Education

Who are Teacher Unions Protecting?

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • April 17, 2012

The Patriot-News published my letter that questions whether teacher unions protect teachers. Union lobbying to create an unsustainable pension program is directly connected to the Central Dauphin School Board’s…

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Public Union Democracy

Union Party Speaks: Defend Union Agenda

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 16, 2012

We’ve mentioned many times that the real party controlling the Pennsylvania legislature is not the Republican Party, but rather the Union Party. Today, in a story by the Pittsburgh…

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Health Care

Medicaid Flexibility: The Key to a Sustainable Safety Net

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • April 13, 2012

As we inch towards the state budget deadline, welfare spending reductions in Pennsylvania continue to be contentious. The reductions that are proposed concentrate on 20 percent of spending, since…

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State Budget

Chart of the Day: Pennsylvania State Debt Payments

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 12, 2012

The chart of the day shows the growth in Pennsylvania General Fund Debt service over the past decade: from $350 million in fiscal year 2002-03 to $1.1 billion in Gov.

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Education

School Choice: What the Research Says

  • April 11, 2012

As the benefits of current school choice programs become clearer, it is time to take our eyes off the past and look towards the future. Jay Green argues that…

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Education

Good Teachers Matter

  • April 10, 2012

According to the findings of a National Bureau of Economic Research report, teaching quality is closely reflected by test scores—when looking at a teacher’s impact on students’s test score gains…

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Government Accountability

Think Government Union Dues aren’t Used for Politics? Think Again

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 10, 2012

Government unions often defend their dues—and the fact that taxpayers subsidize the collection of dues—by claiming dues cannot be used for politics. That is not the case. Union dues cannot…

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Health Care

Medicaid Waivers & the Looming Fiscal Crisis

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • April 9, 2012

In the waning days of 2008, the state of Rhode Island secured a global waiver for its Medicaid program. The waiver exempted the state from many federal rules and mandates in exchange for a…

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State Budget

Welfare Sec. Alexander Discusses Mending the Safety Net on the BOX

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • April 5, 2012

On the latest edition of The BOX, Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare Secretary Gary Alexander takes time to discuss proposed welfare reforms. Despite accusations of wanting to “throw the…

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