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

Where was the Wind?

What to Know: You know who didn’t show up for Texas’ recent heat wave? The wind—and its unreliable electrical generation, just when Texans needed it.

The TPPF Take: Austin and other cities that have very vocally committed to wind energy saw their electricity prices skyrocket in those hours when demand was highest—because the wind wasn’t blowing.

“This emphasizes the fact that we don’t see the true cost of renewable energy until the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing—because solar and wind have to be backed up by other forms of energy,” says TPPF’s Brent Bennett. “In other words, the more renewables we have, the less value they add because we are having to pay more for the second system behind them.”

Sticking It to the Taxpayers

What to Know: More and more cities and counties are jacking up their tax rates before a new taxpayer protection law goes into effect.

The TPPF Take: Raising taxes as much as they can now without the say-so of the voters—as Austin and other taxing entities have done—violate the spirit of Senate Bill 2’s taxpayer protections. And they grow government.

“Many have raised rates on top of big appraisal increases,” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore. “While state government in Texas has done a good job of limiting growth, local governments haven’t—in fact, they are growing just as fast as governments in California. This shows there’s much more work to be done in limiting government in Texas.”

Community Supervision

What to Know: There’s a new push to reform probation, to focus on effectiveness, not the duration of supervision.

The TPPF Take: Our justice system must reward success.

“When it comes to community supervision, we must focus on how well the system achieves rehabilitation, not on maximizing its duration,” says TPPF’s Marc Levin. “Let’s reward success by allowing people to demonstrate they are not a threat and earn their way off supervision. Intensive supervision has a place for those most at risk of going back to their old ways, but in many cases, government can accomplish more by doing less.”