by Andrew McVeigh | Aug 25, 2026 | Federal
The United States crossed $40 trillion in total public debt on August 18, 2026.1 The Treasury’s Debt to the Penny series2 showed a whopping $40,047,425,768,420.22 that day, up from just under $40 trillion the day before. Out of that historic figure, $32.3 trillion is...
by Andrew McVeigh | Aug 19, 2026 | State
Governor Abbott and newly-appointed Comptroller of Public Accounts Don Huffines are teaming up to investigate waste and admin bloat. Governor Greg Abbott has formally requested1 Texas Comptroller Don Huffines to investigate the finances of up to four independent...
by Andrew McVeigh | Aug 17, 2026 | Local
Today, August 17th, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office sent letters1 to more than 110 additional cities prohibiting them from raising ad valorem property taxes above the no-new-revenue (NNR) tax rate. The NNR rate is the property tax rate a local taxing entity...
by Andrew McVeigh | Aug 14, 2026 | Local
Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare1 gave preliminary approval Thursday, August 13th, to a Fiscal Year 2027 budget that sets the county rate at $0.1860 per $100 of valuation and the JPS Hospital District rate at $0.1590. Both sit below the no-new-revenue (NNR) rate, the...
by Andrew McVeigh | Aug 10, 2026 | Local
On August 7th, the Bastrop City Council conducted official workshops1 not in Bastrop (where one might reasonably expect), but more than one hundred miles away in Fredericksburg. The posted agenda2 lists the location as the John Wm. Klein Meeting Room at 115 N....
