An interview with Arlene Wohlgemuth of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Economy
Get the latest on jobs, business, growth, and policy shaping the state’s economy with in-depth reporting from The Texas Tribune.
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Economy
Wohlgemuth on the State’s Budget Woes
The former Texas House member and current director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation on how lawmakers should address the state’s multibillion-dollar budget shortfall.
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Economy
The Weekly TribCast: Episode 55
In this week’s TribCast, Evan, Ross, Elise and Ben discuss the latest in the race for House speaker, ongoing budget woes and how governing may prove a lot harder than campaigning come January.
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Economy
The End of Pork?
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison says she will join U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in calling for a ban on all Congressional earmark spending. In the past, both used the controversial budget maneuver to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars back to Texas. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports.
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Economy
Guest Column: Put Up or Shut Up
If major-party leaders are not willing to make tough-love decisions on the ballooning national debt, and if the Tea Partiers are not willing to endorse painful measures, the American people must ask them, “Okay, what is your solution?”
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Economy
TribBlog: Cuts and Caps
Lawmakers want state agencies to cut another 2 to 3 percent from their current budgets — on top of the 5 percent cuts that were already ordered. The Legislative Budget Board — comprised of members of both the House and Senate, along with the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the House — also adopted a spending cap for the next budget.
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Economy
“Grandiose Cuts” to Higher Education?
The session hasn’t started yet, but the battles have. In a heated exchange over possible cuts to higher education at a post-election debrief, Democratic consultant Matt Angle spars with Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign manager, Rob Johnson.
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Economy
Size Matters
How big is the state’s budget shortfall? It all depends on who’s doing the math. A big number means the coming session will be all about what’s cut — what programs and services won’t be offered. A smaller one puts lawmakers in the position of deciding, in hard times, what they can add to current spending.
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Economy
TribBlog: The Most Important Legislators?
Who will be the most important legislators in Austin in 2011? UT Vice Chancellor Barry McBee has an answer.
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Economy
Interactive: Senate Office Spending
State senators reduced the amount they spent on office expenses by $830,000 this year, or an average of nearly $26,000 per senator, an analysis by The Texas Tribune found.