Dick Lavine is a Senior Fiscal Analyst at Every Texan, a Texas-based organization that advocates for policies that enable Texans of all backgrounds to thrive. In this episode, Dick and Brad speak about property taxes in Texas, including alternatives to the property tax, the school financing system, and economic development programs such as the Chapter 313 program and the recently passed House Bill-5.

Vance Ginn, Ph.D., is a free-market economist who extensively evaluates policies to let people prosper while equipping lawmakers and leaders nationwide with frameworks for practical solutions to modern problems.

Dr. Ginn is the founder and president of Ginn Economic Consulting and host of his Let People Prosper Show podcast. He is a senior fellow at Americans for Tax Reform, associate research fellow at American Institute for Economic Research, chief economist at Pelican Institute for Public Policy, and contributor at many other free-market think tanks across the country. In these roles, he provides high-quality research and trusted insights on how to improve human flourishing with policy considerations at federal, state, and local levels.

Paul Bettencourt is an American politician and businessman based out of Houston, Texas, who serves as a Republican member of the Texas State Senate from District 7. On January 13, 2015, he succeeded state Senator Dan Patrick of Houston, who successfully ran for Lieutenant Governor of Texas.

On the first episode of Texas Talks, Brad speaks with Russel Boening. Russel is a full-time farmer and rancher from Wilson County. He grows feed grains, cotton and wheat, as well as operates a dairy and a beef cattle operation with his brother near Floresville.

The fourth-generation farmer was elected president of Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) and Affiliated Companies in December 2014. He was first elected to the TFB board of directors in December 2008 and became secretary-treasurer in December 2011.

He was elected to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) board of directors in 2015. He currently serves on the AFBF executive committee.