This commentary was originally published at The Center Square here. It is being republished with permission from the author. The Texas Legislature just found out it has a huge opportunity to correct its profligate spending failures made earlier this year. But instead,…

Texas has been a leader in job creation. But Texas faces major headwinds as this year’s 88th Legislature has looked more like California than what Texans expect. There is a better way. Free-market capitalism is the best path to let…

Highlights Figure 1: Year-Over-Year Real Average Weekly Earnings Declined for 26 Months Before Increasing in the Last Three but Fell Again and Remain Down Nearly 5% Since January 2021 Overview Labor Market The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released its…

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is again promoting what could be universal school choice during the third special session in Texas that starts on Oct. 9th. That would be among the best actions Texas can make, the other being eliminating…

This commentary was originally published at The Center Square here. It is being republished with permission from the author. If you live in Texas, then your property taxes are skyrocketing. This has made housing less affordable, especially for the neediest among…

This commentary was originally published at EconLib here. It is being republished with permission from the author. Americans say the economy is the most important problem facing the country. But major headlines covering the latest jobs report for August do their best…

Highlights Figure 1: Year-Over-Year Real Average Weekly Earnings Declined for 26 Months Before Increasing in the Last Three but Remains Down Nearly 5% Since January 2021 Overview Labor Market The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released its U.S. jobs report…

Overview Debt A recent report by the Texas Bond Review Board notes that Texas’ total outstanding local government debt is $280 billion, resulting in debt per capita of $8,869. This puts Texas’ local debt per capita in third place of…

Texas is a leader in job creation over the last year and since February 2020. But Texas faces major headwinds as the recently ended 88th Legislature looked more like California than what is expected from the free-market bastion of hope…

Overview Texas Passes Largest Budget Increase in Texas History Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) recently signed the Texas budget (HB 1) passed by the 88th Texas Legislature with the largest spending increases, the largest corporate welfare increases, and the largest social safety net…

An Overview The good news is that state officials in Texas have been debating how to provide one of the largest tax cuts in the state’s history and were even talking about eliminating school maintenance and operations (M&O) property taxes….

An Overview Texas Senate Budget Substantially Increases Appropriations Table 1 shows the amount by which the Texas Senate proposes to increase appropriations compared with what was appropriated for the 2022-23 budget. While the Legislative Budget Board shows a comparison of…

An Overview Texas House Budget Substantially Increases Appropriations Table 1 shows the amount by which the Texas House proposes to increase appropriations compared to what was appropriated for the 2022-23 budget. While the Legislative Budget Board shows a comparison of…

An Overview Texans for Fiscal Responsibility’s 3-Step Plan to Eliminate All Property Taxes While Texas has done a better job at keeping spending and taxes lower than many other states, thereby supporting a more robust business tax climate and more…