Taxes & Economy
Chart: A Decade of State Spending Growth
State policymakers agreed on a budget deal that includes $27.7 billion in General Fund spending. This budget deal represents a $6.8 billion, or 36.1 percent, increase in General Fund spending…
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Child Rescue Plan Underway, EITC is Lifeline
As we come down to the wire in the Pennsylvania legislature’s 2012 session, the Senate revealed the latest details (subscription required) of how an expanded opportunity scholarship program would…
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Read More: Child Rescue Plan Underway, EITC is LifelineEducation
Temple Tuition Tamp-Down Shows Wake-Up Calls Work
During last year’s budget season, I was pretty critical of Temple University for raising tuition by ten percent while its administrators joined in the Chicken Little routine (“The sky…
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Read More: Temple Tuition Tamp-Down Shows Wake-Up Calls WorkCriminal Justice Reform
Pennsylvania Passes Landmark Corrections Reform
On Monday, Pennsylvania passed landmark legislation to replace decades of ineffective and expensive corrections policies with reforms that make our communities safer and save taxpayers money. Commonwealth Foundation thanks…
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Read More: Pennsylvania Passes Landmark Corrections ReformHealth Care
Constitutional, but Still Unaffordable, Unsustainable and Nonsensical
My response to today’s Supreme Court of the United States ruling on President Obama’s healthcare reform law: Just because something is ruled Constitutional doesn’t make it affordable, sustainable or…
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Read More: Constitutional, but Still Unaffordable, Unsustainable and NonsensicalEducation
Save Kids, Save Schools, Save Our Future
Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit program is already transforming lives and schools throughout our state. In some of the worst neighborhoods and schools—the schools where kids are 5-times…
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Read More: Save Kids, Save Schools, Save Our FutureTaxes & Economy
Welfare is Number One in New Budget
Pennsylvania taxpayers will once again spend more on welfare than any other department in the General Fund, including education, according to newly released budget spreadsheets (based on the tentative…
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Doubling of Education Spending a Myth?
From 1996-97 to 2010-11, Pennsylvania public school spending increased 93.4 percent, according to state Department of Education data. Yet Rep. James Roebuck says this increase is a…
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Would You Rather Kids Share Books, or Get Booked?
I’m writing right now from the road, specifically from the poorest city in America: Reading, Pennsylvania. Reading is one of the cities mentioned in today’s CF news release pointing…
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