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...
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,...
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is the poster child of agencies in dire need of reform. We’ve recently reported on the many, well-documented illustrations of institutional incompetence, poor leadership decisions, and a lack of objective processes for...
Over the course of four decades, the University of North Texas received millions of dollars over and above their legislative appropriation. According to a new State Auditor’s Office report, the university manipulated payroll and accounting systems to inappropriately...
Kevin Eltife – known best in Austin for his desire to raise taxes – is back at it, clamoring for more spending while bashing conservatives in the process. This time, he caught the attention of liberal bloggers who were quick to praise him. A perennially sub-par...
What do the House Republican leadership and the liberal Democrat candidate for Lt. Governor have in common? Both take positions opposite that of the Texas Republican Party platform regarding Obamacare. Late last week, State Sen. Leticia Van De Putte called for a...
Five out of five progressive education activists at Netroots Nation agree: there cannot be choice or competition. Why? Their plans for the status quo in public schools are an integral part of implementing their progressive vision of "community schools;" the new...
Members of the Texas Conservative Budget Coalition are calling on lawmakers to keep state government growth at or under 6.2% in the 2016-17 biennium. Grassroots conservative leaders and budget experts gathered this morning in Austin to unveil a fiscally conservative...
State Legislators banking on a healthy state budget surplus to ease funding tensions next session are in for an unexpected comeuppance. A major state employee benefit system for retired teachers is in danger of imminent insolvency. A surprising twist to this problem...
It’s no secret that many journalists in the Texas media are sympathetic to certain politicians in Austin, especially those whose conservative campaign rhetoric doesn’t match their irresponsible spending record. But both the Texas Monthly and the Quorum Report have,...