“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

I’ve often heard that quote from the late President Ronald Reagan, but never have they seemed as clear as they do now.

Almost on a daily basis, we’re bombarded with startling new reports about the erosion of our individual liberties. From the freedom of assembly to protections against unreasonable search and seizure to our right to keep and bear arms, every area of individual liberty seems to be under attack from the Nanny State.

The attacks on our freedom don’t stop there.

Congress is now considering a number of different proposals that pose a very real danger to all of our economic, political, and social freedoms. These proposals include:

• The cap-and-trade bill would limit emissions from certain industries and create a scheme where many companies would have to purchase carbon permits. These costs would ultimately be passed on to the consumer. The measure has been called “the biggest tax in American history.”
• Sweeping health care legislation which would provide for an effective government takeover of our health care system, at a 10-year cost of well over $1 trillion.
• The Clean Water Restoration Act would expand the scope of the Clean Water Act to allow federal regulators to dictate the use of any land with even the slightest amount of water on it. The Heritage Foundation has said it represents “the most dangerous federal intrusion on private property rights in existence.”

Needless to say, the escalation of intrusive behavior by the government, particularly at the federal level, into the lives of private citizens is happening at an alarming rate.

With Independence Day coming up this weekend, I hope that we all take a moment to consider how severely our freedoms are being eroded by an overreaching national government.

- James Quintero

Despite tough economic conditions for students and parents, University of Houston System regents recently voted to raise tuition at all four of its campuses beginning next fall.

Not surprisingly, UH officials claim they have done everything possible to cut costs. However, students don’t seem to agree with that assessment. They presented regents with alternatives, including freezing faculty salaries.

When asked how much staff the system was willing to let go, the administrator of finance said it would be less than one percent.

Regents did express sympathy for students but maintained they couldn’t manage the loss of revenue during a time when the university was striving to become a tier-1 research institution. This excuse begs the question: should research be the top priority at UH when it requires raising tuition during the worst recession our country has seen in decades?

One student had it exactly right when he told the regents who would be voting on the increase, “In the real world, this business model would not happen. When revenue is low, businesses don’t raise prices.”

In making this observation, the student brings up an important point, intentionally or not. The higher education market lacks sufficient competition. If universities operated under a free-market model, they would have scrubbed down every aspect of their operations before asking their customers to pay higher prices.

Free markets have a funny way of forcing businesses to re-prioritize during economic hard times. The same cannot be said for government agencies because they have the luxury of asking for more money. The Foundation’s higher education reforms would help infuse competition into the higher education market, keeping costs under control and quality high.

- Elizabeth Young

A Zogby poll commissioned by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency reveals strong public support for alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders. The poll, which was released earlier this month, finds 77 percent of those surveyed believe the most appropriate sentence for non-violent, non-serious offenders is supervised probation, restitution, community service, and/or rehabilitative services with prison or jail as an option if the offender fails. Non-violent, non-serious crimes are defined in the survey as those offenses that do not involve violence and sex and where the loss is $400 or less.

Some 68 percent of respondents felt that incarceration is only sometimes, rarely, or never necessary for drug possession cases where the offender is not involved in selling drugs. Only 30 percent believed that incarceration is usually or always necessary in such cases. In regard to disturbing the peace or loitering, 52 percent of respondents said incarceration is never necessary, with an additional 34 percent believing it is only rarely or sometimes necessary. Similarly, only 21 percent of those surveyed believed incarceration is usually or always necessary for public drunkenness.

In another question, more than 55 percent of respondents thought that alternatives to prison reduce costs to state and local governments. They are quite correct, as in Texas the cost of prison (including health care) is $56.10, compared with $1.24 per day for the share of probation costs borne by taxpayers. Those surveyed were surprisingly aware of various alternatives to incarceration, with 94 percent familiar with house arrest, 92 percent familiar with electronic monitoring, and 79 percent familiar with restorative justice.

Some 54 percent of respondents believed that serving time in prison or jail does not reduce the likelihood that a person will commit a crime in the future. Among those surveyed, 45 percent believed that alternatives to incarceration are effective at reducing recidivism compared to 38 percent who thought the same about prison or jail time.

In sum, these results are important because they demonstrate that the public recognizes the benefits of alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders, particularly at a time when local and state budgets are tight and correctional spending has surged in recent years.

- Marc Levin

"Lone Star Lesson" is a daily radio commentary on today's most important issues featuring Justin Keener, the Foundation's Vice President of Policy and Communications. The segments air on KVCE 1160 AM (Dallas/Fort Worth) each weekday at 6:18 a.m., 8:15 a.m., 10:20 a.m., 3:15 p.m., and 5:15 p.m.

Cap-and-trade destroys American jobs
What's wrong with ObamaCare: Seven bad ideas for health care reform
What's wrong with ObamaCare: Employer mandates
What's wrong with ObamaCare: Individual mandates
What's wrong with ObamaCare: The "public option"

The Equity Project, a new charter school in New York City, will open this fall, according to a recent New York Times article. The charter school conducted a nationwide search to hire America’s finest teachers and hired eight teachers, including two Ivy League graduates. They will assume responsibilities traditionally covered by other staff members and will work a longer school day and year. The price for their expected success: $125,000 a year.

It is possible that many bright and qualified individuals would leave the private sector to teach with that type of salary. With the average teacher in Texas making about $47,000, this would be quite a raise.

Texas has the largest teacher incentive pay system in the country, and numerous school districts here reward teachers who perform well. Unfortunately, most school districts continue to pay teachers with a salary schedule that rewards seniority over merit, consuming enormous amounts of resources and restricting the their ability to offer more competitive wages to attract the best and brightest.

Michelle Rhee, chancellor of Washington, D.C., schools, has been wrestling with the teachers’ union for months to implement a contract that would allow her to pay up to $131,000 for senior teachers while giving her more leeway in reassigning and firing teachers. No agreement has yet been reached. Stay tuned.

Why don’t school districts across the country select teachers more carefully, expect them to perform, and pay them accordingly? Maintaining the status quo is much easier than rethinking teacher compensation and trying something new. Hopefully, this “experiment” in New York City will lead to higher student achievement – and encourage more schools to pay well for proven results.

- Paige Perez

"Lone Star Lesson" is a daily radio commentary on today's most important issues featuring Justin Keener, the Foundation's Vice President of Policy and Communications. The segments air on KVCE 1160 AM (Dallas/Fort Worth) each weekday at 6:18 a.m., 8:15 a.m., 10:20 a.m., 3:15 p.m., and 5:15 p.m.

The American welfare state
ObamaCare: "Rooted in false claims and little evidence"
A better alternative to ObamaCare
Rationing health care in Oregon
The declining quality of American education

The Texas Legislature made wise decisions on juvenile justice in the 2009 session. First, the Texas Youth Commission’s (TYC) funding was cut from $314.9 million in 2008 to $210 million per year for 2010-2011. Community-based alternatives to TYC received $60 million. The result is $44.9 million in net savings to taxpayers.

Part of these savings some from closing unnecessary TYC facilities. The 2010-2011 budget calls for the West Texas and Victory Field TYC units to be closed in 2011. Both are remotely located away from the urban areas from which most youth come.

