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Connecting today’s news with the research & opinion you need.

Come and Take It

 

What to Know: Some in the media are trying to downplay her words, but Sen. Kamala Harris—the Democratic vice presidential nominee—has repeatedly endorsed forcible confiscation of firearms (what she calls “mandatory gun buybacks”).

 

The TPPF Take: Like many gun control proposals, Harris’ “mandatory buybacks” would penalize law-abiding gun owners and violate the U.S. Constitution.

 

“Nearly all gun control proposals target those who, up until the point of enactment, have been nonviolent, law-abiding citizens,” says TPPF’s Derek Cohen. “But criminals, naturally, are not law-abiding. Measures such as mandatory buy-backs would penalize law-abiding gun owners while failing to improve public safety.”
8.25.20 - Snapshot

New York State of Mind

 

What to Know: New York City is in trouble. The coronavirus has driven many of its wealthy residents away, and they may never return—which would decimate the city’s tax base.

 

The TPPF Take: Who could have predicted that high taxes and rising murder rates would drive away many of those who can afford to move?

 

“There’s no mystery here,” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore. “New York City levies punitive taxes on its millionaires and billionaires. It shouldn’t be surprised now, when many of those who learned they didn’t need to be in the city to do their work feel no urgency to return. And we shouldn’t be surprised when we seem some of them—perhaps many of them—moving to Texas, which has lower taxes and more opportunity.”

Telling It Like It Is

 

What to Know: San Antonio ISD will ask voters to approve a $1.3 billion bond package in November, which marks “the largest school or municipal bond proposition in San Antonio history.” The district’s existing debt totals $1.6 billion while its student enrollment declined by 6.8% from 2008-09 to 2017-18.

 

The TPPF Take: Shrinking schools swimming in red ink should not borrow more.

“The good news is that Texans will know more about bond propositions this election cycle. Thanks to House Bill 3, Texas ISDs must now include the following phrase on school bond election notices: ‘THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE’,” says TPPF’s James Quintero. “The bad news is that school districts continue to spend like drunken sailors. San Antonio ISD’s billion dollar bond package is just the tip of the iceberg.”