The rift between the “conservative” Texas Senate and the more rational House chamber in the Texas legislature boiled over again this week as Dan Patrick threatened to take his toys and go home if the Legislature doesn’t give him what he wants. More specifically, Patrick has threatened a special legislative session unless the House passes property tax reform and a … Read More
Texas Economic Development Fueled By Taxpayer-Funded Corporate Subsidies
Texas economic development continues to be fueled by taxpayer-funded corporate subsidies. An estimated $1.4 billion in property tax revenue has gone uncollected in Texas from 2005 to 2015 as a result of Chapter 313. These are the findings from the state auditor’s report in October 2016. As Texas Observer detailed last year, the free lunch to corporations doing business in … Read More
Pyrrhic Victory – New Leader Faces Challenges Galore
Regardless of who wins the side-show today, it will be a pyrrhic victory. If we have learned anything from this election cycle it’s the undeniable fact that America’s economic system is broken and that it no longer serves the interest of the general public. Decades of failed policies designed to keep a consumer-oriented, debt-based economy moving forward have masked a … Read More
City of Austin Sues State Of Texas Over Unequal Appraisal System
It appears the City of Austin is taking the bull by the horns in addressing Texas’ broken property tax system. The city yesterday announced a lawsuit against the state of Texas over unequal appraisals that continue to burden residential homeowners. The new lawsuit stems from Austin’s challenge of TCAD commercial values earlier this summer. In that independent TCAD analysis, commercial … Read More
Houston Town Meeting With Bernie Sanders Changes Venues Due To Higher-Than-Anticipated Interest
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is coming to Houston Sunday evening. The Town Meeting with Senator Bernie Sanders is scheduled for 7pm at the Hofheinz Pavilion on 3875 Holman St. The meeting with Sanders was moved to Hofheinz Pavilion after higher-than-expected RSVPs exceeded capacity for the Cullen Performance Hall. Unlike his bought-and-paid-for counterpart, Hillary Clinton, Sanders supports re-instating Glass Steagall … Read More
Bill Moyers: The New Robber Barons
Pretty accurate summary of the past week’s events. With the latest budget bill, the white collar crime wave in US markets received another injection of support from the best government money can buy. Bill Moyers discusses the new robber barons dictating economic policy in America…
The Choke Hold On Lady Liberty
A few important reminders that justice in America is under assault. It remains so only because we turn a blind eye to the abuses. It’s interesting to see that we are only now discovering how the Pentagon distributes tactical weapons to local cops. We go about our business living in our pretend paradise. Our leaders lie to us with increasingly … Read More
Warren Rips FHFA’s Mel Watt For Deriliction Of Duty
It’s always refreshing when a politician actually does his/her job and stands up for the interests of the public. Sadly that’s a rare occurrence in Congress these days, but Elizabeth Warren has demonstrated that it is possible to tell the truth even when you are surrounded by crony capitalist tools. Warren’s questioning of FHFA head Mel Watt is another great … Read More
Bill Moyers: Our Democracy Is Flatlined
Bill Moyers interviews Zephyr Teachout and Lawrence Lessig on the issue of money and politics. What we have now are donor-driven elections, but there are winds of change in the air. Interesting stuff, particularly if all those millennial voters get activated. Combine voter activation with publicly financed elections, and then you are talking real change! “It [big money] mattered enormously. … Read More
Katy ISD Bond Opposition: “That’s A Thorn And We Should Just Pluck It Out”
Katy ISD bond opposition is not fashionable or tolerable. That’s apparently the view of the superintendent of Katy ISD schools, Alton Frailey. It seems he’s upset with voters in Katy Texas who did not approve of the district’s recent $748 million bond package. Official results showed that was about 45 percent of Katy. The Katy ISD bond opposition remarks made … Read More