Not only does this shifting of resources save money, research has indicated that all but the highest-risk youth are less likely to recidivate if they are kept in the community. More than 55 percent of offenders leaving TYC are rearrested within one year. In contrast, Ohio implemented a policy called RECLAIM that redirected youth from state lockups to community-based programs – these youths had a 22 percent recidivism rate.

The further downsizing of TYC continues a trend. The Texas Youth Commission held some 5,646 youth in 2000 and 4,800 youth in 2006. That declined to 3,448 in 2007 and 2,054 in April 2009. These declines are largely attributable to SB 103, passed in 2007, that prohibited misdemeanants from being placed at TYC and reduced the maximum age of TYC residents to 19 from 21. Some counties also reduced their utilization of TYC due to concerns about the abuses.

Another positive development in the 2009 session is the passage of HB 3689, the sunset bill for TYC and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission (TJPC). One of the most important provisions requires each juvenile probation department to use a risk assessment instrument. This will enable the departments to better determine what treatment approach is most appropriate. Some adult probation departments use the results of the instrument to allocate staff, accounting for the fact that a probation officer with a higher-risk caseload may need more time per offender.

In sum, a smaller TYC and community programs that are better targeted to the individual offender will improve Texas’ juvenile justice system and enhance public safety.

- Marc Levin

In his recent National Review Online article on the federal government’s deficit spending, Rich Lowry wrote, “The same way overzealous Republicans once argued that tax cuts paid for themselves, Obama Democrats argue that deficit spending pays for itself.”

Lowry’s statement is problematic on several levels.

For one, it essentially equates tax cutting and deficit spending, abandoning the moral high ground in an attempt to come across as reasoned. Even more importantly, it misrepresents the facts. In truth, tax cuts have paid for themselves time and time again: the Harding/Coolidge, Kennedy, Reagan, and Bush tax cuts all accomplished this.

As noted in the Foundation’s Thinking Economically lesson on the Laffer Curve, “In the four years prior to the 1965 (Kennedy) tax rate cuts, federal government income tax revenue, adjusted for inflation, had increased at an average annual rate of 2.1%, while total government income tax revenue (federal plus state and local) had increased 2.6% per year. In the four years following the tax cut, these two measures of revenue growth rose to 8.6% and 9.0%, respectively. Government income tax revenue not only increased in the years following the tax cut, it increased at a much faster rate.”

People claim the early Reagan income tax cuts didn’t pay for themselves. But they compare tax revenues between 1981 and 1982 when the tax cuts didn’t take full effect until July 1983. Look at the revenue before and after the cuts had been fully implemented, and they worked. The problem with the Reagan tax cuts is that they weren’t implemented fast enough. Just as predicted, people deferred income until after the tax cuts were fully implemented, delaying the growth in tax revenues. Tax cuts generally won’t increase revenue overnight, but they will increase revenue once the economy has a chance to respond.

The one tax where cuts (or increases) affect revenues almost immediately is the capital gains tax. “Following the 1981 capital gains cut from 28% to 20%, nominal capital gains tax revenues leapt from $12.5 billion in 1980 to $18.7 billion by 1983—a 50% increase.” After the rate went back up in the late 1980s, capital gains revenue collapsed. And, once again, “in 1996, the year before the tax rate cut (back to 20%) and the last year with the 28% rate, taxes paid on assets sold totaled $66.4 billion. A year later, tax receipts jumped to $79.3 billion, and they jumped again to $89.1 billion in 1998. … Seldom in economics does real life so closely conform to theory as this capital gains example does to the Laffer Curve. Lower tax rates change people’s economic behavior and stimulate economic growth, which can create more, not less, tax revenue.”

Tax cuts won’t always increase the incentives for people to earn or recognize more income. But we are a long way from a tax rate low enough for that to be the case.

- Bill Peacock

A recent study reveals some troubling information about the state of education in America.

Despite our government’s education reform efforts, the study shows American students have not improved in math, science, and reading in four decades. Alternatively, our international competitors have consistently improved test scores in each of these areas.

Another alarming statistic finds that the longer American children are in school, the further behind international students they fall. Of course, this fact speaks volumes about the quality of K-12 education in the U.S.; however, it also has major negative ramifications for institutions of higher education.

It seems that just when students are beginning their higher education is when they are the furthest behind internationally.

Because U.S. students aren’t where they need to be, other nations are taking advantage of our educational shortcomings. In fact, “In 1995, America was tied for first in college graduation rates; by 2006, this ranking had dropped to 14th.”

While one does not need a college degree to be a productive member of society, the statistics make clear that education reform efforts, both in K-12 and higher education, are generally headed in the wrong direction.

Reforms over the last 40 years such as increasing education spending are not yielding the anticipated results. In fact, the McKinsey study finds that “school spending in the U.S. is among the least cost-effective in the world.” True reformers should start looking at where the money goes and not just focus on spending more.

- Elizabeth Young

"Lone Star Lesson" is a daily radio commentary on today's most important issues featuring Justin Keener, the Foundation's Vice President of Policy and Communications. The segments air on KVCE 1160 AM (Dallas/Fort Worth) each weekday at 6:18 a.m., 8:15 a.m., 10:20 a.m., 3:15 p.m., and 5:15 p.m.

The rush to ObamaCare
The future of health care
The cost of federal regulations
Gas prices high enough?
Monopolizing bad performance

"Lone Star Lesson" is a daily radio commentary on today's most important issues featuring Justin Keener, the Foundation's Vice President of Policy and Communications. The segments air on KVCE 1160 AM (Dallas/Fort Worth) each weekday at 6:18 a.m., 8:15 a.m., 10:20 a.m., 3:15 p.m., and 5:15 p.m.

The "value" of university research
Texas Legislature increases education options for Texas students
Capping and taxing American prosperity
"Soak the rich" economics leaves Maryland all wet

"Lone Star Lesson" is a daily radio commentary on today's most important issues featuring Justin Keener, the Foundation's Vice President of Policy and Communications. The segments air on KVCE 1160 AM (Dallas/Fort Worth) each weekday at 6:18 a.m., 8:15 a.m., 10:20 a.m., 3:15 p.m., and 5:15 p.m.

Yet another reason for government transparency
Taxpayer funded "demonstration projects"
Taxes; Those able to pay, are able to leave
Californians demand responsible spending, then their government asks for a bailout

Amid all of the craziness at the Capitol this session, the Texas Legislature recently passed a bill that will help students have more education options than their assigned public school. This legislation is now on its way to the governor.

HB 1423 by Rep. Ryan Guillen and Sen. Florence Shapiro allows junior colleges and community colleges in Texas to open a charter school. The colleges would still have to go through a rigorous application process at the Texas Education Agency and with the State Board of Education to be approved.

Many Texas community colleges already collaborate with charter schools across the state. For example, Houston ISD and Houston Community College collaborate with two early college high schools and at an academy for international studies, while Texas State Technical College in Waco collaborates with the Rapoport Academy. See the full list on page 7 of our research on charter schools.

