AUSTIN -Texas Public Policy Foundation's Karen Lugo, Director of the Center for Tenth Amendment Action, shared her thoughts on state sovereignty in a Washington Examiner op-ed titled: Fighting the good fight for federalism and the 10th Amendment. "The 10th Amendment has not been nullified just because the federal government chooses to ignore it," Lugo stated, "It's a powerful right that...
Press Release October 14, 2013AUSTIN –Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Karen Lugo, Director of the Center for Tenth Amendment Action, shared her thoughts on state sovereignty in a Washington Examiner op-ed titled: Fighting the good fight for federalism and the 10th Amendment. “The 10th Amendment has not been nullified just because the federal government chooses to ignore it,” Lugo stated, “It’s a powerful right that recognizes the individuality of each state, and ensures our freedom to create our own records of success or failure. In Texas, we’re fighting for the right of businesses and families to write their own scripts. Every time the federal government extends an enticing offer of funding, the states should be wary. That money isn’t free—it comes with the price-tag of doing the Federal Government’s bidding.” “That’s the real work of policy centers like CTAA: to inform the public on the consequences of taking this federal money, and to fortify states that choose not to take the bait,” Lugo continued. “We’ve got to change the thinking here: the 10th Amendment means that power resides in the states if not strictly enumerated as a federal government power or if not explicitly delegated by a state to the federal government. We’ve got to stop thinking that every situation needs federal intervention, or that every problem has a federal-level solution. The article can be read in its entirety here: http://bit.ly/1agj5zR.
Press Release October 14, 2013AUSTIN – Earlier today, the Tax Foundation released its 2014 State Business Tax Climate Index, a nationally-renowned ranking of each state’s tax system. According to this year’s index, Texas’ tax system ranked as the 11th most competitive in the U.S., a slight decline from last year’s ranking. “Texas’ tax system—while competitive—has plenty of room to improve,” said Talmadge Heflin, Director of the Center for Fiscal Policy. Heflin continued, “There are two major problem areas in the Texas Tax Code: the margin tax and the property tax. In spite of the Legislature’s attempts to improve the margin tax last session, the state’s primary business tax remains overly complicated, poorly designed, and disruptive to our small business community. Additionally, the state’s property tax system, ranked as the 14th most punitive in the nation, continues to punish homeowners and business investment. And the problem is only getting worse, as is evidenced by Texas’ slippage of three positions in the latest property tax index as local districts continue to hike property tax collections.” “Our research clearly indicates that substantive reforms in these two areas are needed in order to keep Texas’ economy thriving and competitive,” said Heflin.
Press Release October 10, 2013AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation today released the report, Loosening the Federal Straightjacket: What the U.S. Supreme Court's NFIB Decision Means for Federal Funds in State Budgets. This report focuses on the disastrous intermingling of federal and state finances, particularly the onerous conditions that come attached to federal funds for the state...
Press Release October 8, 2013AUSTIN – Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Vice President for Research and Director of the Center for Economic Freedom Bill Peacock and Center for Economic Freedom Policy Analyst Kathleen Hunker are available to discuss the debate over whether Texas has sufficient electricity generation on tap to power our growing economy. The future of Texas’ electricity...
Press Release October 8, 2013AUSTIN – Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Vice President for Research and Director of the Center for Economic Freedom Bill Peacock and Center for Economic Freedom Policy Analyst Kathleen Hunker are available to discuss the debate over whether Texas has sufficient electricity generation on tap to power our growing economy. The future of Texas’ electricity market will be discussed tomorrow during the Public Utility Commission of Texas’s workshop on resource adequacy. Both Peacock and Hunker have recently released several research papers examining this issue. Bill Peacock is Vice President of Research and Director of the Foundation’s Center for Economic Freedom. Peacock has extensive experience in Texas government and policy on issues, including economic and regulatory policy, energy, public finance, and public education. Media appearances include the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Roll Call. Kathleen Hunker is a Center for Economic Freedom Policy Analyst. Prior to joining the Foundation, Hunker worked as a legal associate at the Cato Institute’s Center for Constitutional Studies. Hunker has written for Townhall.com, Ethika Politika, TheBelltowers.com, and the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. To schedule interviews please contact Kristen Indriago at [email protected] or 512.472.2700.
