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AFP and Federalist Society Austin Lawyers Chapter co-host event
September 4, 2008
The Federalist Society Austin Lawyers Chapter, and Americans for Prosperity are proud to present a luncheon discussion with Horace Cooper, noted legal scholar, on maintaining inheritance rights in a free enterprise system. It's 11:30 am at Sullivan's Steakhouse in Austin. For more information:
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The Texas Turnaround resulted in bringing jobs and doctors in Texas
September 4, 2008
A Texas Turnaround: The Impact of Lawsuit Reform on Business Activity in the Lone Star State
Our Stetson’s off to Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) for the leadership role that group – and Dick Weekley in particular – have taken on lawsuit reform in Texas. Our state advisory chairman, Ben Streusand, has worked with TLR for several years. Here is some information and links provided by the TLR folks – so we Texans can have a better idea just how much the business and health care climate has changed in Texas, thanks to lawsuit reform. And since we couldn’t have said it better ourselves, we are providing some information right off the TLR website:
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Ending Special Phone Tax Good Beginning
September 4, 2008
Hats off to Rep. Joe Strauss (R-San Antonio) for authoring the bill that ended a tax on Texans' telephones.
The Tyler Morning Telegraph ran a story today which began:
There's a passing to be marked this week, though not mourned. An outdated tax met its rightful end on Sept. 1. The Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund tax will no longer appear on Texans' telephone bills.
"Eliminating this tax was long overdue," says Peggy Venable, president of Americans for Prosperity-Texas. "It was one of the major accomplishments of the 2007 legislative session. It's a $600 million tax cut for Texans."
Ronald Reagan once said, "There is nothing closer to immortality on the face of this Earth than a government program once started," she points out.
"So this was a real win," she says.
Here is the full article: http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20080904/OPINION01/809040338
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Can We Taxpayers Afford Property Tax Cuts?
September 2, 2008
Don’t give us more property tax relief – we can’t afford it
We at Americans for Prosperity had warned legislators last session that giving property tax relief without putting some constraints on local governments’ ability to devour that tax cut would resulting Texans’ not taking their school property tax cut to the bank. And it did.
Worse still, local governments’ growth is providing the majority of the most recent employment increase in Texas where literally 1 in 13 workers was on the public workforce. Government creating jobs isn’t what we had in mind – we want private sector jobs created!
The more people government employees, the greater the tax burden individuals and businesses must shoulder. And with pension plans and other post-employment benefits increasing, those plans will leave our children with a legacy of higher taxes and government debt.
Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Tom Pauken has outlined the issue in a recent op ed, and included some illuminating facts on property tax cuts and local spending increases provided by the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association (TTARA). It’s worth a read!
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Texans not scrambling to legislate global warming green schemes
September 1, 2008
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Hearing on freedom issues
August 26, 2008
“Man is not free unless government is limited.
As government expands, liberty contracts” and
“Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction.” are two of Ronald Reagan's quotes which are relevant to today's hearing.
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee held a hearing and one issue on the agenda was a smoking ban. We at AFP believe in consumer choice and in individual rights and personal responsibility. We believe that government-instituted smoking bans are anti-freedom.
Consumer choice should prevail, and individuals must be allowed choose whether to frequently only smoke-free business establishments or businesses which allow smoking. If enough individuals choose smoke-free establishments, those businesses will proliferate and prosper.
Individuals, not government, should dictate the marketplace.
For instance, we could decide here today that we’d like every Texan to eat the recommended daily serving of fruits and vegetables, but most of us would agree it isn’t the government’s responsibility to police that.
To protect freedom we must provide consumer choice.
Smoking bans are an affront to personal responsibility and freedom and if we deny consumer choice, we start down a very slippery slope denies individuals a right to choose and which limits freedom.
We must resist the impulse to interfere in the marketplace and deny citizens the right to exercise freedom in use of a legal product.
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Choice in Education Improves Public Education
August 20, 2008
It's been studied and now the Friedman Foundation folks have more information worth a read -- providing parents whith a choice (and students with a chance to succeed) helps all schools.
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Venable Testifies on Revenue Caps for Local Governments in Texas
August 20, 2008
The Senate Finance Commissee's subcommittee on revenue and appraisal caps met in Austin to hear invited and public testimony. Peggy Venable and two AFP taxpayer representated testified. Local government spending is growing four times faster than Texans' paychecks and local government debt is growing five times faster. Local government debt interest payments annually equal what all local governments spend on police and fire protection combined. Taxpayer protections are long overdue!
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Austin- Tired of the Vicious Cycle of Property Appraisal and Tax Increases?
August 19, 2008
The Senate Finance Committee, subcommittee on Property Appraisal and Revenue Caps, is slated to meet Wednesday, Aug 20 at 9 am in Austin at the Capitol, E1.028. Peggy Venable will be there to testify for spending caps. Public testimony is welcomed and encouraged!
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Tired of Renting Your Home from the Government? Attend the Property Tax Relief Hearing in Houston on Tuesday.
August 14, 2008
The House Select Committee on Property Tax Relief and Appraisal Reform chaired by Representative John Otto will meet on Tuesday August l9, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. at the North Harris College Performing Arts Theatre located at 2700 W Thorne (north of the Bush Continental Airport) in Houston.
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