Taxes & Economy

The Dark Side of Raising the Wage

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • March 8, 2016

Eunice Medina is a childcare worker living in Oakland, California. Last March, the city instituted a $12.55 minimum wage, leaving Eunice with fewer workdays and reduced hours. Across the…

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Regulation

Why Did Wolf Veto PERC Funding?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 7, 2016

Some positive news emerged last week, Gov. Wolf agreed—as part of a lawsuit filed by Rep. Steve Bloom and Rep. Seth Grove—to a temporary deal to keep the Public…

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Regulation

Should Economic Power Reside in Harrisburg?

  • March 4, 2016

Pennsylvania leads the nation…in corporate welfare. Since 2007, the commonwealth doled out more than $5.7 billion in economic subsidies to private organizations, which is just one of the many startling…

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Education

No, We’re Not Underfunding Public Schools

  • James Paul
  • February 29, 2016

My latest op-ed at PennLive debunks several school funding myths that continue to haunt Pennsylvania: While local school revenue is notably high (6th in the nation), state revenue…

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State Budget

No One Person is to Blame for Pennsylvania’s Problems

  • February 26, 2016

Proponents of bigger goverment have crafted a narrative that government has been cut to the bone. Pennsylvania needs massive tax hikes, they say, to repair the damage done by Gov. Corbett, whose slash-and-burn budgeting…

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Education

Ghost Teachers Cost Allentown Millions

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • February 25, 2016

Allentown School District is no stranger to financial troubles. The third largest public school system in the commonwealth has been in financial distress for years. In 2011, the district…

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Governor Wolf’s Sixth Tax Hike Plan

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 24, 2016

As noted in previous posts, Gov. Tom Wolf has proposed tax hike totaling $2.7 billion over a full year—or $850 per family of four. About half of this increase…

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Regulation

Addressing the Confusion on Compensation

  • February 23, 2016

Yesterday we issued a press release on public employee compensation, which is now causing quite a stir on social media. One commenter accused us of engaging in “shenanigans.” Another…

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