TribTalk | Perspectives on Texas

A publication of The Texas Tribune

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Economy

House/Senate compromise could be a win-win for taxpayers

By Dale Craymer,

While the Legislature imposes a number of taxes — sales, franchise, severance, etc. — the property tax isn’t one of them. The multitude of local governments that levy the property tax include school districts, cities, counties and a plethora of special districts such as junior colleges, hospitals, roads and water and wastewater districts. However, the Legislature can have a tremendous impact on your tax bill because it writes the laws that control how local entities set their property taxes.

Politics

It's time for Democrats to win again

By Carroll Robinson,

Next year, Democrats need a successful entrepreneur running for governor to lead the ticket and carry a message that the lifelong government employees seeking statewide office on the Republican ticket don't have the ability or vision to lead Texas into the future.

Health

Healthcare continues to be small business priority

By Will Newton,

In yearly surveys, members of the National Federation of Independent Business say their number one priority is healthcare, but the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, has made things more difficult for them. Its onerous taxes and mandates have increased costs and reduced choices.

Health

Federal healthcare legislation needs more work — from both parties

By Jesús Garza,

Over the last several months, our national health system leaders have talked with members of Congress and their staffs to communicate these three principles and to encourage them to craft legislation that achieves them. Unfortunately, the discussion draft of the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 (BCRA) released by Senate leaders last week falls short.

Public Education

Texas taking the ‘standard’ out of standardized testing

By Sarah Underbrink,

As this year’s group of high school students looked at their test scores and learned whether or not they would be graduating, their teachers noticed something a little... odd. The students who took the paper version of the English 2 STAAR test passed with a raw score of 41. The students who took the online version? The special education and dyslexic students? They needed a 42 to pass.

Government

The new United States of America

By Robert B. Todd,

An alliance of states was announced to follow the Paris agreement’s terms and it became clear that the states had begun to reassert themselves. California has reached an accord with Quebec. The Canadian government is in talks with Texas, Florida, and other states. They are ready to take on responsibilities abandoned many years ago.

Energy

President Trump’s offshore executive order is an important first step

By Nikki Martin,

Applied properly, financial assurance is a common-sense requirement. To qualify for a lease, energy companies currently must put up bonds or other collateral to ensure there will be funds to decommission a well once the oil and gas have been extracted. This ensures that bankruptcy or malfeasance can’t endanger the environment or force taxpayers to foot the bill to plug a well.

Health

A mother writes: Dear Speaker Straus

By Amber Briggle,

I haven’t really spent much time tracking legislation before; I guess I’ve never really had to. But I started paying attention to what y’all were doing down in Austin the year that I finally accepted that my child was transgender. And what I found, Speaker Straus, is that there was an awful lot happening under that pink dome that could quite possibly kill him.

Environment

The diplomacy of science must continue in any policy about Cuba

By Larry McKinney,

A commitment to science-based management can assure an economically and environmentally healthy Gulf for Texas, our nation and the world. The only way to do so is by working together on an international scale. This must be a priority for all three countries bordering the Gulf of Mexico. It can be the foundation to progress on other policy issues and one that can and must be sustained through the diplomatic, political and policy travails that face us.

Health

The questions we aren't prepared for are the ones that matter most for kids

By Anthony Castro,

We know kids ask questions. Sometimes as adults we feel inadequate to answer those questions or uncomfortable to explore them. So we shut the questions down. We tell kids their questions are inappropriate, rude or shouldn’t be asked. The questions never go away — they just go unasked. Children with unanswered questions eventually become adults with the wrong answers.

Health

The deadly consequences of Texas’ HB 3859

By Kristopher Sharp,

As a gay child in the foster care system, I spent my childhood in facilities like that. My Child Protective Services caseworker told me at one point that I could either “keep being gay or straighten up” if I wanted to be placed with a foster family.

Politics

What we don't know about Trump — and what we do

By Rick Cherwitz,

Nevertheless, there are some assessments that now can and must be rendered. For example, we should be appalled by the efforts of Republicans — including Texas Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn and many in the Texas Republican delegation to Congress — to defend the president in a kneejerk and partisan manner.

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