The Baines Report“I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and lived here, even though sometime back they may have entered illegally.” – Ronald Reagan, 1984 debate with Walter Mondale Yes, you read that correctly: Ronald Reagan, the father of modern conservatism, in support of the A-word. Conservative champions of our […]
Is there a government prize for breaking the law in Texas? The Texas DREAM Act forces the taxpayer to reward those who continue to break the law by illegally residing in the United States. Since being signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry in 2001, the Texas DREAM Act has provided in-state tuition and need-based financial aid […]
The quality and purity of the drinking water supply has a dramatic influence on the public’s health. What if a sub-population is known to be negatively affected by something artificially added to the water … should city government stop adding that substance, or at least warn the people so that they can make an […]
We’re all aware of the beating public education took this past legislative session. A total of $5.3 billion was cut, representing the first time Texas deliberately underfunded its schools. As a result, thousands of teachers lost their jobs and hundreds of innovative programs were ended. However, a less familiar, but equally unfortunate reality of […]
Disrupting class used to land kids in the principal’s office or detention. In Texas, however, more and more children are facing criminal prosecution, criminal records and hefty fines for acting out in school. It is estimated that at least 275,000 non-traffic tickets are issued to kids in Texas each year. The vast majority of […]
This article was co-written by Marcus Denton, a second year master's candidate at the LBJ School for Public Affairs, studying social and economic policy. President Obama generates controversy with nearly every one of his decisions. But if he gives in on the most important environmental decision in years, we’re all going to feel the […]
Charter schools are quickly becoming an important piece of both national and state-level education reform efforts. They’ve been praised in movies like “Waiting For Superman” as one of the few hopes for improving inner-city education. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan made boosting charter school enrollment on criteria for the Race to the Top grant […]
Austin needs public officials who can understand and base their decisions upon statistics. Austin also needs money, lots of money. Austin City Council planned to generate $3 million by extending parking meters downtown until midnight Monday through Saturday. Currently, parking is free after 5:30 pm on weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday. The […]
On Friday, April 8, the U.S. Congress dodged a government shutdown by striking a budget compromise, undoubtedly crushing the dreams of the news outlets gleefully throwing countdown clocks and “what if?!” statements around. What the media have largely failed to cover, however, are the follow-up discussions that continue to adjust the budget. One of […]
Social Widgets powered by AB-WebLog.com.