What’s in the Latest Tax Hike Plan?

  • December 17, 2015

Editors Note: updated (12/18) to reflect recent developments As reported by ABC 27 and others, Pennsylvania House leaders will hold a vote on an estimated $1.8 billion tax…

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Education

Wolf’s School Funding Cuts

  • James Paul
  • December 16, 2015

In a nutshell, Gov. Tom Wolf’s guiding philosophy on education reform is to spend more money on public schools. Embracing the repeatedly-debunked myth of education cuts under the previous…

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Health Care

Celebrating Crummy Care

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • December 15, 2015

Midnight is the enrollment deadline for the hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who want to remained insured through healthcare.gov. To no one's surprise, the rush to enroll has led to another…

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Regulation

House Pension Compromise Is Step in Right Direction

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • December 15, 2015

The pension reform bill is quickly making its way through the Pa. House. The latest iteration, SB 1071, mirrors the Senate's version (SB 1082; read our summary here),…

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State Budget

Spending Increases in the “Framework Budget”

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 15, 2015

As pointed out yesterday, one of the six sticky items in the Pennsylvania budget negotiations is how much taxpayer money to spend. The $30.788 billion “framework budget” passed by…

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Is Pennsylvania’s Income Tax Too Low?

  • December 14, 2015

Is an income tax hike in Pennsylvania’s future? Over the weekend, Charles Thompson of PennLive reported on the possibility, citing multiple sources who would not rule out a personal…

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State Budget

Six Unresolved Issues in PA Budget

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 14, 2015

The PA House is back in session this week, “sorting through hundreds of pages of legislation” related to the state budget. As Bob points out, while passing a…

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State Budget

Crisis Budgeting Isn’t Governing

  • December 13, 2015

By vetoing budget after budget, denying funds to schools and nonprofits, and even holding up scholarships for low-income students to attend schools of their choice, Gov. Wolf has done…

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Senate’s Watered-Down Wine Plan: A Missed Opportunity

  • December 10, 2015

Last night, the Senate Law and Justice Committee advanced legislation making modest changes to Pennsylvania's irrational alcohol laws. The good: Limited wine expansion. Establishments with a restaurant or…

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