NEWS
Bike-Share Boondoggle
How much are you willing to pay for a bicycle? $200? $400? That’s nowhere close to what the City of Austin is going to spend per bike for a new “bike-sharing program” downtown. At over $1,500 per bicycle, the Austin City Council is ready to spend $1.8 million on their newest taxpayer boondoggle.
Bottom of the Barrel
At the conclusion of the 82nd Legislative Session three Republican House members found themselves with voting records that abjectly failed Texas taxpayers. Reps. John Davis, Allan Ritter, and Dee Margo were the bottom of the barrel – all scoring a failing “F” on the Fiscal Responsibility Index.
Birdwell Endorsed By TFR
Texans for Fiscal Responsibility endorsed State Sen. Brian Birdwell for re-election in 2012 campaign season....
Stripping Away Transparency
During the special session, State Representatives Erwin Cain (R-Como) and Bill Zedler (R-Arlington) successfully added amendments to SB 1, the omnibus fiscal matters bill, which respectively increased transparency in the state budget and local school districts. Unfortunately, those measures were stripped out when the bill was considered in a less than conservative conference committee.
Higher Ed Is Burning
Much like the story of the Roman Emperor Nero fiddling while Rome burned, the UT administration is standing idly by while the cost of tuition continues to skyrocket. Instead of offering a plan of their own, they’re choosing to “fiddle” away with rhetoric designed only to protect the status quo.
School funding equity doesn’t lead to better schools
Would school funding equity make for better schools, rural, urban and suburban? Let’s read comments made in a feature story from Abilene’s KTAB in which State Rep. Susan King and former big-spending Clyde ISD superintendent Gail Haterius push school funding equity.
Voting Classes
Politicians and insiders like to talk about the advantages that come with seniority. Unfortunately, those advantages rarely accrue to the benefit of taxpayers. Yet there are important exceptions to that rule, which should remind voters why we must carefully consider the candidates, not just their longevity or rhetoric.
Index: Fresh Faces Shine
With a hefty number of new faces added to the ranks of Texas’ legislative body politic this session in the wake of what could be described as a “conservative landslide” in November 2010, many folks want to know, “How did the freshmen do?”
Sen. Duncan was for it, before he killed it.
On Tuesday Texas Governor Rick Perry issued a tersely worded statement blaming State Senator Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock) for the failure of Sanctuary Cities legislation within SB 1 in the Called Session.
Index: Legislature’s Wasted Opportunity
In a legislative session controlled by a rhetorically conservative super-majority, they accomplished the bare fiscal minimum but did little to control future government growth. This is reflected on the 2011 Fiscal Responsibility Index, with legislators averaging a paltry 61 percent.
Texas Monthly: Disclosure-Free Zone
Most journalists try to avoid conflicts of interests, or at least disclose such fully and repeatedly. Texas Monthly apparently doesn’t adhere to such a practice as their executive editor regularly opposes higher education reform without disclosing his financial relationship with UT.
Dallas Dems Celebrate Convict’s Release
When plumbing the depths of the irrelevance of the Texas Democratic Party’s leadership, one pretty much hits rock-bottom with an event this week to “celebrate” former legislator Terri Hodge. She confessed to tax fraud: not reporting as income the bribes she accepted.