Shapiro’s Energy Tax in Court

Welcome to Common Sense Weekly! This is the Commonwealth Foundation’s weekly news roundup of policy issues debated in Harrisburg and across Pennsylvania.

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PA Supreme Court Must Strike Down Shapiro’s Energy Tax

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard oral arguments about an energy tax looming over utility bills in the commonwealth: the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Pennsylvanians are already paying some of the highest electricity costs nationally and face economic uncertainty with this new massive energy tax—unless the courts stop it.

RGGI, a multistate cap-and-trade program, functions more like a backdoor carbon tax. By imposing added costs on carbon-emitting power plants, RGGI jacks up electricity costs, resulting in economy-wide price hikes for already-burdened ratepayers.

Pritzker and Shapiro are Two Progressive Peas in a Pod

In his recent Wall Street Journal feature about the presidential ambitions of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, John McCormick floated Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as an alternative candidate for the Democratic Party in the 2028 election. Unfortunately, not much daylight exists between these two governors.

Like Illinois, Pennsylvania continues to bleed residents. For 14 of the previous 15 years, the Keystone State has lost more residents than gained to interstate migration. Polling reveals that outgoing Pennsylvanians seek lower taxes, a more affordable cost of living, and better employment opportunities. Pennsylvania’s notoriously obtuse regulatory environment and uncompetitive tax environment—two policy areas Shapiro has broadly neglected—continue to drive Pennsylvania residents and businesses to more prosperous states like Texas and Florida.

TAKE ACTION: Tell Lawmakers to Reject a Public Transit Bailout

​​State taxpayers who don’t ride public transportation shouldn’t be on the hook to bail out Philadelphia’s public transit mismanagement. It’s that simple.  

Yet Gov. Shapiro’s budget sends nearly $300 million extra to public transit agencies to bail them out, on top of massive amounts of state tax dollars they are already getting.

Urge your lawmakers to reject a taxpayer-funded bailout. Send them a message today!

Democrats and Unions Just Opened the School Choice Door in Pennsylvania

Lost in the news of the historic school choice win in Texas and the U.S. Supreme Court case surrounding a religious charter school in Oklahoma was a surprising display of support among Democrats and unions for taxpayer funding of private education in Pennsylvania.

Five Facts Everyone Needs to Know About Medicaid

Medicaid is broken, and restoring the federal program to its original intent is crucial to saving this vital health care safety net. This requires fiscal sanity in Washington, D.C. Yet, few understand how Medicaid works—or doesn’t work—creating a lot of opportunity for scare tactics and misinformation.

Stay tuned for next week’s 
Common Sense Weekly.