Good morning,

We asked readers yesterday what they thought of new programs using tax dollars to set up savings accounts for newborns. You'll find the survey results below.

This is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Abbott Cools on Casino Support

• Gov. Greg Abbott is backing away from gambling expansion, an effort he previously signaled he was open to. As Brandon Waltens reports, this marks a significant shift after years of high-dollar lobbying and campaign cash from casino interests failed to move lawmakers toward legalized gambling.
      
• In an interview with CBS, Abbott cited concerns over addiction and recent sports-betting scandals involving athletes. That is in stark contrast to early 2023, when Abbott told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram he could be open to a chain of resort-style casinos. At that time, casino interests believed they had finally cracked the door in Austin, pouring millions into lobbying, advertising, and campaign accounts.
       
• The Republican Party of Texas platform explicitly opposes expanding gambling, and fiscal conservatives have warned that casinos almost always arrive packaged with tax subsidies and corporate favoritism.
      
• The casino lobby’s most recent test case—a North Texas special election for an open Senate seat—ended in defeat for casino-aligned donors and strategists despite their heavy spending.

Paxton, Trump DOJ Secure Anti-Trust Settlement

• Attorney General Ken Paxton, in partnership with President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice, announced yesterday a major antitrust settlement aimed at preserving competition in Texas’ electricity markets and preventing potential price hikes for Texans. Sydnie Henry has the details.
     
• Texas and the Trump DOJ brought the case under Section 7 of the Clayton Act, which prohibits mergers that may substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly. The settlement requires Constellation Energy Corporation and Calpine Corporation to divest two electricity-generating plants in Texas before completing a proposed $26.6 billion merger. 
     
• According to estimates from Paxton’s office, the merger could result in more than $100 million per year in higher electricity costs for Texas families and businesses through market-wide price increases. To resolve that concern and others, the settlement requires selling the plants to a buyer approved by the federal government after consultation with Texas.

Supreme Court Rejects Attempt to Overturn Llano County Library Decision

• Travis Morgan reports that the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a case about the Llano County library’s removal of explicit books. This keeps in place a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that upheld the library's action.
       
• Llano County had been sued for removing 17 books from its library due to their treatment of racial and sexual themes; some of the books were targeted at children.
       
• The issue is not going away any time soon. The county's attorney, Jonathan Mitchell, filed a brief with SCOTUS pointing out that there are appeals pending before three other circuits "challenging the constitutionality of library-book removals."

Allred Drops Out of DEMs Senate Race as Crockett Enters

• In a surprise announcement just hours before the candidate filing deadline yesterday, Democrat Colin Allred dropped out of the 2026 U.S. Senate race and will instead run for Congress in Texas’ newly redrawn 33rd Congressional District.
   
• Allred previously represented the Dallas-area 32nd District and ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate against Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024. He said Monday that a competitive Democrat primary for the Senate seat would weaken the party’s chances in the November 2026 General Election.
     
• By seeking a return to the House, though, Allred will be trying to unseat U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Farmers Branch).
      
• As Allred dropped out, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Dallas) launched her campaign for the Senate. She has drawn national headlines for incendiary remarks, including repeatedly comparing President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler and referring to Gov. Greg Abbott as “hot wheels” and a “hot ass mess.” Democrat strategists believe she will energize the party's far-left base.

'Bad Apples' Investigation Commended

• Texas Scorecard's Erin Anderson was commended over the weekend by the State Republican Executive Committee "for her courageous journalism and contributions to protecting Texas students." The SREC approved a resolution that was started by the Republican Party of Rusk County.
      
• The resolution focuses on her work amplifying "the voices of victims" in those public schools that "have allowed predators to remain in classrooms, move between districts, and continue harming children."
      
• "Erin Anderson exemplifies the highest ideals of responsible journalism—fearlessly holding power accountable, defending vulnerable students, and serving the public good with unwavering courage and integrity." – Rusk County GOP

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Y'All Answered

The Trump Administration is setting up accounts for every newborn citizen with $1,000 that cannot be accessed until adulthood. The funds will be invested in a broad U.S. stock-market index. Last week, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick proposed Texas double that in the Lone Star State with what he calls the "New Little Texan Savings Fund." His plan would put an additional $1,000 in similar accounts for newborn Texans, costing taxpayers roughly $400 million per year.

Yesterday, we asked readers if they supported those programs. More than 66 percent said they oppose the programs, while 33.4 percent support them.

Here is a sampling of the responses I received after folks participated in the survey.

• “It's still socialism when we do it.” – Chris Breaux
   
• “Yes, for American citizens only.” – Lee Dahlen
     
• “How about we just get rid of property taxes instead?” – Karen Breazeale
     
• “Another opportunity for elected officials to steal the money.” – Janice McPhee-Louvie
     
• “The road to hell is paved with good intentions. The last thing we need is yet another government program promising to do good for children.” – Kevin Williams
      
• “Please stop thinking up ways to spend my money!  just cut regs, govt waste,  taxes, etc, etc, etc.” – Virginia Choate
      
• “It is about time that we start investing in Americans!” – Cathe Harris
     
• “The savings plan, while it may sound good, is blatant wealth redistribution—forcibly taking money (taxes) from one group of citizens to give it to another. If there are excess funds, refund them to the taxpayers, but don't steal from one group just to give it to another.” – Richard Whiddon
     
• “I will oppose this plan in the 90th legislative session with every breath and every resource at my disposal. It's a really bad idea.” – Fran Rhodes
     
• “So we're going to take savings from the citizens, mostly from hard-working, successful citizens, and give them to citizens who may or may not work hard? Is it possible that giving them an entitlement at birth could make them less likely to work hard? But what's 1% of the budget between friends? Since 1% of the budget is such a non-issue, could we find 10-20 other such discretionary non-issues and cut the budget by 10-20%? I hate it when Democrats act like Democrats. I hate it much more when Republicans act like Democrats, but my blood boils the most when RINOs try to justify it as somehow being conservative.” – Spencer Siino
      
• “How about we invest in financial education for the parents rather than give a taxpayer-funded handout to babies?” – Kim Brittain
     
• “I said no, but would quickly change my mind if Birthright Citizenship were completely stopped.” – Lloyd Smith 
     
• “While the savings accounts for children sound good on the surface, it is a proven fact that the Government has never handled its citizens' money efficiently or, in most cases, honestly. Social Security is a prime example of such fraud and waste of monies taken from citizens and the squandered.” – Mike Baker
     
• “Federally, we are in too much debt to start another social welfare program, and in Texas, my property taxes need to be eliminated before making a decision like this.” – Margaret Daniel
     
• “Setting up a new little Texan fund is just another way for the legislature to spend our tax money. Instead of finding more ways to spend our money, they should be working on eliminating our property taxes by cutting spending, not increasing it.” – Annette Bennett 
      
• “I support the idea of these accounts, but not at all taxpayers’ expense. A better way to fund these would be to divert pre-tax funds from their parents into the special accounts. The kids get the funds benefit, their parents get a tax break, and the rest of us aren’t paying for yet another government program.” – Al Crable
     
• “Yes. Giving every child a small financial foundation is a smart investment in future independence—not government dependence. Let Texans build wealth from day one.” – Sharla Miles
      
• “I like the idea of accounts for newborns, but NOT if the money that goes into them is paid for by taxpayers. Let's cut taxes and let Americans and Texans keep more of their own money. If philanthropists want to donate to these accounts, fabulous, but not money from my taxes!” – Kylee Compton
      
• “In both instances, the funds should be used to pay down debt or reduce taxes.” – Ray Highsmith

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