Senior universities already have the ability to open charter schools in Texas. Currently, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Houston, Stephen F. Austin State University, and Texas Southern University either operate or collaborate with a charter school.

Charter schools run by senior universities are exempt from the state cap on charters of 215. This bill also exempts junior colleges and community colleges from the cap.

Charter schools are helping more than 110,000 Texas students. With this new opportunity for community colleges, imagine how many more Texas children can be helped.

- Brooke Terry

Former President Ronald Reagan once quipped that, “government is like a baby: an alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.”

Funny how true those words still are.

Bungling what could have been a defining moment of fiscal conservatism this session, the Texas Senate instead allowed the Texas Department of Transportation sunset bill House Bill 300 to sail through with revised local option transportation tax and fee language attached.

The bill, as is currently written, allows local governments to impose any combination of three new taxes and fees while requiring virtually no measurable performance objectives.

Oh, and never mind that the state still has yet to end diversions, or that most local governments spend significantly more than the growth in population plus inflation, or that some communities still have unused sales tax capacity that could go to pay for transportation – these “facts” seemed irrelevant compared to government boosting its bottom line.

Though discouraging, the Senate’s decision is not the final say.

HB 300’s next stop – if it advances at all – is a House/Senate conference committee, where five members from each chamber will duke it out over the differences between the two versions. If common sense prevails, taxpayers may pull out a win just yet and force government to live within its means. If not, refer back to quote above.

- James Quintero

Much of the higher education discussion this session involved HB 51, which would give more state dollars to fund university research. As far as I can tell, there hasn’t been any notable opposition except from Sen. Dan Patrick, who remarked during floor debate that research might actually harm student learning and for the legislature to keep this in mind during future debate of the issue.

Still, no legislator has asked the question: What benefit does university research (largely taxpayer funded) provide society? The answer: very little if any. Sure, there is good research, but the majority of it isn’t being produced at our state’s public universities.

Only 13% of all research occurs at universities – 87% is privately funded. It seems the government doesn’t need to fund research at all. The free market has proven that it supports private investment in worthwhile research, whereas the taxpayer funded research at our state’s universities yields poor results and shifts professor focus away from teaching.

Recent research by TPPF Senior Research Fellow Rick O’Donnell expands on the issue of university research, and the facts he lays out make a good argument against any more taxpayer investment in it.

Texas universities have invested an estimated $9 billion on scientific research in the last 10 years. The rate of return on these taxpayer research investments was just $8.3 million a year, or 0.09 percent. By any standard, that’s a poor rate of return.

Beyond being a bad investment, the emphasis on research at our universities harms student learning. In fact, the average college professor only spends 21% of his time performing teaching relating activities. The rest is spent on administrative duties and research. Imagine how much the quality of education could improve if professors spent more time focusing on educating students.

Let’s change the incentives at our public universities. Don’t increase funding for research; enact policies that will shift professors’ focus back to their original mission – educating university customers.

- Elizabeth Young

"Lone Star Lesson" is a daily radio commentary on today's most important issues featuring Justin Keener, the Foundation's Vice President of Policy and Communications. The segments air on KVCE 1160 AM (Dallas/Fort Worth) each weekday at 6:18 a.m., 8:15 a.m., 10:20 a.m., 3:15 p.m., and 5:15 p.m.

Improving transparency in higher education
81st Texas legislature's list of achievements?
Federal carbon caps hurt Texans
Gas tax pending 125% increase
CHIP extension, an entitlement?

Early this week, a huge story broke out of the UK about how English Ministers of Parliament (MPs) have been claiming personal expenses with public dollars. Here are a few of my not-so-favorites:

* £30,000.00 (or $46,995.00) over three years for MP Sir Peter Viggers’ gardening expenses which include a duck house for his pond. Due to this find by the Telegraph UK, he will be retiring his seat in the next election.

* £100.00 ($156.55) for MP Sarah McCarthy-Fry’s hair straighteners.

* £2,200.00 ($3,446.30) for MP Douglas Hogg’s moat cleaning bill at his country home. He has agreed to repay this expense to the taxpayers.

In fact, there are several MPs who have turned in receipts and are shown to accept to repay an expense. However, no interest is said to have been collected, and who is to say that if the abuse wasn’t discovered that money would have come back at all?

Due to the fact that a private entity, the Telegraph UK, has decided to take it upon itself to investigate the expense accounts of Members of Parliament, light is finally being shown into the dark crevasses of English government so that a new culture of open, public government is to include meticulously following the money.

The British controversy only adds more fodder to the transparency cannon as governed people begin to wake up and demand to see how the officials they elect are spending the money they allocate them to spend.

- Mike Joyce

Victims of the politics that eliminated the Washington, D.C., school voucher program are kids like Mercedes Campbell, a student at Georgetown Visitation Prep. After escaping the notoriously poor D.C. school district, she describes her new life in glowing terms. “I approach things differently,” she said. “It’s like a whole new world, basically.” Her mother, Ingrid, now facing the prospect of returning her child to a failing school, in an interview desperately asks President Barack Obama, “why, sir, why?”

In addition to the anecdotal stories of past success and the perilous future these children face, there now is statistical evidence from a U.S. Department of Education study that confirms the ardent enthusiasm Mercedes and her mother have for the scholarship:

• Reading achievement increased by 3.7 months of learning and math achievement was no worse for those who used scholarships.
• Parents of students offered scholarships were more likely to report that their child’s school was safer and had an orderly school climate.

Similar success has been documented in scholarship programs across the country like the Horizon school choice program.

The answer to Mrs. Campbell’s question seems to be that although the government has failed miserably for decades with public schools, it will sacrifice what definitively works for her child for the unproven contingent hope that it may find a way to fix the public schools. To this sort of hope in the unseen that doesn’t put these kids first, we must answer as USA Today did in its editorial this morning: Mercedes deserves better.

- John Kim

County jails cost Texas taxpayers hundreds of millions to operate and represent a quarter of most county budgets, constituting the single largest item. In considering the Jail Standards Commission sunset bill on Wednesday, it is important that the Texas House avoid further burdening taxpayers by taking into account the unnecessary costs that could be added by possible amendments.

Specifically, one anticipated amendment that failed to make it as a stand-alone bill (HB 2170) could remove discretion from the Jail Standards Commission regarding staffing ratios and make state law the 1:48 staffing ratio currently used by the commission. This would prevent the commission from granting variances where a larger ratio is compatible with safety. Modernized designs could potentially reduce the number of deputies needed to maintain a safe jail, an approach that would be precluded by this amendment. Because the amendment would require that the county budget be sufficient for a 1:48 ratio, it would invite costly litigation.

This amendment would also require that ratios be calculated for each floor of the jail, as opposed to throughout the jail. This could force many counties to increase the number of jailers. Harris County already pays $30 million in overtime to meet current staffing requirements.

Other failed proposals could be attached as amendments at great cost to taxpayers. For example, HB 1714 would have prevented county officials from contracting with private facilities, even though they are often the most efficient option and the local jail may be full. HB 3247 would preclude counties from contracting with private facilities that lack a collective bargaining agreement. At best, this would raise labor costs; at worst, if an agreement couldn’t be reached, the county would be forced either to find a more expensive way to deal with the inmates or to release dangerous inmates.

