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Taxpayers deserve meaningful school measurement

The story begins with: “Texas is one of several states that have set a low bar for determining whether their students are proficient in math and reading, according to a new study from the federal government’s National Center for Education Statistics.” The Dallas...

Wentworth’s Award for Appropriating

It is one thing for legislators to get an award they've earned -- such as the Taxpayer Champion and Advocate Awards we present to those working to protect our economy. But it's more than a little unseemly when a group created, and funded, by government is handing out...

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...

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. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni has been working on a project, the...

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. Yes, the state used stimulus dollars as part of...

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: "The constitutional amendment authorizing the financing, including through tax increment financing, of the...

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...

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. In the story we learn that “By Nov. 15, residents outside of...

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. Prop 2 states "The...