legislature to rein in excessive compensation packages at the local level and re-instill some measure of commonsense,” says TPPF’s James Quintero.

For more on superintendents’ salaries and benefits, click here.

Offshore, but Not Out of Sight

What to know: A New Jersey County is suing over a planned wind farm that officials say didn’t get the same environmental scrutiny that other businesses and individuals come under.

The TPPF take: TPPF is also suing over a planned wind farm.

“The political pressure to implement offshore wind has been intense,” says TPPF’s Robert Henneke. “The Interior Department’s ‘Smart from the Start’ program fast-tracks offshore wind development, improperly granting permissions allowing foreign-owned energy companies to move forward despite the harms to our safety, our domestic industries and our environment.”

For more on offshore wind, click here.

Choosing a College

What to know:  Young people should be realistic about choosing a college, the New York Times says: “Reflect deeply on what sort of experience you truly want.”

The TPPF take: Many students are effectively blindfolded when they’re choosing a school—too often, colleges and universities hide the true cost of a degree program.

“The cost of attendance (COA) is the total cost of attending a college, including monies that go to the college, like tuition and fees and room and board, but also estimated expenses for things like books and travel,” says TPPF’s Andrew Gillen. “COA is the most accurate total cost a college can provide a student and is foundational to determining how much federal financial aid a student can get. Yet, only 45% of colleges provide an accurate COA to students.”

For more on the cost of college, click here.