These potential amendments are solutions in search of a problem. Texas county jails, including privately operated county jails, are by definition costly to taxpayers, but they can become even more so with unnecessary legislative micromanagement.

- Marc Levin

"Lone Star Lesson" is a daily radio commentary on today's most important issues featuring Justin Keener, the Foundation's Vice President of Policy and Communications. The segments air on KVCE 1160 AM (Dallas/Fort Worth) each weekday at 6:18 a.m., 8:15 a.m., 10:20 a.m., 3:15 p.m., and 5:15 p.m.

The flood of federal funds
Transparency needed in Texas higher education
Ending the property tax
Americans fail at civics
The California catastrophe

I recently had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Rep. Lois Kolkhorst about her bill, HB 2504, which would improve higher education transparency.

She was spot-on in her assessment of the current transparency deficiencies at our state’s public universities. And she would know – Rep. Kolkhorst formerly chaired the education subcommittee on appropriations, which oversees all the funding to our universities.

“These are publicly funded universities, and there are complaints that we don’t give them enough money,” she said, “But I can tell you that through general appropriations and tuition from students, we are paying a lot of money to fund education.”

The truth is that there is not nearly enough transparency in higher education. Without transparency, how can we know where all our money is going? Well, we can’t.

There is not enough transparency in place to ensure universities are being held accountable for their spending. Kolkhorst’s HB 2504 could help change this, as it would require universities to post course budgets, syllabi, and curriculum vitae online.

- Elizabeth Young

Federal carbon cap legislation would be a $20 billion disaster for Texas, according to a new report released by ERCOT. The billions of dollars in added electricity production costs would inevitably be borne by Texas consumers, some of whom already have trouble paying the bills. ERCOT estimates that the typical consumer’s monthly bill would increase by $27 a month, or $324 annually. And this is only a partial estimate of the carbon cap’s total costs.

ERCOT then went on to make recommendations on how to mitigate some of these federally imposed costs by increasing wind energy capacity. It doesn’t necessarily follow, however, that spending billions of more dollars on costly wind projects will leave consumers better off than they are today. The Foundation found in its report on the state of wind energy that combined subsidies, tax breaks, market disruptions, and increase production costs associated with wind energy in Texas could equate to more than $4 billion per year. This more than offsets the estimated carbon cap savings of $3 billion generated by wind power.

Federal carbon legislation would impose one of the most profound, new financial burdens to electricity consumers in Texas. Residential consumers will be faced with higher monthly bills, while business owners will be faced with higher production or overhead costs. There is little doubt that Texas economy would ultimately be worse off under a carbon cap scheme. It is less clear, however, that spending additional billions in taxpayer money on costly wind subsidies will leave consumers better off.

- Chris Robertson

A Legislative Update from the Texas Public Policy Foundation

Dear Friend:

Government-funded health insurance to families making as much as $66,000 per year. Medicaid eligibility expansion that will cost state taxpayers almost $300 million during the next two years. Unemployment eligibility changes that will permanently raise employer taxes by at least $75 million per year. Gasoline tax changes that could increase the taxes motorists pay by as much as 125% during the next decade. Burdensome air regulations that could stop power plant expansions and smother the state's economic growth. An expensive state grant program for full-day pre-kindergarten despite research showing no lasting benefits.

Sound like California? How about New York or Massachusetts? Sadly, that could very well be the 81st Texas Legislature's list of achievements in about three weeks.

With less than 20 days left in the legislative session, we now have a fairly representative snapshot of legislation that has an opportunity for passage. Unfortunately, taxpayers will be lucky to escape untouched, and if current momentum continues, they will be negatively affected well beyond the current national recession.

The federal government led the way by passing a spending plan so large that it crowds out the private sector and will actually cost Texas more than 130,000 jobs, according to our research. The state legislature began shortly thereafter, and gave taxpayers a glimmer of hope when the House and Senate adopted versions of the budget that appeared to reasonably hold the line on spending, coming in at just under the rate of growth for population plus inflation. Despite the use of federal stimulus money, budget writers generally limited stimulus spending to one-time expenses. But then came the tidal wave of tax-and-spend bills.

Everyone has heard the speeches and remarks from our legislators about Texas’ superior economic condition, and disparaging remarks about states that are raising taxes during a recession. But if these measures are adopted, expect Texas to join the list of states being singled out for misplaced fiscal priorities.

Thank you for your continued interest in our work. While the overall outlook for the session is grim, there have been a few modest successes, as you'll see in the items below. As always, you can review our research, testimony, commentaries, podcasts, news coverage, and blog at www.texaspolicy.com.

Yours in Liberty,
Justin Keener
Vice President of Policy and Communications

Pre-Kindergarten Expansion

Legislation to create another state grant program for pre-kindergarten passed the Texas House last week and will be considered by the Senate Education Committee on Thursday May 14th. HB 130 creates a full-day pre-K program at the cost of $25 million which will likely grow in the future. Pre-K advocates claim this program will lower crime and prison costs, as well as decrease the number of high school dropouts, saving much more taxpayer dollars than it costs. As we wrote to the legislature, research and common sense do not support these claims. Full-day pre-K programs are not more effective than half-day programs. An expensive pre-K program will do nothing to improve Texas' struggling middle schools and high schools, magically solve the dropout crisis, or save taxpayer dollars.

CHIP & Medicaid Expansion

HB 2962, which expands the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) from 200 percent to 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, is on the House Major State calendar tomorrow. Not only will this have a negative effect on the budget, but extending CHIP to families making up to $66,000 per year morphs the program into an expensive entitlement for the middle class. Expanding this program while 170,000 children projected to be eligible for CHIP are still not participating is a wasteful decision. Additionally, HB 2962 creates a buy-in program for families whose net income is between 300 percent and 400 percent of FPL.

Last week, the House Human Services Committee passed HB 1541, expanding eligibility for the children’s Medicaid program from six months to 12. The Legislature should resist efforts to expand this program as it was intended to provide health care to our poorest citizens, and a six-month eligibility period ensures that the services provided are to the truly needy. Increasing the continuous eligibility period will increase the number of Medicaid recipients by more than 250,000 and cost taxpayers almost $300 million in state funds over the next biennium. The 12-month eligibility proposal will be a significant burden at a time when the state needs to restrain spending ahead of a projected budget shortfall in 2011.

Eminent Domain

The U.S. Supreme Court’s infamous Kelo decision essentially changed private property ownership from a fundamental civil right to a privilege granted by the state. Almost four years later, Texans are still subject to Kelo-style takings. The Foundation’s Center for Economic Freedom just released two new bill analyses, Senate Bill 18: Texas’ Kelo Problem Still Not Solved and Eminent Domain: SJR 42, to explain why these two major eminent domain bills don’t address the main problem they were originally intended to solve, and how each can be amended to fix our state’s Kelo problem.

