You Don’t Say

What to Know: Just months after defunding its police department and canceling its police cadet classes, Austin is now reversing course—and looking to bring on more cops.

The TPPF Take: As Austin is learning, it takes police officers to reduce crime.

“That’s why ‘defunding the police’ is a dangerous policy,” says TPPF’s Derek Cohen. “The proven principles of community policing say that when officers are familiar faces in the community, crime goes down and compliance goes up.”

For more on the movement to defund the police, click here.

Direct Primary Care

What to Know: Amazon’s Dallas operation is expanding its partnership with a direct primary care (DPC) provider. The expansion will provide Amazon employees with “what health care should be.”

The TPPF Take: The Direct Primary Care model will be of great benefit to those Amazon workers.

“The Direct Primary Care model addresses many of the challenges facing primary care by reducing administrative burden and allowing primary care providers to spend more time with their patients, resulting in improved satisfaction for providers, better care for patients, and the potential to reduce costs for patients and the healthcare system,” says TPPF’s David Balat.

For more on Direct Primary Care, click here.

Responsible Recovery

What to Know: Texas lawmakers will soon gather to hammer out the next biennial budget.

The TPPF Take: The Texas Public Policy Foundation has laid out a Responsible Recovery Agenda to minimize long-term economic damage.

“Raising taxes is a costly endeavor — even more so in a recession because it distorts behavior at a time when the economy is weak, delaying recovery and leading to even greater economic stress,” says TPPF’s Benjamin Priday. “Legislators should close budget gaps first by strategically employing the Rainy Day Fund and by trying to find ways to reduce spending.”

For more on the Responsible Recovery Agenda, click here.