Money, Money, Money
What to know: Austinites work all night, work all day to pay the bills, but still there never seems to be a single penny left. That’s because Austin governments tax-and-spend it all away on frivolous things, like paying musicians a “$200 hourly minimum” to play at city hall’s parties.
The TPPF take: Austin governments—and more broadly, Texas’ large local governments—lack prudence and fiscal discipline. Consequently, taxpayers are suffering.
“Texas’ largest local governments have an obvious spending problem. Truly, there’s nothing that city officials can’t resist spending other people’s money on, including government-run parties filled with the finest taxpayer-funded music,” says TPPF’s James Quintero. “Taxpayers deserve better. It’s time for a strict local government spending limit.”
For more on local spending, click here.
Legal and Right
What to know: A federal judge in San Francisco says that President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles to protect federal buildings—and people—during riots.
The TPPF take: The deployment was legal—and it was the right thing to do.
“In June, Trump activated about 4,000 California National Guard members under Title 10 authority to support federal law enforcement officers conducting immigration raids,” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore. “These troops weren’t arresting protesters or enforcing state laws — they were safeguarding federal personnel and facilities from riots targeting ICE operations.”
For more on troop deployments, click here.
Driving My Life Away
What to know: Americans love driving. Will they be the same if AI makes them passengers in their own self-driving cars?
The TPPF take: Just as with all other technology, self-driving vehicles are a tool that can induce positive and negative outcomes.
“As a first principle, and for the sake of innovation broadly, it is crucial that Texas continue to hold the line on the regulation-heavy instincts of states like California and Illinois,” says TPPF’s David Dunmoyer. “With responsible guardrails in place and the ingredients for an innovative hotspot, Texas will continue to lead the nation as the exemplar of responsible technology that seeks to serve humanity, and not the other way around.”
For more on the self-driving cars, click here.