On the other hand, HJR 14 by Rep. Frank Corte, which just passed the Texas House, will fix Texas’ Kelo problem by allowing takings for public use “only if the taking, damage, or destruction is necessary for the elimination of urban blight on a particular parcel of property or for the possession, occupation, and enjoyment of the property by a common carrier, by an entity providing utility service, by the public at large, by the State, or by a political subdivision of the State.”

Victim-Offender Mediation

The House has passed HB 2139 to create an adult victim-offender mediation program. This is a means for the victim and offender to resolve a matter with a binding agreement for restitution. It means less government is required to do justice. Studies show victim-offender mediation reduces recidivism and improves victim satisfaction. The bill now awaits a hearing before the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.

Tollroad Transparency & Transportation Taxes

An amendment was adopted to the TxDOT sunset bill, HB 300, that made significant transparency progress for regional tollway authorities, but there is already talk around the capitol that the toll authorities are attempting to strip this provision. If this amendment stands, toll authorities will be subject to annual audits by the State Auditor. The toll authorities will also be required to post their check register on their website, with updates at least once a month. The information is to be maintained on the site for at least one year.

Other actions were not so positive for taxpayers. The House Transportation Committee passed out bills that could raise motor fuel taxes by as much as 125% over the next 10 years. HB 9 and HJR 9 provide for motor fuel tax indexing that will automatically increase taxes up to three cents per biennium, if approved by the voters. SB 855 will allow for a 10-cent local option motor fuel tax if adopted by voters. The combined, increased cost to the taxpayers of Texas over a 10-year period – if these options are adopted by all regions and if the inflation factor allows for the 3-cent-per-biennium increase – could be as much as $21 billion. Supporters of the measure argue that because the taxes require voter approval, they should be approved – but we disagree and offered an alternative measure that would give voters a true option to redirect existing taxes towards transportation, allowing regions to build more roads without raising taxes. See the unified opposition to this tax increase from the state’s leading research and taxpayer advocacy groups.

Higher Education Financial Transparency

Despite Texas’ notable transparency achievements, one area that needs improvement is higher education. Fortunately, the legislature has two bills this session that would help begin to shine the light on university spending and educational quality: HB 2504 and SB 174. HB 2504 – which would require all universities to post course budgets, syllabi, and curriculum vitae online for the public – passed overwhelmingly in the House this week. SB 174, which would create resumes for all public universities, has passed the Senate and was recently voted out of the House Higher Education Committee. Publicly posting this information in an easily accessible and understandable format would be a good first step to promote competition and empower students by providing them with the ability to choose which university could provide them with the best quality education for the lowest price. Here is a link to our testimony on HB 2504.

Uncle Sam’s generosity seems to know no bounds these days.

Apparently, Washington policymakers have turned the money spigot full blast as federal funding – both “stimulus” and traditional federal money – pours out of the national treasury and into state coffers.

This is happening to such a degree that federal aid has overtaken state taxes as the single biggest source of income for states, according a new USA Today article.

What’s most unsettling here is not that the federal government is so carelessly lavishing the states with extra funding that it doesn’t have, it’s that Washington is gaining overt control over the purse strings of our state governments and that has the potential to have a very real impact on state and local policy decisions.

There’s a reason our Founders included the 10th Amendment in the Bill of Rights: it’s so that the principle of federalism could be maintained and the powers of the federal government could be enumerated and restrained. I truly hope Washington hasn’t found a way around that vision under the guise of providing states with “stimulus” in this recession.

- James Quintero

Finally, university spending habits are making headlines, as new investigative reporting has uncovered outrageous spending at one of our state’s public universities – the University of Houston.

ABC 13 News in Houston recently reported that administrators at UH were spending millions of dollars on exotic trips, alcohol, and more. And people wonder why tuition has increased so much in the last three decades?

University operating costs have skyrocketed. Between 1991 and 2007, the statewide average operating cost per student increased 64.1 percent. Where is all this extra money going? Well, beyond paying for cushy salaries for university administrators, it’s apparently being used for cocktails in India. How does this frivolous spending help university customers?

Students and parents should demand more accountability for the use of their money. Surely these funds, regardless of if they originate from donations, could be spent better elsewhere.

Similarly irresponsible spending could be occurring at other state universities as well, and Texas needs better transparency measures to keep them accountable.

Senator Dan Patrick is absolutely right when he says, “Universities have to remember that they have customers, and those customers are students and parents.”

- Elizabeth Young

"Lone Star Lesson" is a daily radio commentary on today's most important issues featuring Justin Keener, the Foundation's Vice President of Policy and Communications. The segments air on KVCE 1160 AM (Dallas/Fort Worth) each weekday at 6:18 a.m., 8:15 a.m., 10:20 a.m., 3:15 p.m., and 5:15 p.m.

Ending the property tax
A united front for teacher incentive pay
Charter schools - the need
Charter schools - the successes
Charter schools - the cap

What would it take for Texans to permanently rid themselves of the property tax system?

That’s the question our new report, “Enhancing Texas' Economic Growth Through Tax Reform,” tries to answer – and the results are intriguing.

According to the study, property taxes in Texas could be eliminated completely by simply broadening the sales tax base and adjusting the total sales tax rate. The study offers legislators four options to modify the sales tax:

• 6.5 percent, if the sales tax base is the total value of goods and services in the state’s economy;
• 9 percent, if all the services that are taxed in at least one other state are taxed;
• 12.5 percent, if the current sales tax base is used while levying a tax on property sold; or
• 14.5 percent, if the current sales tax base is used.

Using an expanded sales tax instead of the current property tax system would free Texans from the fear of losing their home due to unpaid property tax bills. It would prevent government from penalizing people who are investing in their homes and businesses. And it would also create jobs.

Across a five-year time horizon, Texas could create between 127,700 and 312,700 net new jobs by replacing our property tax system with an expanded sales tax. These are jobs that would otherwise not be created at all.

The empirical evidence is there: Texas wins with a tax system swap. The next step lies in the hands of the legislature.

- James Quintero

Does another occupation really need to be regulated? HB 1854 would expand the scope of government by requiring roofers to register with the state or else they commit a Class C misdemeanor.

Under this legislation, which is pending before the House State Affairs Committee, roofers would be burdened with additional costs. First, they would have to pay a registration fee to be determined by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Second, they would be required to purchase a $250,000 insurance policy.

The bill could also limit competition. Roofers must state in their application their number of years of experience in roofing; this could limit the ability of new competitors to enter the field if registration is going to be denied on the basis of inexperience.

Licensing new occupations is proven to reduce employment and increase costs. A University of Minnesota study of occupational licensing found that “occupational licensing reduces employment growth in states that are licensed relative to those that are not regulated.” It found states that licensed dieticians and nutritionists and librarians experienced 20 percent lower employment growth. University of Texas at Austin Economics Professor Dan Hammermesh estimated that the deadweight loss to society from occupational licensing is between $34.8 billion and $41.7 billion per year.

The bill would also limit competition by excluding any person with a felony conviction. Someone with a drug possession conviction could be an excellent roofer. The bill makes any felony grounds for revocation – no matter how old the conviction is.

