New SNAP Rules
What to know: New rules for SNAP—food stamps—go into effect in Texas today. SNAP can no longer be used to purchase candy and sodas.
The TPPF take: Allowing SNAP dollars to be used for soda and candy weakens the program’s purpose.
“It does not promote healthy habits among welfare recipients and diverts taxpayer dollars to nonessential items,” says TPPF’s Dr. Cliff Porter. “Texas’s waiver is a measured reform realigning SNAP with its original mission: supporting access to essential, nutritious foods. Where legitimate medical needs exist, they should be addressed through health care interventions, not by broadening the scope of a public assistance program beyond its core function.”
For more on SNAP, watch this.
Spending is the Problem
What to know: It pays well to work for the city of Austin. In 2025, the city had 13,567 full-time employees earning an average of $86,711, “nearly double the city’s median individual income of about $48,000.” Its highest paid employee made $538,608.
The TPPF take: Excessive compensation drives overspending. Overspending pushes tax bills higher.
“Local governments spend too much. Excessive compensation is the most obvious way, but it’s not the only way. And when governments overspend, they put a tremendous burden on taxpayers that is neither fair nor justified,” says TPPF’s James Quintero. “If overspending is the problem, then spending limits are the solution.”
For more on local spending, click here.
Women Only
What to know: The International Olympic Committee has banned men claiming to be trans from competing in women’s events.
The TPPF take: It’s high time the IOC protected women’s sports.
“It is illegal in Texas for men and boys to compete in women’s and girls’ sports in both public school and college, but not in California where the state just filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, charging it is their right to keep a boy on the women’s volleyball team at San Jose State,” says TPPF’s Sherry Sylvester. “San Jose State essentially shut down women’s volleyball in the Mountain West in 2024 when almost half the teams forfeited their games rather than risk injury by playing against a team with a male player.”
For more on women’s sports, click here.