THE ECONOMIST: Road work ahead
The U.S. Senate recently passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill in a rare and much needed bipartisan action to inject funds to fix and...
THE ECONOMIST: Gigantic gridiron gyrations
Over 40+ years and thousands of projects, I have examined pandemics, natural disasters, oil market collapses, financial meltdowns, and all manner of mayhem. One...
THE ECONOMIST: Outlook for Texas metropolitan area economies
The economic upheaval of 2020 impacted all corners of Texas. As centers of employment, the largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) experienced the bulk of...
THE ECONOMIST: This stuff matters!
CNBC regularly ranks the top states for business — and the winner was … not Texas! The Lone Star State came in fourth after...
THE ECONOMIST: Oil’s well!
The energy sector remains a key driver of the Texas economy. It dominates state exports; drilling, production, transportation, and processing activity involve substantial investments;...
THE ECONOMIST: Falling STAAR
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) recently released results of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) for spring 2021. (See https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/2021-staar-analysis-presentation.pdf for...
THE ECONOMIST: What a difference a year made
A year ago, the economy had begun to stabilize after two months of cataclysmic decline due to COVID-19 and the massive response. Almost overnight,...
THE ECONOMIST: Inflated inflation influence
Calm down! Recent inflation reports have caused alarm and, frankly, overreaction. The overall Consumer Price Index increased again in May, bringing the rate over...
THE ECONOMIST: The session
The recent legislative session will not soon be forgotten. The focus was perpetually on anything but initiatives required to move Texas forward. Some high...
THE ECONOMIST: The outlook for the Texas economy
With COVID-19 cases continuing to fall and vaccination rates rising, things are beginning to feel a bit more normal. The economy is growing, and...