Phelan Announces House Committee Assignments
On Day 30 of the ongoing 140-day 88th Legislative Session, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan announced the committee assignments for all House state lawmakers. In comparison, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick announced the Senate's committee assignments more than...
Amount Spent by Local Governments on Taxpayer-funded Lobbying Increasing
A recent report from the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) indicates that an increasing amount of taxpayer money is being spent by local governments for the purposes of hiring contract lobbyists to go to Austin. The report indicates that upwards of $75 million was...
The Fed Raises Rates Again
Today, the Federal Open Market Committee released the minutes from their most recent meeting. The most significant news was that they hiked the interest rate by 25 basis points to give us a total federal rate of 4.5% (up from 4.25%). This was a continued effort by the...
Why Property Taxes Are Immoral: Examining the Impact on Private Property
Property taxes are a contentious issue for many people, with some (mostly local government officials) arguing that they are an important source of funding for government services. In contrast, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility (TFR) and many Texas taxpayers argue that...
Polling Shows Support for School Choice Among Texans
On Monday, the University of Houston's Hobby School of Public Affairs released a report that seems to show a majority support for the policy of school choice. In the wake of government school reaction to the pandemic and in many cases poor outcomes for students as a...