Weak Sauce
What to know: The Financial Times says Spain’s response to its ongoing immigration crisis is “weak.”
The TPPF take: Spain’s immigration crisis is a warning to America.
“Not that long ago, our own nation endured a historic mass migration crisis that exposed the consequences of weak border policies,” says TPPF’s Selene Rodriguez. “The Trump administration deserves credit for acting quickly to reverse course. But Americans should not mistake progress for permanence.”
For more on immigration, click here.
Eyeing City Salaries
What to know: To help close the city of Dallas’s $30 million budget shortfall, one councilmember wants to scrutinize top-end salaries. Specifically, he’d like the city staff to “run some numbers in terms of what it would be like if we were to reduce some of those top salaries down 3 or 4 or 5% to see what it would look like.”
The TPPF take: City staff are right to review public sector executive salaries.
“Many local governments have become top heavy, both in terms of the number of public sector executives employed and what they are being paid. The city of Dallas—and every other municipality—are right to review administrative bloat and make budget-friendly adjustments,” says TPPF’s James Quintero. “It is better to reduce sky-high city salaries than raise taxes or reduce core services.”
For more on local salaries, click here.
Noncitizen Voting
What to know: New Jersey is removing non-citizens from its voter rolls.
The TPPF take: New Jersey’s “software glitch” isn’t the end of the story.
“Once New Jersey acknowledged that thousands of ineligible registrations made it onto the voter rolls, an obvious question followed: How can voters be confident there are not more?” asks TPPF’s Josh Findlay. “Confidence comes from continued voter eligibility verification, accurate voter roll maintenance, and demonstrating that the problem has been fully addressed.”
For more on voting, click here.