Patrolling Police Spending
The study justifying substantial increases in Austin's police staffing doesn't present any evidence that its recommendations are the most effective way to reduce crime.
From the East to the West
Solving the involuntary displacement of East Austin's long-term residents requires a new shared prosperity approach. Modernizing Austin's housing development policies and increasing local affordable housing subsidies will ensure Central and West Austin do their fair share to meet regional housing demand.
East Austin is changing.
Census data reveals that "near …
[MORE]Courthouse Steps
Yesterday, I attended AURA's panel on the proposed Travis County Civil and Family Complex. This project is commonly referred to as the "new Courthouse". What follows is my transcription of the panel's discussion.
Susan Somers, an AURA Board member, started the panel discussion by introducing AURA and its history.
Dan …
[MORE]Save Our Mansions exemption fuels inequality
The percentage-based homestead exemption is an unfair tax shift that will disproportionately benefit the wealthiest homeowners. More effective affordability alternatives should be pursued instead.
The "Save our Mansions" homestead exemption reduces taxes based on a percentage of a homestead's value. Therefore, a $2,000,000 homestead value would get ten …
[MORE]Mansion Exemption Alternatives
I asked a dozen of the most policy-minded critics of the "mansion exemption" for alternative ways of spending approximately $30 million annually to boost Austin's affordability. Here are the four main themes that came across in their responses.
