Government Accountability

Something Pennsylvania Government Does Pretty Well

  • Nathan Benefield
  • August 19, 2015

A new report on state spending transparency websites gives Pennsylvania’s site—PennWatch—a solid ‘B’ grade. Created through legislation passed in 2011, PennWatch offers data—down to the “checkbook level”—on state…

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State Budget

Audio: The Real Danger of a Severance Tax

  • Jonathan Reginella
  • August 19, 2015

The Pennsylvania state budget remains long overdue, mostly due to Gov. Wolf’s misconstrued idea of compromise. He continues to insist on a severance tax to increase education spending, but…

Media

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Public Union Democracy

Pension Reform to Protect my Kids

  • August 19, 2015

Legislative leaders have rightly rejected a so-called pension reform “compromise,” a plan that fails to address the problems in our pension system and continues to put our kids and grandkids on…

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Education

Wolf to Chester Families: “There is No Escape”

  • James Paul
  • August 19, 2015

Tom Wolf’s record on public education is well documented. The governor is hostile to schools of choice, cozy to union interests, and wedded to…

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Union Leader Still Flouting the Law

  • Nathan Benefield
  • August 17, 2015

Yesterday’s Post-Gazette featured a story highlighting the fact that Wendell Young still isn’t registered to lobby, and UFCW 1776 is underreporting their expenses: Mr. Young isn’t registered as…

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Regulation

Gov. Wolf’s So-Called Compromise

  • Nathan Benefield
  • August 17, 2015

Gov. Wolf proposed a new “compromise” on pensions and the budget last week, according to news reports. Here is what that compromise includes: A defined contribution plan for new…

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Education

Pension Reform to Protect my Kids

  • August 17, 2015

I chose teaching because I enjoy interacting with students and helping them learn.  My science classes show students that certain actions yield predictable results.  With this in mind, I am…

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Government Accountability

New Contract, Still no Transparency

  • Nathan Benefield
  • August 14, 2015

The newest state contract with AFSCME—the union representing more than 30,000 state workers—was signed earlier this week. The contract was agreed to in April, then ratified by…

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4.6 Billion Is the Loneliest Number

  • Gina Diorio
  • August 12, 2015

Gov. Tom Wolf and the state legislature have agreed on legislation 39 times this year, the Pittsburgh Tribune notes. But when it came time to vote on Wolf’s $4.6…

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