Press Release October 8, 2013Dear friend of liberty, Today marks a very important anniversary. On a grassy field not far from here, 178 years ago, the Texas Revolution began with a simple act of citizen defiance. You may know the story of how the small town of Gonzales, increasingly restive under the growing tyranny of the Mexicans, was confronted by a Mexican army unit under the command of one Lieutenant Castañeda. The Lieutenant had arrived to disarm the town. The people of Gonzales had a single cannon to protect themselves from Indian attack and, as they became more and more insistent upon their liberties throughout the fateful year of 1835, it dawned upon the Mexicans who lent them the cannon that perhaps they ought to take it back. And so Lieutenant Castañeda conveyed his demand to the Texians: surrender your cannon. But what he really meant was: surrender your freedom. The men and women of Gonzales knew exactly what was at stake. They knew that if they gave up their cannon, a small and simple weapon though it was, that they were giving up their liberties. The decision on the face of it seemed like a simple one. The Mexicans had every advantage. The Mexicans had an army. The Mexicans had arms. The Mexicans had a government. The Mexicans had a treasury. And the Mexicans had a proven and ruthless determination to suppress all dissent. The Texians, on the other hand, had just one tiny cannon and the indomitable determination to be free within their hearts. They searched their consciences and decided that this was enough. The message from Gonzales went back out to Lieutenant Castañeda, and it was a message emblazoned upon the hearts and souls of every liberty-loving Texan in the 178 years since. The defiance at Gonzales that started the Texas Revolution was rooted in the most ancient human impulses for liberty. They took their inspiration from what they knew to be their God-given nature as free people and from what they understood to be their heritage as the inheritors of the free peoples that went before them. They fought because they loved liberty and because they understood history. And that is why we, 178 years later, must remember them. Partly it is because we must honor their achievements. But it is also because, in remembering and understanding the history of the fights for freedom that came before, we draw inspiration and resolve for the fights for freedom that lie ahead. Today we recollect the spark that lit the flame of the Texas Revolution. That spark was kindled in the minds and souls of men and women who knew that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were worth fighting for. They did not stop to calculate the odds because they knew, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, that the destiny of man is more than material computation. A moral vision of freedom of prosperity, and of dignity is perhaps the most powerful thing in human history. It is the reason Texas became free. Please join me in remembering the heroes of Gonzales who fought and died and won for us 178 years ago, today. In Liberty, Brooke Rollins President & CEO
Press Release October 4, 2013AUSTIN – Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Kathleen Hartnett White, Director of the Armstrong Center for Energy and Environment, takes on the Environmental Protection Agency in The National Review Online with a commentary titled, “The EPA as Energy Master.” “The EPA is no longer acting under its responsibility to protect human health,” said White. “Instead,...
Press Release October 4, 2013“The United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) just issued its Fifth Assessment Report – considered by many to be the scientific gospel behind theories of man-made global warming. IPCC issued its first Assessment Report in 1990. For the first time in 23 years, undeniable facts raise fundamental doubt about the credibility of IPCC’s science. The last 17 years of flat-lined global temperatures directly contradict IPCC’s key assumptions and their predictions of catastrophic warming. These facts, not computer models, reasonably invalidate IPCC’s basic assertion that carbon dioxide emissions from human activity somehow dominate the natural forces of climate such as solar activity. “At a time when public support for onerous government mandates to reduce CO2 is the lowest in twenty years and when IPCC science is now rightly in question, U.S. policy makers should demand a vigorous review of the increasingly uncertain science behind government programs to avert rising temperatures.”
Press Release October 1, 2013AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation issued the following statement regarding the launch of the 36 federal health insurance exchanges operated by the federal government: “Today, the ObamaCare Health Insurance Exchange (HIX) opens to the public against popular opinion and fiscal practicality,” said Arlene Wohlgemuth, Executive Director and Director for the Center for Health Care Policy. “Last week, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services released data from 36 federal health insurance exchanges that confirms what the Texas Public Policy Foundation has long argued: health care premiums for plans offered on the federal exchange are significantly higher than pre-ObamaCare costs.” According to John Davidson, analyst for the Center for Health Care Policy, rising health care costs are a particular concern for young people seeking coverage on the exchange. “According to Health and Human Service’s data, the average cost of a catastrophic plan for a 27-year-old in Texas will be $153 a month on the federal exchange. Compare that to an average of the three cheapest catastrophic plans currently available to that same 27-year-old in Austin, which is $59 a month, that’s a 158 percent increase. Premiums won’t go up for everyone seeking insurance on the exchange because of federal subsidies that will offset higher costs. However, rates will go up for most young people who earn more than $30,000 a year. The bottom line is that ObamaCare will make health insurance less affordable for most Americans at a time when many people are struggling financially,” said Davidson.
Press Release October 1, 2013“The United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) just issued its Fifth Assessment Report – considered by many to be the scientific gospel behind theories of man-made global warming. IPCC issued its first Assessment Report in 1990. For the first time in 23 years, undeniable facts raise fundamental doubt about the credibility of...
Press Release September 30, 2013AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation will host a conference call briefing for media on Monday, September 30, at 2:00 p.m. Central Time, to discuss the opening of the online health care exchanges and the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA), or ObamaCare. The Foundation’s Arlene Wohlgemuth, Executive Director and Director for the Center for Health Care Policy, and John Davidson, Center for Health Care Policy Analyst, will discuss what these changes will mean for Texans. WHO: Arlene Wohlgemuth, Executive Director and Director, Center for HealthCare Policy John Davidson, Center for Health Care Policy Analyst WHAT: Conference call to discuss the opening of the online health care exchanges and the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA), or ObamaCare. WHEN: Monday, September 30, 2013 2:00 p.m. Central Time WHERE: Telephone press briefing Conference call number: 877-275-6071 Passcode: 5167775# A Q&A period will be provided. To schedule an interview with Mrs. Wohlgemuth or Mr. Davidson, please contact Kristen Indriago at [email protected] or 512.472.2700.
Press Release September 27, 2013