i m not suggesting these people are bad people but only that they have interests goals and objectives adverse to yours and mine; that is, given that You and I are average citizens. Corporate Welfare, Public–Private Partnership (PPP) TLR
As different in personality as these Contributors may be, most share two crucial characteristics: They are wealthy, and that wealth has been accumulated in businesses—from construction to alcohol—profoundly threatened by lawsuits. The existence of these lawsuits, in their minds, has less to do with corporate failings than with the greed of lawyers and what TLR describes as “the disengagement of the average citizen in the formulation of policy.”
 | SIMMONS, HAROLD CLARK | INDIVIDUAL | 20 | $1,310,000 |
| PERRY, BOBBY JACK (BOB) | INDIVIDUAL | 26 | $842,765 |
| TROUTT, KENNY A | INDIVIDUAL | 14 | $725,000 |
| ABBOTT, GREG | INDIVIDUAL | 3 | $675,000 |
| PERRY, DOYLENE | INDIVIDUAL | 13 | $495,000 |
| WARREN, KELCY LEE | INDIVIDUAL | 5 | $480,000 |
| PICKENS JR, THOMAS BOONE (T) | INDIVIDUAL | 14 | $473,674 |
| TEXANS FOR LAWSUIT REFORM | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 17 | $427,816 |
| HAMMOND, STEVAN A | INDIVIDUAL | 7 | $400,000 |
| NAU III, JOHN L | INDIVIDUAL | 15 | $398,564 |
| FRIEDKIN, THOMAS DAN | INDIVIDUAL | 7 | $394,705 |
| ROWLING JR, ROBERT B | INDIVIDUAL | 15 | $386,523 |
| RAY II, JAY RICHARD & CARISSA | INDIVIDUAL | 2 | $350,000 |
| REPUBLICAN STATE LEADERSHIP CMTE | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 10 | $325,000 |
| MCNAIR, ROBERT C (BOB) | INDIVIDUAL | 8 | $313,500 |
| LEININGER, JAMES RICHARD (JIM) | INDIVIDUAL | 15 | $299,008 |
| HUNT, RAY LEE | INDIVIDUAL | 12 | $295,000 |
| ANWAR, SYED JAVAID | INDIVIDUAL | 8 | $271,887 |
| Q INVESTMENTS | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 19 | $266,483 |
| WALTON, ALICE LOUISE | INDIVIDUAL | 9 | $265,000 |
| FULBRIGHT & JAWORSKI | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 33 | $258,815 |
| VINSON & ELKINS | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 19 | $255,910 |
| HIRSCH, LAURENCE E (LARRY) | INDIVIDUAL | 9 | $252,500 |
| TROUTT, KENNY A & LISA C | INDIVIDUAL | 1 | $250,000 |
| MCLANE JR., DRAYTON | INDIVIDUAL | 1 | $250,000 |
| PITCOCK JR, JAMES DOUGLASS (DOUG) | INDIVIDUAL | 7 | $245,000 |
| HILL JR, ALBERT GALATYN (AL) | INDIVIDUAL | 10 | $237,500 |
| KINDER, NANCY G | INDIVIDUAL | 3 | $225,000 |
| MORIAN, S REED | INDIVIDUAL | 10 | $222,939 |
| REES-JONES, TREVOR D | INDIVIDUAL | 5 | $222,500 |
| DUNCAN, DAN L | INDIVIDUAL | 10 | $222,259 |
| ANDREWS & KURTH | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 15 | $220,000 |
| AT&T | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 13 | $218,000 |
| FOSTER, PAUL L | INDIVIDUAL | 8 | $214,500 |
| RYAN & CO | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 6 | $210,000 |
| LINEBARGER GOGGAN BLAIR & SAMPSON | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 30 | $209,700 |
| MEWBOURNE, CURTIS W | INDIVIDUAL | 3 | $201,000 |
| HILES, NANCY & MARCUS | INDIVIDUAL | 1 | $200,000 |
| LATTIMORE JR, JOHN VICTOR | INDIVIDUAL | 12 | $195,000 |
| VALERO ENERGY | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 23 | $190,712 |
| RICHARD R SCOTT 1991 TRUST | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 4 | $190,000 |
| ELLIS JR, J RALPH | INDIVIDUAL | 11 | $180,000 |
| TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 15 | $174,500 |
| HOLMES, NED SWEENEY | INDIVIDUAL | 20 | $162,442 |
| PEROT JR, HENRY ROSS (H R) | INDIVIDUAL | 13 | $160,000 |
| NORTH CYPRESS MEDICAL CENTER OPERATING CO | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 2 | $155,908 |
| FLORES, JAMES C | INDIVIDUAL | 2 | $150,000 |
| GOOD GOVERNMENT FUND | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 13 | $150,000 |
| GREATER HOUSTON PHYSICIANS MEDICAL ASSOCIATION | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 2 | $150,000 |
| MARTIN III, RUBEN S | INDIVIDUAL | 16 | $147,425 |
| HEAVIN, HOWARD (GARY) | INDIVIDUAL | 18 | $145,442 |
| ALAMEEL, DAVID M | INDIVIDUAL | 4 | $140,000 |
