Featured News
Foreign Land Ownership and the American Dream
The American Dream Land ownership has always been deeply intertwined with the American identity. From the earliest days of settlement, land was seen as foundational to liberty, independence, self-determination, and economic opportunity. Colonists and immigrants from all over the world…
The Real Size of Texas Government
Executive Summary The only thing the Texas Legislature must do when they meet every two years is adopt a budget. Not surprisingly, with years of practice they have gotten pretty good at spending taxpayers’ money. For instance, the Legislature appropriated…
Texas Local Governments Must Limit Spending And Eliminate Property Taxes
Overview Debt A recent report by the Texas Bond Review Board notes that Texas’ total outstanding local government debt is $280 billion, resulting in debt per capita of $8,869. This puts Texas’ local debt per capita in third place of…
News and Commentary
Press Release: TFR Poll Reveals Texans Believe Harris Will Raise Taxes; Support Fiscal Restraint
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AUSTIN, TX – On Monday, October 21st, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility released a poll of Texas general election voters. Conducted by CWS Research, the poll shows Donald Trump leading Kamala Harris by 5. It also shows 53 percent of…
The True Extent of Inflation
The Inflation Toll: Biden/Harris Policies and Texas’ Economic Struggle As Texas grapples with unregulated and irresponsible spending on behalf of state legislators, the economic policies of the Biden/Harris Administration have cast a long shadow over the Lone Star State’s desire…
The Ginn Economic Brief: U.S. Economic Situation-October 2024
Big Government Is Holding America Back America’s federal debt has now skyrocketed past $35 trillion—an increase of $2.3 trillion in just the last fiscal year. Inflation persists, with core prices rising 3.3% over the past year. Meanwhile, government jobs are…
The Case for Prosperity: Less Government, More Growth in Texas
As Texas faces rising property taxes and record-high government spending, it’s time to reassess the path toward long-term prosperity. Recent data illustrates Texas’ strengths and challenges. In August 2024, Texas maintained a 4.1% unemployment rate, while the state’s GDP grew…
Texas’ “C” Grade in Fiscal Health: A Wake-Up Call for Real Reform
Every year, the non-profit organization Truth in Accounting publishes its Financial State of the States report, which evaluates the fiscal health of all 50 states based on their latest financial data. The 2024 report is a thorough, data-driven analysis that…
The Longshoreman Strike and Its Impact
The ongoing strike of longshoremen at major U.S. ports is a disruption with widespread consequences for American industries, businesses, and, most importantly, taxpayers and families. As the backbone of international trade, American ports handle an immense volume of imports and…
What the Fed’s Interest Rate Cut Could Mean
The recent decision by the Federal Reserve to slash interest rates by half a percentage point has sent ripples through the economic landscape, raising crucial questions for fiscal conservatives. While some may tout this move as a necessary step to…
The High and Rising Burden of Property Taxes.
The following piece is taken from Dr. Vance Ginn’s Testimony to the Texas House Select Committee on Sustainable Property Tax Relief: Over the last decade, the Texas Legislature has made some progress in providing property tax relief, but the housing…
2026-27 Frozen Texas Budget: Reining in Unsustainable Spending
Overview Introduction Recently, the Texas Legislative Budget Board released the Fiscal Size-Up 2024-25 Biennium report with the latest estimated or budgeted amounts in the prior 2022-23 budget and the appropriated 2024-25 budget. The results from the 88th Texas Legislature’s efforts…
The Trump Tax Cuts Are Set to Expire in 2025
Here’s How You’ll Be Affected Contrary to the popular mantra from the Left that President Donald Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 was a “tax cut for the rich,” Americans of almost every tax bracket experienced a…
Commentary: Texas Is Overfunding Public Education
The State of Texas is pouring unprecedented amounts of taxpayer money into public education with little to show for it. From the 2014-15 school year, to the 2022-23 school year, total education spending surged 53% to $92.4 billion, while per-student…
Why Laurel Jordan Swift Shouldn’t Be Trusted with Your Tax Dollars
As Laurel Jordan Swift campaigns for a seat in the State House for District 121, she’s positioning herself as a champion for taxpayers. However, a closer look at Jordan Swift’s personal and financial history reveals a troubling pattern of fiscal…
The Ginn Economic Brief: Texas Economic Situation – Summer 2024
Texas at the Crossroads: Sustaining Leadership Amid New Challenges Texas has long been at the forefront of job creation in the U.S., consistently outpacing other states, particularly since the COVID lockdowns. However, recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics…
New Staff, New Goals, New Candidates
The shakeup in the world of the Texas House has continued over the last few weeks, as Speaker Phelan hires a new Chief of Staff, the Speaker’s race has now expanded to three challengers, and more. New Staff With Dade…
It’s Time to Relieve Texas Families
Texas families are facing an affordability crisis that is being exacerbated by property taxes: a never-ending tax that, fundamentally, serves as a form of perpetual rent to the government. While the Legislature has taken steps recently to address the rising…