Greg Abbott’s latest campaign pitch is basically the political equivalent of promising free ice cream forever while throwing your wallet into a bonfire. His big idea? Eliminate school property taxes for homeowners entirely. Don’t worry about how schools get paid—apparently Texas’s magical never-ending surplus fairy will handle that part.
This bold dream, which would cost somewhere around “roughly all the money,” requires Texas voters to change the constitution and commit the state to an infinite series of tax cuts fueled by vibes, federal COVID leftovers, and Abbott’s confidence that the economy will stay booming forever. Because nothing bad ever happens in Texas, right?
Budget experts—aka The People Who Actually Do Math—say the plan is unrealistic, expensive, and potentially catastrophic. Even Republican tax wonks are quietly backing away like it’s a raccoon in the kitchen. But some conservative groups are thrilled, because…lower taxes! Who cares what gets cut later—schools, healthcare, roads, firefighters, maybe oxygen. We’ll figure it out when the recession hits.
Oh, and renters and businesses? Don’t worry, they get nothing. They’ll keep paying school taxes while homeowners get a constitutional golden ticket. So I guess “empowering everyday Texans” means…only the ones who own a house. Everybody else can go eat sales tax.
Sure, we might have to choose between schools and potholes, but in Lubbock we’ve already chosen potholes, so what’s the big deal?
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/12/09/greg-abbott-schools-property-tax-cut-election-2026/
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/12/11/greg-abbott-property-tax-appraisal-plan-election-2026/