Cut the Crony Funds, Bring Back Free Enterprise
Gallup’s latest survey on capitalism should be a wake-up call. Nationally, only 54% of Americans now view capitalism positively, down from 60% just a few years ago and the lowest rating ever recorded. Even more alarming, Democrats now view socialism more favorably than capitalism (66% vs. 42%). Republicans remain strong defenders of capitalism (74%), while independents have slipped to barely above half.
On the one hand, this shows a troubling national drift away from the system that has lifted billions of people out of poverty worldwide. But on the other hand, it reflects a deeper frustration: too often what Americans see today is not genuine capitalism, but a distorted mix of crony corporatism and government growth masquerading as free enterprise. And sadly, Texas, the state that should be a model of free-market success, is starting to show those same cracks.
Texans have historically embraced capitalism. That’s why families have flocked here in droves—Texas gained 1.4 million people from other states between 2015 and 2024, second only to Florida. They came for opportunity, jobs, and freedom. But in recent years, Austin politicians have been steering the state away from its free-market roots.
Instead of keeping government small and taxes low, the Texas Legislature has ballooned the state budget with new constitutionally dedicated funds: the Texas Energy Fund, the Texas Water Fund, and even a new Texas Nuclear Fund. Billions of dollars in surpluses (about $24 billion excess dollars collected this biennium) are being funneled into government-run projects and corporate subsidies. In comparison, only $6 billion was reserved for new tax relief. That’s not capitalism. That’s government central planning by another name.
Meanwhile, the Rainy Day Fund will likely hit its cap soon, hoarding money that could either be returned to taxpayers or used to reduce severance taxes on oil and gas companies that fund the RDF. The fund was supposed to guard against unforeseen downturns. Instead, it has become a pool of money for political projects, often spent outside of the constitutional spending limit. That’s not the discipline of free markets—it’s political opportunism.
Cronyism is spreading, too. Billions are being routed to private contractors through subsidies, abatements, and so-called “economic development” programs. That’s the very sort of favoritism Gallup found Americans increasingly reject. It’s no wonder the public sours on “big business” (only 37% positive nationally) while overwhelmingly praising small business (95%) and free enterprise (81%). Texans know the difference between true capitalism and a rigged system.
Econ 101 teaches us simple truths: people act on incentives, profits and losses guide progress, and government spending cannot create new wealth—it only redistributes it. Yet Texas policymakers keep ignoring these basics. They are spending more, regulating more, and intervening in markets more—just as Washington does. If this continues, Texas risks eroding the very model that has set it apart.
Texas should be leading the nation as the clearest example of free-market capitalism, not drifting toward the same failed policies that have driven people out of states like California, New York, and Illinois. Those states lost millions of residents in the last decade because they taxed and regulated opportunity out of existence. If Texas keeps expanding government instead of cutting it, we may find ourselves following the same path.
The Gallup numbers are sobering, but they should remind Texans of one thing: capitalism works when it’s actually practiced. Free enterprise, voluntary exchange, limited government, and respect for property rights—these are the ingredients of prosperity. Cronyism and socialism deliver stagnation and dependency.
Texans still overwhelmingly believe in freedom. But now it’s up to state leaders to prove they do too—not by speeches, but by action. That means spending less, taxing less, and regulating less. In other words, let capitalism do what it does best: let people prosper.
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