The bill won’t guarantee quality roofing. A bad roofer could still successfully register. There is no attempt made in the legislation, and it would be impractical for the government, to assess the quality of each roofer’s work. Therefore, consumers are better off using word of mouth or a review service to pick a roofing contractor. If Texas has a problem with bad roofers, this bill won’t solve it.

- Marc Levin

"Lone Star Lesson" is a daily radio commentary on today's most important issues featuring Justin Keener, the Foundation's Vice President of Policy and Communications. The segments air on KVCE 1160 AM (Dallas/Fort Worth) each weekday at 6:18 a.m., 8:15 a.m., 10:20 a.m., 3:15 p.m., and 5:15 p.m.

Five priorities for the Texas budget conference committee
What local-option transportation taxes could cost
Local-option taxes for some - Part 1
Local-option taxes for some - Part 2
Closing Texas' math/science teacher shortage

The informed participation of citizens is vital to the success of any democracy.

Thomas Jefferson, one of America’s founders and author of the Declaration of Independence, understood this concept well. He once remarked that America should “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people, as they are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.”

However, research shows that Americans are remarkably inept when it comes to knowing our civics.

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) recently conducted a “civil-literacy survey” which tested U.S. political, historical, and economic basics. Below are just some of the startling results garnered from this survey:

• Seventy-one percent of Americans failed the survey, with an average score of 49%. Just 2.6% scored B’s, and 0.8% earned A’s.
• Only 49% were able to identify the three branches of government.
• Forty percent of college graduates do not know that corporate profits equal revenues minus expenses.
• Just 24% of college graduates know that the First Amendment to the Constitution prohibits the establishment of an official U.S. religion.
• Self-identified elected officials scored worse on the test than did average Americans, averaging 44%. Thirty percent of them didn’t even know that the Declaration of Independence promotes “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

As evidenced above, Americans are completely unaware of how our nation became what it is today, leading me to question our ability to carry on our country’s legacy of freedom and liberty.

To combat this reality, universities should strengthen their curricula to address their students’ lack of civic knowledge. Every college student should have a solid background on the tradition of Western Civilization that influenced the actions of the American Founders.

It truly is frightening when you realize that the fate of our nation lies in the hands of an uninformed majority. Thankfully for the U.S., more Americans vote in American Idol than in the presidential elections.

To read more about ISI’s civics survey results and to take the quiz yourself visit www.AmericanCivicLiteracy.org.

- Elizabeth Young

Last week, the Senate Education Committee passed SB 2206 by Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, a bill establishing reciprocity for teachers certified in math and science by another state. Brooke Terry, the Foundation's education policy analyst, testified in favor of the bill. The committee made a wise choice in light of the current shortage of qualified teachers in the fields of math and science, especially at the secondary level. For example, 17% of high school math teachers are teaching outside their field of expertise. The case with science is worse with 34% of science teachers (roughly 3,200) lacking a science certification. SB 2206 addresses this problem.

Clearly, there shouldn’t be roadblocks for certified teachers from out-of-state quickly transitioning into schools that need them immediately. Lisa Gardner, who testified before the committee, was already certified in New Jersey when she moved with her husband to Texas in June. Because her Texas teacher’s license was not processed and approved until August 24, she missed the hiring cycle for the current school year. After serving as a long-term sub for a school in Round Rock for seven months, that same school finally hired her full-time on March 3.

The House companion, HB 4152 by Rep. Patrick Rose, is scheduled for floor debate tomorrow. Hopefully the Texas Legislature will follow through and remove this barrier so that qualified teachers who are ready to step in can provide quality instruction for Texas students.

- Gresham Kay

There has been a lot of talk about the rising cost of tuition this legislative session. Some point to tuition deregulation as the sole cause of this phenomenon, but many have never heard the facts about the increased operational costs at Texas universities.

State appropriations dedicated to higher education have kept up with both inflation and enrollment growth. However, in 1991, the statewide average operating cost per student was $10,665; by 2007, this number had increased to $17,506. In 16 years, the operating cost per student has increased by 64.1%. With spending increasing so dramatically, one wonders where all this money is going – and after last week’s story on Dallas/Fort Worth’s CBS 11, one would expect a lot more people to be asking.

Universities in Texas are subsidized with taxpayer dollars and have access to additional billions through tuition, fees, donations, grants, and the Available University Fund. Furthermore, higher education institutions are not constrained by any rules for how government money must be spent. For these reasons, universities must be held accountable for their spending.

This session, Representative Kolkhorst authored HB 2504 in an effort to improve transparency in higher education. HB 2504 would make course budgets, curriculum vitae, and syllabi available online to students, parents, and the general public.

Making course budgets public would give taxpayers and students much needed insight into how their money is being spent, as well as encourage universities to spend in a more fiscally responsible manner. In addition to improving fiscal transparency, HB 2504 would also enable students to make more informed decisions when choosing professors and deciding in which courses to enroll.

This bill is a necessary step in the right direction and, if passed, would go a long way to shed light on university spending.

- Elizabeth Young

"Lone Star Lesson" is a daily radio commentary on today's most important issues featuring Justin Keener, the Foundation's Vice President of Policy and Communications. The segments air on KVCE 1160 AM (Dallas/Fort Worth) each weekday at 6:18 a.m., 8:15 a.m., 10:20 a.m., 3:15 p.m., and 5:15 p.m.

21st century tea parties
What your gas taxes are paying for
Expanding Texans' access to health care
EPA endangering our economy and our constitution
Class warfare coming to Texas

Pilot programs to divert youth from the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) hang in the balance as the legislative session hits the home stretch. Under these pilot programs, youth who would otherwise be sent to TYC would instead be handled on juvenile probation. The Senate budget includes funding for pilot programs in Dallas, Austin, and South Texas. The House budget did not include any pilot funding, but the House version of the sunset bill calls for a statewide pilot program.

Dallas County has taken the lead in demonstrating how it could take advantage of a pilot program. Dallas County Juvenile Probation Director Mike Griffiths has developed a plan under which his department could serve the 236 youths per year other than Title V youths – the most seriously violent youths – that the County currently commits to TYC. The youths would be served for a total of 20 months, approximately the average length of TYC commitment, including 12 months of placement in a residential facility or intensive home-based services. The estimated cost would be $35,953 per year, compared to $99,000 per year at TYC.

Now Harris County is offering the Legislature a pilot proposal under which they would cut the number of youths they send to TYC by 25 percent in exchange for $40 million to support local juvenile justice community-based programs. By diverting 319 youths who otherwise would have gone to TYC, the pilot program in Harris County would result in net savings to the state of $11 million.

It is not just about saving money. Studies have shown that outcomes are better for most youth when they are kept closer to their homes. Ohio’s RECLAIM program that is similar to the proposed pilot programs has demonstrated this. The recidivism rate for moderate risk youth placed through RECLAIM was 22 percent, compared with a 54 percent rate such offenders in state lockups, which is comparable to TYC’s 52 percent rate.

Ideally, the opportunity to participate in the pilot project should open to all counties that wish to participate so Texas can maximize the savings to taxpayers and public safety benefits.