| CROW, HARLAN R | INDIVIDUAL | 9 | $140,000 |
| MCCOMBS, BILLY JOE (RED) | INDIVIDUAL | 12 | $139,353 |
| ANSARY, HUSHANG | INDIVIDUAL | 6 | $138,500 |
| USAA | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 21 | $133,017 |
| HILLCO PARTNERS | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 14 | $132,720 |
| MITCHELL, LEE ROY | INDIVIDUAL | 8 | $132,000 |
| ODONNELL JR, PETER J | INDIVIDUAL | 15 | $130,000 |
| LOCKE LIDDELL & SAPP | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 16 | $129,797 |
| ANDREWS, BARRY G | INDIVIDUAL | 18 | $127,200 |
| STEDMAN, STUART WEST | INDIVIDUAL | 6 | $126,250 |
| TEXAS APARTMENT ASSOCIATION | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 12 | $126,000 |
| GOSS, RANDALL G | INDIVIDUAL | 12 | $123,745 |
| WARD, ROSS MICHAEL (MIKE) | INDIVIDUAL | 11 | $121,955 |
| FROST, HOLLOWAY E (HOLLY) | INDIVIDUAL | 4 | $120,000 |
| BANK OF AMERICA | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 15 | $118,000 |
| TEXAS OPTOMETRIC ASSOCIATION | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 13 | $117,000 |
| FERTITTA, TILMAN J | INDIVIDUAL | 6 | $116,000 |
| COLLINS, RICHARD H (DICK) | INDIVIDUAL | 14 | $112,000 |
| MCLANE JR, ROBERT DRAYTON | INDIVIDUAL | 2 | $110,000 |
| TEXAS MEDICAL ASSOCIATION | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 28 | $107,448 |
| MCNAIR SR, ROBERT C | INDIVIDUAL | 3 | $106,000 |
| Q INVESTMENTS | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 2 | $105,000 |
| FORD, GERALD J | INDIVIDUAL | 6 | $104,850 |
| GRIMES, WINDI | INDIVIDUAL | 4 | $102,500 |
| GREEHEY, WILLIAM E (BILL) | INDIVIDUAL | 3 | $102,500 |
| DANNENBAUM, JAMES D (JIM) | INDIVIDUAL | 11 | $102,500 |
| HILDEBRAND, JEFFERY D | INDIVIDUAL | 2 | $101,261 |
| BODENSTEDT, JAMES H (JIM) | INDIVIDUAL | 2 | $101,000 |
| CROW, TRAMMELL SIMONTON | INDIVIDUAL | 2 | $100,500 |
| BORDER HEALTH | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 2 | $100,000 |
| REPUBLICAN NATIONAL STATE ELECTIONS CMTE | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 1 | $100,000 |
| THIEL, PETER A | INDIVIDUAL | 1 | $100,000 |
| FLORES, CHERYL H (CHERIE) | INDIVIDUAL | 1 | $100,000 |
| DEASON, DARWIN A | INDIVIDUAL | 1 | $100,000 |
| HOLT, PETER M & JULIANNA HAWN | INDIVIDUAL | 1 | $100,000 |
| WALTRIP, ROBERT L (R L) | INDIVIDUAL | 2 | $100,000 |
| BASS, LEE M | INDIVIDUAL | 1 | $100,000 |
| HUDDLESTON, ALBERT D | INDIVIDUAL | 1 | $100,000 |
| RAPIER III, GEORGE M | INDIVIDUAL | 1 | $100,000 |
| SIMMONS, L E | INDIVIDUAL | 1 | $100,000 |
| KLEINHEINZ, JOHN B | INDIVIDUAL | 1 | $100,000 |
| RAY II, JAY RICHARD | INDIVIDUAL | 1 | $100,000 |
| HAUG, DAVID L | INDIVIDUAL | 2 | $100,000 |
| MOORE, ARDON E | INDIVIDUAL | 1 | $100,000 |
| MARLING, KIM & ROBERT | INDIVIDUAL | 1 | $100,000 |
| MITCHELL III, AMY & N MALONE | INDIVIDUAL | 1 | $100,000 |
| STEELE, BRANDON | INDIVIDUAL | 1 | $100,000 |
| MCGINNIS LOCHRIDGE & KILGORE | NON-INDIVIDUAL | 12 | $98,500 |
No. 84 - Ray Lee Hunt ($6 billion), owner of Hunt Oil, another massive, privately owned oil companies.
PAYDAY LOAN AND TITLE LOANS
Auto Title Loans and Pay Day Loans - The presumption is not that the industry’s business model is predatory, but that its customers are financial illiterates too stupid to read the fine print. The poor things. Legislators don’t understand that Those People are making a rational choice. Many of them understand that they’re being ripped-off, but paying too much is better than the alternative: having their electricity or phone cut off, not being able to buy groceries, getting evicted. The options available to working people trying to survive on wages are different from those available to wealthy legislators with mutual funds, mineral rights, blind trusts, 401(k)s, college savings accounts, and all the other taken-for-granted accoutrements of casual affluence. They don’t understand how the other half lives.
With the courts closed and the Legislature supine, the good people of TLR will have remade the world in their image, one in which there is no recourse for wrongdoing, one in which the powerful simply get their way.
