Opinion

Now that I’m not working full-time, I have found myself copying teenagers. I eat too many snacks, watch too much television, and spend an inordinate amount of time watching videos on my phone. I started out just watching kittens and babies, moved on to comedians and musicians trying to make a name for themselves, and lately, I’ve gotten hooked on people who buy thrift store items and “sell them for a profit.” That’s the phrase they use.

The Texas House passed a bill promising $17 billion in tax relief, a measure that is at odds with the Senate’s tax break plan, according to the Austin American- Statesman. The House bill would lower by half a home’s cap on appraisal increases.

They generally give us the benefit of the doubt even when we are dead wrong, wagging their tails while licking the hands that feed them. In their way, they pledge unending devotion, no matter what.

When one is an expert at most things, then it is one’s duty to step up and volunteer to use those talents when needed. This is especially true if one has opened one’s big mouth too many times. As a retired person, doting grandmother, and perfect idiot, I opened my mouth and agreed to hem my granddaughter’s prom dress.

The Texas House approved a $302 billion budget last week that included an amendment prohibiting the use of state money on private school tuition — a major setback to Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to establish a school voucher system. The Austin American-Statesman reported that more than 20 Republicans joined nearly all House Democrats to pass the amendment, while 11 lawmakers voted present.

During growing-up years, I don’t remember hearing much talk about splashing on sweet-smelling stuff. Surely it was poetic injustice, what with cotton-picking heating up many of my kin who labored in the fields, not to mention other farm chores that caused streams of sweat that seemed inevitable during half of each calendar year.

Not everyone who reads this column is old but let me warn all you young’uns… your time is coming. Until a short time ago, I was beautiful, healthy, rich, and able to leap tall buildings with a single bound. Well, maybe not, but as compared to right now… I was super woman.

The Lone Star State continues to lead the nation in jobs added with 58,200 new positions in February, bringing the state to nearly 14 million total nonfarm jobs, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. February also marked two full years of uninterrupted job growth in the state.

Higher education gets news coverage in both mass and social media, and much, I’m sure, is true. Technology is changing it at warp speed, and the old descriptions we used to toss about no longer fit.

The Texas Senate last week unanimously approved a $16.5 billion package to lower property taxes and inject billions of dollars into public schools. As reported by the Texas Tribune, the three separate bills require the state to send at least $5.38 billion to public schools while at the same time raising the state’s homestead exemption from $40,000 to $70,000, with an additional $20,000 exemption for homeowners 65 and older.