Taxes & Economy

Pennsylvanians Prosper as New Yorkers Pine

  • Gordon Tomb
  • January 26, 2016

They are similar in size, resources and population, but the past few years have brought prosperity to Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania and stagnation to Delaware County, New York. The big difference?…

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State Budget

Demographics Destined to Hold Pennsylvania Back?

  • January 25, 2016

Last year, Pennsylvania lost one person to another state every 12.5 minutes. In total, the state’s net domestic migration rate was negative: 41,607 more people moved out of Pennsylvania than…

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Education

Evaluating Pennsylvania’s Charter School Law

  • James Paul
  • January 25, 2016

In 2015, several states took action to improve the functionality of their public charter school laws. Unfortunately for Pennsylvania’s 130,000 charter students—as well as the thousands of students on currently…

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State Budget

Despite Name-Calling, Wolf’s Tax Hike is the Largest

  • Nathan Benefield
  • January 22, 2016

The Wolf administration continues to deny basic facts about their original proposed tax hike. Instead of responding with facts, the governor's staff relies on name-calling and personal attacks. The Altoona Mirror…

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Public Union Democracy

Attack Ads Funded by Taxpayer-Collected Union Dues

  • Gina Diorio
  • January 22, 2016

Seeing a political attack ad on TV is nothing new. You probably roll your eyes and change the channel. But what if you learned you unwittingly helped put that ad…

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Criminal Justice Reform

2012 Corrections Reform Still Paying Off

  • Nathan Benefield
  • January 20, 2016

Yesterday, Gov. Wolf and Secretary of Corrections John Wetzel announced that Pennsylvania’s prison population declined last year by the largest amount since 1971. The number of imates declined by…

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Public Union Democracy

Voting for Your Union

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • January 19, 2016

Imagine if a political party could stay in power for four decades without facing reelection. Thankfully, we have regular elections in this country. But for Pennsylvania teachers, this is reality.

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Education

Wolf’s $3 Billion Education Cut

  • James Paul
  • January 18, 2016

Upon finally approving the majority of a state budget, Gov. Tom Wolf admonished the General Assembly for “cutting $95 million from public schools.” Yet it is the governor himself who…

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Education

Do Record-High Graduation Rates Matter?

  • James Paul
  • January 18, 2016

In America’s high schools, test scores are stagnant while graduation rates are soaring. How can both be true? A December press release from the Department of Education…

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