Act 44 & Transportation Funding

nate — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:00:00 -0400

In July 2007, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed and Governor Ed Rendell signed Act 44. This legislation authorized the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) to increase tolls on the Turnpike; to take control of Interstate 80 by entering into a lease agreement with Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT); to begin tolling Interstate 80; and to issue billions of dollars in bonded debt. Following are some answers to frequently asked questions about Act 44 of 2007 and transportation funding.

Open the Books on Government Spending

nate — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Imagine a website where you could instantly find information about the salary of your legislator or the amount of money your school district spends on textbooks. Think of a database where you could easily see how well (or poorly) government programs are performing and the amount of revenue various taxes are generating.

Turnpike Commission Triples Act 44 Debt from $14 Billion to $44 Billion

nate — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:51:52 -0400

Unpaid debt increases from $0 to $73 billion under PTC’s revised plans

HARRISBURG, PA — Today, the Commonwealth Foundation presented an analysis of the proposed debt under the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission’s proposal to the federal government to toll Interstate-80.

Confusing Income and Wealth

nate — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Which of the following families is "richer"?

We Need a National Market for Health Insurance

nate — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Much to our surprise, the Census Bureau reported yesterday that the number of people in the U.S. with health insurance actually increased by 3.6 million last year. That's the good news. The bad news is that nearly three million of them got their coverage through government programs.

The slide toward a government-dominated, taxpayer-supported health sector will continue unless the 45.7 million Americans who don't have insurance now are given more opportunities to buy private coverage.

Turnpike Commission Family Tree has Deep Roots

nate — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:16:08 -0400

Commonwealth Foundation provides visuals of the power, patronage and politics of the PTC

Politicizing Privatization Isn't In Taxpayers' Best Interests

nate — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:47:11 -0400

Indiana has benefited from toll road lease and could gain from Gov. Daniels' lottery plan

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels' has proposed leasing the Hoosier Lottery to fund college scholarships and various education programs. His opponent this November, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jill Long Thompson, recently announced that if elected, she would revisit and possibly reverse some of Daniels' privatization initiatives, including the $3.8 billion lease of the Indiana Toll Road (ITR) in 2006.

Fixing Pennsylvania’s Medicaid Problems

nate — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:10:00 -0400

Medicaid, the joint federal/state program that was created to provide health care for the poor, is growing at an unsustainable rate and threatens both state and federal budgets. In 2000, Medicaid represented 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is projected to rise to 9% by 2075. This, combined with unfunded liabilities in Social Security and Medicare, will require a devastating doubling of federal taxes and enormous increases in state funding. In 1980, Medicaid represented around 12% of Pennsylvania’s state budget. As of 2007, that total had increased to almost 26%.

Is the Free Market Perfect?

nate — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

There has been a lot of loose talk in liberal circles that the current housing crunch, inflation, and spike in energy prices somehow prove that the free market is fatally flawed.

Markets haven’t worked, the argument goes, so bigger government is surely the answer.

Do Corporations Really Pay No Taxes?

jessica — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

By most accounts, 2005 was a good year for the U.S. economy. The nation added more than 2 million jobs and the unemployment rate averaged less than 5 percent. Gross Domestic Product grew robustly, and corporate profits soared nearly 18 percent. But few people, including many in the media who regularly report on the economy, understand what happened below the surface to produce those surprisingly good results. Consider, for instance, job growth.