News and Commentary
Property Tax Bills Filed in Large Numbers, a Good Sign for Taxpayers
On Monday, lawmakers in both the Texas House of Representatives and Texas Senate began the process of prefiling legislation ahead of the upcoming 88th Legislative Session, and hundreds of bills have already been filed. 2023 will be a contentious year…
Taxpayer Champion Seeks to Ban Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying for the Third Time
On Monday, the first day by which Texas state lawmakers could prefile legislation ahead of the 88th Legislative Session, newly elected State Senator-elect Mayes Middleton filed legislation seeking to ban the practice of taxpayer-funded lobbying. Middleton, himself a TFR Taxpayer…
Episode 18: BONUS EPISODE: Vance Ginn, Ph.D.
Episode Description 💰 In this bonus episode of 𝗧𝗔𝗫𝗣𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗞𝗦, we talk with Dr. Vance Ginn, former Chief Economist at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Associate Director for Economic Policy of the Office of Management and Budget under the…
The Biggest Loser in the Wake of 2022 Midterms in Texas: Fiscal Sanity
Much to the chagrin of fiscal conservatives, perhaps the most significant thing to come out of the 2022 midterm elections was the overwhelming success of many bond propositions and tax rate increases on the ballot. In a country where we…
Updated CPI Numbers Show Inflation Is Sticking Around
On Thursday, new Consumer Price Index (CPI) data was released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, ultimately indicating that the current historic inflation is not going away any time soon and continues to reduce the purchasing power of…
Episode 17: Red Ripples in Midterm Elections & Implications
Episode Description 💰 In this episode of 𝗧𝗔𝗫𝗣𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗞𝗦, we briefly discuss the 2022 midterm election results and what they mean in our estimation for fiscal conservatives and Texas taxpayers. We also preview our recent interview with Vance Ginn, Ph.D.,…
Recent Report Shows Texas’ Abysmal Record on Property Taxes
Recently, the Huffines Liberty Foundation released a report entitled “Texas Property Taxes: A State-to-State Comparison.” As the first in a three-part series, the report itself claims to be a road map to abolish property taxes in Texas, something the majority…
Taxpayer Champion Announces Candidacy for Texas Speaker of the House
On Friday, Republican State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (Arlington) officially filed as a candidate for speaker of the Texas House, challenging incumbent Speaker Dade Phelan (Beaumont). Tinderholt was first elected to the Texas House in 2015 and is a taxpayer champion…
Episode 16: BONUS EPISODE: Thomas McNutt
Episode Description 💰 In this bonus episode of 𝗧𝗔𝗫𝗣𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗞𝗦, we talk with a business owner, conservative activist, and former candidate for the Texas House of Representatives, Thomas McNutt on seeking fiscal sanity at the local government level among several…
Episode 15: Thomas McNutt, Fiscal Issues Facing State & Election Impacts
Episode Description 💰 In this episode of 𝗧𝗔𝗫𝗣𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗞𝗦, we briefly discuss our recent interview with Thomas McNutt and his thoughts on impacting local governments. We also discuss property tax, corporate welfare, school choice, and the upcoming elections. Articles…
Texas Given a ‘D’ Rating on Fiscal Health
Recently, Truth in Accounting released its 2022 Financial State of the States Report analyzing the financial health of all 50 states in the United States. They have released this annual report for the past 13 years. According to the report,…
A Texas-sized History of Corporate Handouts
Texas elected officials like to point out the economic success the state has found in the last few decades. It is true the state has an economic climate that many businesses and individuals across the world and the United States…
Should We Have Secret, Nonpartisan Local Elections in Texas?
As we find ourselves in the midst of election season, it is a great time to talk about how elections are conducted in Texas. In my time traveling the state and speaking to taxpayers about a myriad of issues related…
Episode 14: BONUS EPISODE: State Representative Kyle Biedermann
Episode Description 💰 In this bonus episode of 𝗧𝗔𝗫𝗣𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗞𝗦, we talk with outgoing Republican Texas State Representative Kyle Biedermann about fiscal issues facing Texas including the property tax and the appetite in the Texas Legislature to address them, the…
Appropriations Committee Member Seems to Not Understand Basic Market Economics
The Texas House Appropriations Committee met Wednesday in what is likely to be the last public hearing they have before the next legislative session, which is set to begin in January of 2023. One of the items discussed was an…