Why do Texas Republicans hate capitalism? And schools?

First, it's true that they do.

ANY caps on property tax increases, given that housing values are driven in large part by market sales, are anti-capitalistic. The new SB2 and HB2 just double down on that.

The housing market isn't necessarily rational, but no capitalist market is, so that's not an excuse.

Other parts of the two bills are also anti-capitalist. They're designed, as were the 2017 bills upon which they're clearly based, to hamstring and browbeat appraisal districts and also to make it yet easier to challenge appraisals, especially for corporations.

Now, at this point, some libertarian types will applaud me for pointing out that of course, Texas corporations aren't capitalists. (At the same time, the Libertarian Party's most recent Lite Guv candidate in Texas proposed to get rid of property taxes entirely without offering a replacement, showing that, just when you think nobody can be stupider than a Republican, a Libertarian will soon pop up.)

In reality, they are indeed capitalists and I did a head fake.

What the Texas GOP, and what capitalism-oriented parties in general, hate is non-crony capitalism. (You, too, Dems.) Why? Because it's outside their control.

Before you Lib(ertarian)tards get all pious, what you hate is capitalism too when you go on your "No True Scotsman" tangents. See, there is NO invisible hand as part of "the market" not being rational. Ergo, markets are open to manipulation; they even beg for it. In short, crony capitalism is really capitalism's default state.

Thanks for playing, and getting played.

Back to the Texas GOP.

As in 2017, school finance reform is missing from the picture. Gov. Strangeabbott, Lite Gov Danny Goeb and Speaker Dennis (Has a bee in his) Bonnen said nothing about school finance reform last Thursday, as TASB and others quickly noted.

Per comments above, we already know Libertarians hate schools, of course.


In addition, the bills appear designed, like their 2017 predecessors, to browbeat local appraisal districts and local appraisal review boards, and to make it even easier than is currently the case, for corporations, even more than homeowners, to appeal their reviews. This is the big end game.