Texas property taxes up ~75% under Abbott
Property taxes in Texas have increased approximately 75% under Governor Greg Abbott's tenure.
Where this was said
Gina Hinojosa on Running for Texas Governor
At 1:13:20 · chapter starts 1:09:15
Jon Favreau welcomes Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in Texas, for a wide-ranging conversation about her campaign. Hinojosa opens by invoking her upbringing in Brownsville on the Rio Grande border, where as a child she asked her father why there were beggars in Mexico but none when they crossed back into Texas — and his answer was the American dream, built on a strong middle class. She never planned to run for office; she made her husband promise they never would. But when Abbott's policies threatened to shut down her son's school, she ran for the school board and won. The Texas House came next. Now, she frames the entire governor's race as a fight against 'the Greg Abbott corruption tax' — a system in which donor money drives policy, Texans pay 75% more in property taxes, 100+ schools are closing, 150+ districts have gone to 4-day weeks, and Corpus Christi risks running out of water. [1] — Gina Hinojosa "Texas has 100+ schools closing, 150+ districts on 4-day weeks, the most uninsured children of any state, property taxes up 75%, and Corpus …" 1:12:10 Her father's decade as Texas Democratic Party chair taught her one primary lesson: she did not want that life. But the legislature showed her that all Texas's problems trace back to the same root cause.
The Greg Abbott Corruption Tax: Schools Closing, Uninsured Children, Water Shortages
Texas has 100+ schools closing, 150+ districts on 4-day weeks, the most uninsured children of any state, property taxes up 75%, and Corpus Christi potentially running out of water. Gina Hinojosa frames all of it as a single cause: the Greg Abbott corruption tax, where policy is driven by donor money and everyone else pays more and gets less.
100+ Texas schools closing, 150+ districts on 4-day weeks
Over 100 schools are shutting down in Texas and over 150 school districts have moved to 4-day weeks because they cannot afford to operate 5 days a week.
Similar snapshots
8 states have filed social media lawsuits
A total of 8 states have filed lawsuits against social media platforms, including an ongoing case in Tennessee, using product liability and public nuisance theories to seek accountability.
France built 56 nuclear plants in the 1970s
France built 56 nuclear plants in the 1970s and now has the cheapest energy in Europe, making it independent of Russian or Middle Eastern energy geopolitics.
Estonia has one tax form
Estonia has a single tax form, a law preventing the government from asking citizens for the same information twice, and a flat rate of tax — enabling competitive taxation.
Lisbon legalised drugs and slashed crime
Portugal's Lisbon, once a city with a major heroin problem, legalised drugs and redirected enforcement spending into rehabilitation and housing, dramatically reducing crime.
Boland Amendment vote: 411-0
The first Boland Amendment banning CIA and Defense Department funds for the Contras passed the House unanimously — yet the Reagan administration ignored it.
Saudi Arabia donated $32M to Contras
Over just two years, Saudi Arabia alone donated $32 million to the Contra rebels, giving loosely affiliated factions millions they had no way to spend on arms.
National Endowment: 52% program rate
The National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty raised $6.3 million for the Contras but only $3.3 million reached them — a shockingly low 52% program expense rate.
Secord & Hakim marked up arms 300%
Richard Secord and Albert Hakim marked up their arms shipments to the Contras by as much as 300%, making enormous personal profits from the covert operation.
Oliver North had zero covert experience
Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, tapped to run the entire covert Contra support operation, had no prior experience in covert operations whatsoever — he was learning as he went.
