NEWS
Big Gun, Little Bang
Unions are unions, whatever they call themselves and whatever their industry. While they might have once served a legitimate function, unions today are drains on our economy and every sector of endeavor. Government is no different. In the Fort Worth suburb of Southlake, the police are trying to unionize (they call it implementing “civil service” rules), which requires a public vote this month. Not only will public service not improve, but for the pleasure of turning the police into union thugs, taxpayers will shell out an additional $10,000 per officer.
Who’ll Be A Leader?
Conservatives in Texas are fed up with out of control property taxes, spending that’s going through the roof, and a new business tax created to satiate the demands of growing government.
Austen in Austin?
If there’s such a thing as a one-man think-tank, Austen Furse might qualify. He’s a reliable conservative and excellent businessman with political credentials stretching from Matagorda County to the White House. He’s also the only person to have now publically declared himself as a candidate for the soon-to-be-vacant Senate District 17 seat.
No Control For You
Republicans seeking to make substantive policy reforms face as their chief obstacle, all too often, Republican elected officials. These “Republicans” like to say they believe in fiscal restraint and local control – just not when it stands in the way of spending your money. The only restraint they favor tends to be in the form of keeping taxpayers from interfering with spending increases. This makes something of an inconvenience of the 92% of Republican voters who supported a ballot question calling for strict spending limits.
Insurance Bad, Government Good
Breathlessly reported by the Austin American Statesman is a report showing that — gasp — health insurance premiums rates have risen 39.7 percent since 2001. Of course, state government has grown more than 30 percent since ’01 but the Statesman doesn’t seem bugged by that.
School Districts Should Trim Central Office Before Raising Taxes
Edgewood ISD announced this week they are cutting as many as 12 central office positions, though the district says they have 92 more than needed. Other Texas districts should follow – consider that Dallas and Houston ISDs have about 3,000 central office staff while the Catholic school systems in New York and Chicago, each with 100,000 plus students, have between 22 and 28.
Getting Serious On Property Taxes
A special House committee was formed this week to address the state’s out-of-control property taxes. House Speaker Tom Craddick appointed some of the Legislature’s strongest fiscal conservatives to the committee.
Travis County Appraisals Skyrocket
At a time of record foreclosures and declining home values, someone forgot to tell the Travis County appraiser. Values were posted minutes ago and my home rose a whopping 19.3%, sending my school property tax cut up in smoldering flames. However, values are up 31% in Lago Vista.
If you own a home in Travis County, check your value at:
Someone’s Paying Attention
At least Susan Combs is paying attention to the needs of the state’s economy. With businesses struggling to understand, let alone pay, the confusingly complex new business tax, Comptroller Combs announced she’s giving everyone an extra month to make sense of what her office called “the complexity” of the new tax. That the new tax isn’t needed, and shouldn’t have been implemented to begin with, just adds gross insult to very real injury.
More Taxes Just Dandy?
Isn’t it funny that the Dallas Morning News keeps trying to raise sales taxes to fund more mass transit boondoggles, and yet they and their cronies in the newspaper industry lobby against efforts to tax their product?
Not So Fast Eddie!
Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Dallas) today called for increasing both the state and federal gas tax, citing a lack of transportation funds. Yet 43% of the state gas tax is being diverted to non-transportation items and an increasing share of federal gas tax revenues are going to rail schemes that move few people for big bucks and even recreational paths.
Did You Know Texas Cities Can Tax Leased Cars?
Even we have trouble keeping up with all the different taxes and fees and today we learned that a 2001 law passed by the Legislature allows Texas cities to impose property taxes on leased cars. The Galveston Daily News reports that League City collects $243 per year on a car appraised at $40,000, but that they may repeal the tax at tomorrow’s Council meeting.