Small Town Thievery
What to know: The city of Campbell, a small North Texas city located in Hunt County, recently uncovered nearly 150 unauthorized credit card purchases totaling around $30,000 spent on “TikTok Shop, weight loss drugs and more.” City officials are still unsure who is responsible for the misuse of taxpayer money.
The TPPF take: Small towns are not immune from waste, fraud, and abuse.
“Every Texan should remain vigilant about their government’s handling of Other People’s Money, no matter where they live. Waste, fraud, and abuse are not strictly confined to large local governments,” says TPPF’s James Quintero.
For more on local spending, click here.
Not a Saint
What to know: The city of San Antonio will rename César Chávez Boulevard, following new accusations that the labor leader was a sexual predator.
The TPPF take: The Left hid César Chávez’s rapes and made him a secular saint.
“For years, Chávez was presented as the figurehead for Mexican Americans, a symbol we were expected to revere,” says TPPF’s Ariana Guajardo. “But he represented a collectivist ideology that perpetuated ethnic tribalism. After the New York Times broke the story of his sexual abuse of young girls, this false idol is finally toppling. My only hope is that he is not replaced by another.”
For more on César Chávez, click here.
Hitting the Road
What to know: According to new IRS data, in 2023, California lost “205,788 residents, the largest net outflow in the country, including 37,777 high earners.”
The TPPF take: The wealthy are leaving for states that let them keep more of what they’ve earned.
“California is the epitome of the progressive left operational model, the blueprint for others to follow — and, home to San Francisco and UC Berkeley, the one place where democratic socialism might first work,” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore. “California’s economic growth lagged behind that of the U.S. — and significantly behind its two prominent red-state rivals, Florida and Texas.”
For more on California, click here.