Prosper ISD’s Pricey Proposition
What to know: In November, Prosper ISD wants voter to approve “the most expensive high school football stadium ever built.” The proposed stadium will cost taxpayers almost $100 million. Only a few years ago, Prosper ISD won voter approval for a separate $48 million stadium.
The TPPF take: School districts are gorging on public debt, and it’s causing taxes to soar.
“Before saying Yea or Nay to any bond proposition, voters should remember that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Every dollar the government borrows will have to be paid back in the form of higher taxes. And it’ll have to be paid back with interest,” says TPPF’s James Quintero. “New debt means taking on new taxes.”
For more on local spending, click here.
Who Will Feed America?
What to know: The expansion of offshore wind energy projects endangers the fishing industry.
The TPPF take: That’s one reason TPPF filed a lawsuit challenging the planned Vineyard Wind project off Rhode Island.
“Families that have fished in the region for generations are fighting,” says TPPF’s Roy Maynard. “But the odds are steep. The foreign-owned energy companies are well-funded, and renewable energy has plenty of political pull right now. An area that has been sustainably fished for nearly 400 years could be off-limits to the men and women who feed much of the nation.”
For more on offshore wind, click here.
‘Green’ Garbage
What to know: Old, worn-out wind turbine blades are piling up in make-shift disposal yards throughout the nation.
The TPPF take: Sweetwater, Texas, is being buried in discarded blades.
“The flow of federal incentives has led to an explosion of renewable energy projects, but a lack of disposal options has left a growing green garbage problem,” says TPPF’s Carson Clayton. “Solar panels and wind turbines contain toxic and hazardous materials that are difficult to recycle, and early retirement of equipment is causing waste to accumulate almost as quickly as new generation is being deployed. Despite claims of cleanliness, ‘green’ power has some dirty secrets.”
For more on wind energy, click here.