- Marc Levin

Senate Bill 855, the local option transportation tax bill adopted by the Senate last week, would allow local communities to call an election to raise taxes and fees to pay for light rail, roads, and hike & bike trails. One modification to the bill, which was praised by several newspapers, was a provision that requires counties that implement these new taxes and fees to “establish an exemption, waiver, or partial reduction for individuals of low or moderate income who demonstrate significant financial hardship.” This would apply to four of the proposed six new revenue mechanisms, including the emissions fee, driver’s license fee, mobility fee, and new resident fee.

According to this language in the bill, it appears to be the case that you won’t have to pay these fees unless your income reaches a certain threshold. This is a progressive income funding structure that has many of the elements you would see in conventional income taxes, and passage of this could create in statute a mechanism and precedent for such taxes.

By tradition, our system for financing roads has come through taxes, fees, and tolls, which are more or less proportionate to one’s use of that infrastructure. But if the fees in SB 855 are adopted in local communities, one of two people making equal use of the infrastructure would pay the government while the other would not, based on their income. That injects a means test into our public finance system for roads, which is quite a departure from Texas’ historical rejection of finance structures that are similar to a progressive income tax.

This is a slippery slope. Anyone who has spent time around the Capitol knows what would happen after this is passed. Candidates for election will play class warfare and fight to shift even more of the burden off one preferred demographic and onto another that is disfavored. Additionally, when future tax measures are debated, progressive income tax advocates will point to this mechanism as a precedent for shifting the tax burden.

For evidence of the harm in unhooking swaths of the public from the responsibilities of paying for government services, look to New York, a prime example of a state caught in a fiscal death spiral. And there is an abundance of research, including our own, that has established that Texas’ economic dominance over other states is due in large part to the fact that we don’t tax citizens based on their income. Will our legislators heed these lessons?

- Justin Keener

Last week, I had a chance to attend the Texas Charter School Conference in San Antonio and show the amazing award-winning education documentary, “Flunked.”

The film was produced by our Washington state counterparts, the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. It has won several awards, including best documentary at the San Fernando Valley International Film Festival in Los Angeles and best educational documentary at the Bayou City Inspirational Film Festival in Houston. It was also nominated for best documentary at the Burbank International Film Festival.

Washington state is unusual in that it is one of the 10 states without a charter school law and therefore without charter schools. The Evergreen Freedom Foundation wanted to show the need for change and that just throwing more money at the problem was not going to fix a broken education system.

This film gives an honest assessment of the current education system’s problem, and then profiles inspiring stories and solutions in both traditional public schools and public charter schools. The film has hit a chord and now the Evergreen Freedom Foundation is looking at starting a “Flunked” TV series.

Check out this amazing film by attending one the screenings around the country or order a copy of the DVD for yourself by going to http://www.flunkedthemovie.com.

- Brooke Terry

A Legislative Update from the Texas Public Policy Foundation

Dear Friend,

Yesterday’s Tea Parties provided a stark visual of taxpayers’ frustration with runaway government spending. While many in the media were joined by big-government advocates in denouncing the activities as fringe, I saw with my own eyes that those in attendance cut a swath across all demographics, from soccer moms with their children, to veterans and average working Joes. The hundreds of thousands of people who gathered in communities large and small all across America had a message that was delivered loud and clear – that government has grown too big.

It’s easy to look at Washington as the symbol of tax and spend excess – with its trillions spent on bailout and stimulus packages that reward bad behavior and punish financial responsibility. But taxpayers also need to pay close attention to the work underway in our own state’s Capitol for examples of misplaced priorities that could result in even greater tax burdens.

At several Tea Party events, speakers shared their frustration about a bill that appears headed for passage – Senate Bill 855 – that could result in billions of dollars in new taxes to build light rail, hike & bike trails, and roads. At the state Capitol, the crowd of thousands burst into chants of “no new taxes” after hearing about this bill.

This legislation is a prime example of the type of legislative activity that has played a role in taxpayers’ frustration boiling over into public protest. For years, the legislature has diverted billions of transportation taxes to non-transportation purposes – taking gas tax revenues and giving it to the Arts Commission, the Historical Commission, and the Department of Public Safety, to name a few. Now legislators are surprised they’re running out of transportation money, and within a week of adopting a budget that continues to divert more than $1.3 billion of transportation taxes, they adopt a new tax scheme for even more transportation revenue.

Even worse, this bill includes a provision so that only high-income earners pay several of the proposed fee increases. That sounds awfully similar to an income tax.

Unfortunately, if you spend enough time in Austin, you’ll hear all sorts of excuses to raise taxes rather than fix a broken system – in this case, ending transportation funding diversions. Supporters of this bill criticize our stance on the bill, simply because the bill requires voter approval. That’s nonsense. A tax bill should be the most difficult type of bill to pass, and taxpayers assume that legislators are asking the tough questions before ballot measures are put in front of them.

It’s time for our elected officials – especially those in Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas – to heed the strong and united voice of their taxpayers: Don’t raise taxes on businesses and hard-working families when we can least afford it.

The pace of the 81st Texas Legislature has quickened since the last “Voice of Liberty,” and as you can see below, our policy analysts are involved not just in the debate over taxes but also many of our state’s most critical issues. We invite you to follow these efforts through these emails, and by visiting our website where you can visit our blog, request a speaker, and sign up to receive information about recently released publications and upcoming events via our e-newsletter, TPPN.

Yours in liberty,
Justin Keener
Vice President of Policy and Communications

House to Debate Budget

On Friday, the House is scheduled to debate its version of the state budget. It currently sits at $178.4 billion and is $4 billion less than what was adopted by the Senate. More than 400 amendments have been pre-filed for consideration. Amendments to the amendment, which do not require pre-filing, could easily double that number, which will mean an extremely long day on the floor. By calendar rule, adopted by the House, any amendment that costs money must find money elsewhere in the budget to pay for it. If the debate goes as usual, there will be numerous attempts to redirect the Texas Enterprise funds from the governor’s office to a variety of uses. Expect significant debate over the use of stimulus funds, and whether or not incentive and merit pay for teachers should be replaced with smaller, across-the-board pay raises for everyone regardless of performance.

Teacher Pay

There are several amendments to the budget that will be debated tomorrow on teacher pay. One amendment gives all teachers, nurses, librarians, and counselors an across-the-board pay raise of $1,000. Research clearly states that across-the-board pay raises do not lead to higher teacher quality. In fact, across-the-board pay raises give all teachers a pay raises regardless of their effectiveness in the classroom and actually encourage ineffective teachers to continue teaching. We urge Texas lawmakers to put the needs of students first and vote to keep incentive pay funding that has already led to higher academic gains in school districts.

Texas and the Federal Stimulus Funds

Last week, the Foundation was joined by several legislators in releasing our research that examined the national and statewide economic effect of the recently passed federal stimulus package. Our research demonstrated that the growth in government will crowd out private sector growth, resulting in more than 130,000 jobs lost in Texas and 1.7 million lost nationwide.

