Right Time to Borrow Big?
What to Know: Inflation is up and the economy is down. Even still, Texas’ local governments want to borrow big. This election cycle, cities, counties, school districts, and special districts are asking voters to approve a staggering $21 billion in new debt.
The TPPF Take: It’s up to voters to decide on bond propositions. But voters should understand that taking on more debt means paying higher taxes.
“Generally speaking, general obligation bonds approved by voters in November will spur tax increases. Given that, voters should carefully consider whether now is the right time to approve higher taxes,” says TPPF’s James Quintero.
For more on local debt, click here.
Border Crisis
What to Know: El Paso continues to struggle to handle record numbers of border crossers.
The TPPF Take: Democrats may be ignoring the crisis at the border, but voters won’t.
“That the debate was dominated by the illegal immigration crisis unleashed by President Biden’s sudden reversal of former President Donald Trump’s policies doesn’t bode well for Democrats nationally,” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore. “Voters are likely to render a harsh verdict on Biden’s unsecured border this November.”
For more on the border crisis, click here.
Declining Enrollment
What to Know: Why have colleges enrolled fewer students lately? Maybe because during the COVID-19 pandemic, students were expected to “pay tens of thousands of dollars for an experience that amounted to house arrest combined with Khan Academy.”
The TPPF Take: We shouldn’t ask whether college is worth it; we should instead ask which college programs are worth the money.
“Some programs are worth it, and some aren’t,” says TPPF’s Andrew Gillen. “Averaging them together is a disservice when giving advice to potential students. As one method of answering the question, consider the debt-to-income test results from the TPPF webtool, which asks whether graduates from a program earn enough to repay the typical amount borrowed to attend that program.”
For more on higher education, click here.