Recent actions by state government have reinforced my belief that the state rarely does anything FOR the public; it only does things TO the public. The latest example is that Texas insurance commissioner Julia Rathgeber allowed the three largest home insurance companies to impose significant rate increases. Rathgeber could have challenged the companies’ rates but chose not to do so. The state’s insurance watchdog,  the Office of Public Insurance Counsel, objected, but Rathgeber allowed the new rates to take effect anyway.
This is not the only bad news. Texas has the highest road debt of any state. This is because, rather than raise taxes or revenue, the state went into debt to pay for new roads. It is conceivable that the state will soon be paying more to pay get rid of its debt than it spent to build the roads. But, at least state leaders can say they didn’t raise taxes. They just didn’t pay their debts, though a day of reckoning is sure to come.