Health Care

Medicaid Big Threat to States

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • July 23, 2012

A new study by the State Budget Crisis Task Force found Medicaid is one of the six biggest threats facing states. That should be no surprise to our readers.

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Welfare

NYT Blasts Corbett, Misses Facts

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • July 20, 2012

Recently, the New York Times ran an editorial that willfully neglected to mention the utter failure of more welfare spending to reduce poverty in Pennsylvania. The editorial was long on…

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Taxes & Economy

Happy Cost of Government Day 2012

  • July 20, 2012

Today Pennsylvania reached its Cost of Government Day, according to Americans for Tax Reform’s annual report. In other words, it took the average Keystone worker until July 20, or…

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Public Union Democracy

Unions Bankrupt Scranton, Who’s Next?

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • July 19, 2012

The City of Scranton is broke. It can’t pay its employees and faces a budget deficit of about $16 million this year, thanks to a toxic combination of declining…

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Regulation

Moody’s Sounds the Four Alarms

  • Nathan Benefield
  • July 17, 2012

Yesterday, Moody’s Investor Services downgraded Pennsylvania’s bond rating one level. The downgrade implies Pennsylvania bonds are riskier than previously assessed, and it could make it more expensive for the…

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Regulation

Map of the Day: Alcohol-Related Traffic Fatalities

  • July 17, 2012

Pennsylvania’s government-run liquor monopoly doesn’t make citizens safer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data on alcohol-attributable deaths ranks Pennsylvania middle of the pack in terms of deaths per…

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Welfare

State Flexibility Essential to Preserving the Safety Net

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • July 17, 2012

Last week, I noted a number of states whose governors were refusing the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act because of the costs the expansion would impose. Over…

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Government Accountability

Union Privileges Fuel More Money in Politics

  • Nathan Benefield
  • July 16, 2012

Turns out not everything is bigger in Texas. The Lone Star State has twice the population of Pennsylvania, yet when it comes to political spending, Pennsylvania’s labor unions can outgun…

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Regulation

Popping Popular Privatization Myths

  • July 16, 2012

When short on facts, blow a lot of hot air. That’s the strategy of liquor store union boss Wendell Young IV. Wendell and I were panelists on a recent Delaware County…

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