NEWS
Carona: Tax First?
Just how out of touch must one be to advocate a 50-percent hike in gasoline taxes in the midst of the worst recession in 60 years? And just how ridiculous is it to suggest that a tax hike is “the only near-term answer” to solving a government problem? One might ask State Sen. John Carona of Dallas, who is making those cases.
Top Tier One universities fail core curricula test
One of the loudest arguments we’re hearing in favor of Proposition 4 is that if the state of Texas has more Tier One research universities, the quality of higher education will improve.
Stimulus $ tracking: does anyone care?
“A Houston Chronicle review of the federal government’s distribution of $787 billion in economic stimulus money approved by Congress found that the highly touted Web site designed to let the public know how much of their tax money is going to their home congressional districts is misleading and statistically unreliable,” reports the Houston Chronicle.
Cornyn and health care costs
In a recent op-ed (Statesman, October 14, 2009), Senator John Cornyn pointed to the most egregious subterfuge in the debate over the nationalization of health care. Sen. Cornyn wrote: “The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said it will cost $829 billion, but when it’s fully implemented, the Senate Budget Committee estimates the real cost to be $1.8 trillion.”
Small business big
Just received the new “Fiscal Notes” from the Texas Comptroller, which is this month highlighting the growth of small business in Texas. The number of self-employed Texans rose 2 percent last year, while self-employed Americans overall dropped 2 percent.
Dewhurst’s Budget Offense
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst went on the offensive today, defending in the Austin American Statesman the budget crafted by lawmakers this year from attacks that it was balanced only with the help of federal stimulus dollars.
Why the silence on Prop. 1? Vote No.
It’s Texas constitutional amendment election time and there has been much talk about all but the most objectionable amendment: Proposition 1, which reads:
Distorting Propositions 2, 3 & 5
Lots of emails are popping up around the state making ludicrous charges about the propositions on the Texas constitutional amendment election. Apparently some hope it’s easier to peddle irrational fear than be bothered with reality. Facts are pesky things, and the facts are that taxpayers have a lot to gain by three of the amendments — which might explain who is behind the misinformation campaign.
Open Records vs. Free Speech?
An Austin American-Statesman story documented an interesting lawsuit being filed by Texas local government officials against Attorney General Greg Abbott and the state. The suit will allege that the state open meetings law violates elected officials’ free speech rights by prohibiting them from having discussions when they are not in session.
Statesman Pulls A Hamstring
The Austin American Statesman endorsed the Baucus health care plan passed out the Senate Finance Committee earlier this week by a 14-9 vote. No news there. However, the Statesman leans on the rickety sawhorse that a federally-mandated health plan will fix the "broken and financially unsustainable [system] for consumers and businesses." This cannot be.
HB 2665 an affront to Liberty
A headline in the Beaumont Enterprise caused my Liberty alarm bells to ring and clearly it was the word “order” that immediately drew my attention. It read: Jefferson County orders rural addresses displayed.
Propositions 2 and 3 are smart moves for Texas
There has been a lot of misleading information going around via email on Props 2 and 3, which deal with property taxes, and that information is extremely damaging to the efforts to fix our property appraisal system in the state of Texas.