It is that time of year again; the Holiday season is  upon us.  As we observe Thanksgiving this week, Americans across the country will travel and come together, with family and friends, to celebrate.  As we gather around the Thanksgiving…

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

One of the perhaps most underreported outcomes of last week’s election is the overwhelming success of local bond propositions, especially those that will further increase the already rapidly growing property tax burden on Texas taxpayers. Collectively, Texas voters considered nearly…

As the third special legislative session reaches its forced conclusion, it does so with not much in the way to show for it, especially regarding efforts on school choice. In continuance of what seems to be a long-standing trend, efforts…

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,…

Early voting for the 2023 November election is officially underway, and voters across Texas are headed to the polls.  This election held on November 7th is focused on fourteen constitutional amendment propositions, many of which will have a significant impact…

The race to fill the vacant seat for Texas House District 2 is underway, with the special election now less than a month out.  One candidate, Jill Dutton, has thrown her hat into the ring, hoping that Voters in HD-2…

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…

What does it say about a state that has to pay off government schools and those within the government school system in order to potentially adopt a school choice system that benefits only some students? That scenario is exactly what…

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…

The Fiscal Implications of an Unsecured Border and Illegal Immigration  232,972. That’s how many illegal immigrants were encountered on our southern border in August alone, with over 181,000 apprehensions. That is up from 183,494 encounters in July and 144,570 in…

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…

Texas politicians had a choice to make this spring. With a record $80 billion of new revenue available, they could either spend the money or give it back to Texas taxpayers in the form of property tax relief. Unfortunately for…

The Texas Legislature is widely expected to convene in yet another special legislative session in the coming weeks. This time they will reportedly focus on education freedom and parental choice or school choice and salary increases for government school teachers….