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Bill King News
Houston Metro riders pay 4% of the cost of their rides
By Bill King | Sep 13, 2023
I think most people understand that taxpayers hugely subsidize those who ride transit. But with the collapse of ridership since the pandemic and Metro’s burgeoning expenses, the subsidy has reached an unprecedented level. In FY 2021-2022, Metro’s total expenses were $1.34 billion.
China's flagging economy
By Bill King | Sep 7, 2023
For most of the last decade, there has been a ubiquitous media narrative that it was just a matter of time before China’s economy surpassed the U.S. economy.
Fed policy is exacerbating housing inflation
By Bill King | Jun 8, 2023
It is often said the Federal Reserve’s policy tools, raising and lowering interest rates and adding or withdrawing liquidity to the financial system, are blunt tools.
The city of Houston is not starved for revenue
By Bill King | May 30, 2023
The Houston Chronicle editorial board has once again called for a referendum to end to what it and many others mischaracterize as a “revenue cap” on the City of Houston.
US Census shows that city of Houston population continues to flat line
By Bill King | May 21, 2023
The US Census just released its estimates of the population of cities and counties.
Double digit water rate increase for Houstonians
By Bill King | Apr 25, 2023
Many Houstonians recently received a letter from the City of Houston informing them that there would be an automatic increase of 9.2% to water and sewer rates, effective April 1. However, if you read the fine print carefully, the actual increase will be substantially more than that.
Metro has fewer passengers now than 25 years ago
By Bill King | Apr 5, 2023
Recently, I have been asking people if they think Metro is carrying more or fewer riders than it did 25 years ago.
2022 Harris County crime stats
By Bill King | Feb 27, 2023
During the last election, the severity of crime in Harris County was hotly debated.
Why Houston streets are so bad
By Bill King | Feb 8, 2023
I had a friend from Austin in town over the weekend. We were talking about her visit and she said, “I just can’t believe how bad the streets are here.”
Support for ranked-choice voting is growing
By Bill King | Nov 16, 2022
Voters in seven states voted on a record ten ranked-choice voting (RCV) initiatives last week, including proposal to use RCV for most elections in the state of Nevada.
Violent crime in Harris County
By Bill King | Sep 26, 2022
Last week, Houston Chronicle’s Jasper Scherer wrote a solid article on recent crime statistics in Harris County. It was a nuanced examination of the data, and he found a new Texas crime database I had not previously seen.
This is not bail reform - this is insanity
By Bill King | Sep 16, 2022
Last Wednesday, 37-year-old, Omar Ursin, went to pick up take-out for his family.
Mass shootings in America – Part 1
By Bill King | Sep 7, 2022
In 2017, two researchers, Jillian Peterson and James Densley, decided to conduct in-depth research on every mass shooting that had taken place in America.
Harris County funding for law enforcement
By Bill King | Sep 6, 2022
For the most part, I find the “defunding the police” debate little more than partisan rhetoric which serves more to obfuscate than elucidate any meaningful discussion about the appropriate level of law enforcement funding.
Harris County property tax revenues were up by 7% last year
By Bill King | Jul 18, 2022
The Harris County Auditor’s Office recently released its monthly report for February 2022, which is the County’s fiscal year end.
Suicide in America
By Bill King | Jun 27, 2022
Over the last 20 years, nearly a million Americans have taken their own lives.
Eight of 10 largest U.S. cities, including Houston, lost population in 2021
By Bill King | Jun 6, 2022
The U.S. Census Bureau released its 2021 population estimates for U.S. cities with a population of over 50,000.
'The lady doth protest too much, methinks'
By Bill King | May 24, 2022
In a jaw-dropping tweet and press conference last week, County Judge Lina Hidalgo said that she expects to be indicted in connection with the now infamous vaccine outreach contract scandal.At a press conference, Hidalgo went much further, calling out Harris County District Attorney and fellow Democrat, Kim Ogg, for conducting a “politically motivated” investigation.
Harris County Commissioners to consider $40,000 per month for no-bid contract for 'executive protection services'
By Bill King | Apr 25, 2022
On tomorrow’s Commissioners Court agenda (Item No. 201) is a request from the Purchasing Department to approve a no-bid contract to XMi Protection, LLC for three months of “executive protection services for the Harris County Office of County Administration” at a cost of $121,000.
County paid $885,000 on the vaccine contract after Hidalgo decided to cancel it
By Bill King | Apr 18, 2022
The more we learn about Harris County’s vaccine outreach contract, the more it stinks.