Analysts at the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) have compared Texas spending limit methods over recent biennia and found that application of the population-plus-inflation metric to each budget since 2006 results in a trend of relatively constant spending limits....
State Spending
The Conservative Approach to Limiting Government Growth
While the grassroots may disagree on the means from time to time, the end goal of the conservative movement remains the same: put government in its proper size and role in order to ensure that individual liberty is maximized. That includes our state government, where...
Abbott Addresses the State of Texas
On Tuesday, newly minted Governor Greg Abbott addressed a joint session of the Texas Legislature to set forth his policy proposals for the 84th Legislature. In his remarks, Abbott made clear that he intends to follow through on promises he made during his campaign and...
Conservative Think Tank Charts a New Way Forward for Tax and Expenditure Limits
Building on their successful research of the Real Texas Budget and the Conservative Texas Budget, the Texas Public Policy Foundation released a paper today detailing the need for tax and expenditure limits to secure economic freedom for the future of Texas. In a...
Rolling Stone
Thanks to big-spending legislators’ creative accounting and over-eagerness to spend your money, the 83rd legislature increased appropriations 26% over the previous legislature. Even though this represents a major increase, it would shock many taxpayers to know that...
Experts and Yes Men: The Making of the Budget
In little over a week, the 84th session of the Texas Legislature will begin. Chief among the legislature’s responsibilities is the passage of a biennial state budget—even though a vast majority of legislators have no role in its formulation. Under the...
When Moderates Win, Democrats Win
Democrats are lamenting their setbacks in a recent election that witnessed a clear mandate for conservative leadership. One of their biggest complaints: the loss of moderate Republicans. A major example outside of Texas sheds light on how Democrats rely on...
Spending Cap Sophistry
With the 84th session of the Texas Legislature still over a month away, big-spending politicians are already scheming on how to massively expand the next state budget, all while claiming fiscal discipline. The main obstacle to the grow-government crowd is our...
Why Not Number One?
Texans take pride in our state’s frequent “Best in America” characterization when it comes to job creation. It should come as a surprise then that we are not rated the number one tax climate for business. According to the 2015 State Business Tax Climate Index,...
Texas Exports Tax Hike to Nevada
Although Texas leads the nation in energy production and a variety of key economic indicators, we’re exporting much more than goods and services. Other states are following our lead on destructive taxing policy to the economic detriment of their residents. Patrick...