Unnecessary Regulations Preventing Access to Health Care

On Tuesday, the House Public Health Committee heard Rep. Wayne Christian’s House Bill 1107 that would allow licensed advanced practice registered nurses to diagnose patients and prescribe medications, within their education and training. The Foundation provided testimony on a viable solution to the lack of physicians in regions across the state, by allowing health care providers other than physicians to meet the basic health needs of residents in these regions, as done throughout the nation in other states. Repealing the restrictions on APN prescriptive authority will provide Texans with more affordable options.

Windstorm Insurance

It wasn’t that long ago during the mold crisis when homeowners were hard-pressed to find insurance coverage at any price. Reforms have greatly increased the availability of homeowners insurance and brought down prices, but the future of those reforms is at stake in legislation currently being considered by the Texas Legislature. The proposed sunset legislation on the Texas Department of Insurance – heard in the House Insurance Committee on Tuesday and awaiting floor action in the Senate – would further enhance those reforms, but attempts are being made to roll back the clock to the days of high prices and scarce availability. Legislators have a choice to make: let market competition fully unfold and flourish, or revert to heavy regulation and subsidies.

Statements from the White House, cabinet secretaries, congressional leadership, and mainstream media declare that man-made global warming is a planetary emergency Right Now! These most senior policymakers claim aggressive carbon mandates are necessary regardless of cost. With straight faces, United Nations officials, European Union technocrats, and President Obama’s climate czar, Carol Browner, chat about appropriate global governance structures to combat a near-term global catastrophe. The President’s Science Advisor, Dr. John Holdren, recently said earth’s climate system is reaching an irreversible tipping point unless drastic measures are taken.

What part of the U.S. population believes these dire pronouncements? Apparently, not that many Americans buy this apocalyptic scenario or support “economy transforming” controls on energy.

A March 2009 Gallup survey found the highest level of skepticism about man-made global warming in more than a decade. Of those polled, 41% thought the threat of global warming was exaggerated, compared to 28% who found the threat to be underestimated.

In two other national polls, voters ranked global warming the least important issue confronting the country. In a January 2009 Pew Research Center poll, global warming was ranked 20th of 20 issues. The economy, jobs, and terrorism were the top three issues for more than 80% surveyed. In the American Climate Values survey conducted by Eco-America in January 2008, only a small minority (18%) believes climate change is harmful and caused by mankind.

A May 2008 Wilson Research poll found a huge 91% of voters don’t want to pay for even the lowest cost estimates of carbon caps. And 71% responded that they are unwilling to pay more for electricity or gasoline to fight global warming.

So if you have not concluded that the planet is at the edge of a climatological precipice caused by human activity, you are not among a minority of deluded “climate deniers.” Even the sustained and elaborate global warming campaigns have not cracked the basic common sense of the majority of Americans who vote! Please awaken, sleeping giant.

- Kathleen Hartnett White

December 1773.

Fed up with taxes unfairly levied from thousands of miles away, hundreds of colonists stormed British ships docked in the harbor and poured loads of tea overboard in an act of defiance that would echo for generations to come.

Fast forward 236 years and the same American spirit that refused to accept tyrannical governance and oppressive taxation is still alive and well. And much like before, people’s voices are growing louder – albeit in a somewhat more civil tone this time around.

People from all across the nation gathered today for the National Tea Party Day in an effort to our country’s leaders that federal, state, and local government tax and spend policies have veered off course and we won’t take it lying down.

In Texas, tens of thousands of citizens gathered in virtually every major city and dozens of local communities throughout the state.

If anything, this act of peaceful protest should serve as a wake-up call for those in public office – we are mad as hell and we’re not gonna take it anymore.

April 15th never looked so good.

- James Quintero

"Lone Star Lesson" is a daily radio commentary on today's most important issues featuring Justin Keener, the Foundation's Vice President of Policy and Communications. The segments air on KVCE 1160 AM (Dallas/Fort Worth) each weekday at 6:18 a.m., 8:15 a.m., 10:20 a.m., 3:15 p.m., and 5:15 p.m.

New taxes in the express lane
The high price of federal unemployment funds
Let Texans run Texas
De-stimulating the economy
Why your health insurance costs so much

However premature, the legal hardware for federally mandated carbon cuts is just about in place: the EPA’s Endangerment Finding, President Barack Obama’s budget, U.S. House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman’s massive bill, and negotiations for a binding Kyoto Treaty II. The President, congressional leadership, and the United Nations propose the most expensive, ambitious, and enforceable carbon mandates to date.

Once regarded a barrier to immediate carbon cuts, the recession is now used to justify expanding federal control of energy and generating “climate revenue.” The Senate Majority Leader claims carbon tax revenues are necessary to pay for universal health care. Redistribution of energy income and central energy planning meet the light of day. Energy independence now means the end of oil.

Before decision makers take the final steps, and thus rupture the fossil fuel-based energy system on which modern prosperity hinges, how about some cogent answers to fundamental questions never answered by the climate alarmists?

In what sense is the science of man-made global warming “beyond dispute?” I thought no genuine science was beyond dispute; such is the domain of dogma. What is the relative certainty of this science? Is this science, as based on correlations and physical chemistry spun into complex models, solid enough to justify an “end to the era of fossil fuels”? Why not first refine the emerging empirical science from NASA satellites actually measuring the function of CO2 in the upper atmosphere? Initial data indicate minimal to no “temperature-forcing effects” from CO2. Observational measurement inherently trumps speculative models.

Climate alarmists declare that the scientific debate is settled beyond dispute. In fact, alarmists have prevented any policy debate about scientific integrity. Voters must question the quality of science driving our government’s decision. Before weak and exaggerated science transforms our country, have the courage to ask the questions.

- Kathleen Hartnett White

"Lone Star Lesson" is a daily radio commentary on today's most important issues featuring Justin Keener, the Foundation's Vice President of Policy and Communications. The segments air on KVCE 1160 AM (Dallas/Fort Worth) each weekday at 6:18 a.m., 8:15 a.m., 10:20 a.m., 3:15 p.m., and 5:15 p.m.

Don't touch the state's rainy day fund
Who's paying attention to social studies?
How to save consumers a lot of money
Comptroller enhances "Where the Money Goes" website
The U.S. Congress vs. energy independence

The Legislature is considering several measures that would benefit Texas crime victims. All of these measures incorporate the important principle that the victim is first and foremost harmed by property and violent crimes and should therefore be permitted to play a significant role in the resolution of the case.

First, HB 2139 by Representative Ruth McClendon would allow counties to set-up victim-offender mediation programs. The bill is similar to legislation last session that passed out of committee but did not reach the House floor. Eligibility is limited to low-level property offenses. The mediation must be chosen by the victim and the defendant and the case referred by the District Attorney. A written agreement is reached that typically requires restitution and community service.

Studies have shown mediation increases victim satisfaction and restitution collection rates while reducing recidivism. One study found 79 percent of victims who participated in mediations were satisfied, compared with 57 percent of victims who went through the traditional court system. A meta-analysis found that 72 percent of victim-offender mediation programs reduce recidivism.

Another positive bill for crime victims is HB 1228 by Rep. Jim Jackson. For the first time, Texas would confer rights on victims of property felonies. Currently