State Budget

PA Business Survey: Bad Budget Deal

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 21, 2009

The Lincoln Institute released its Fall Business Climate Survey for Pennsylvania (mostly surveying small business owners). Click here for results and here for a summary of findings. Not…

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Government Accountability

Common Sense on Legislative Size

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 20, 2009

Paul Jacob’s latest “Common Sense” deals with the size of the Pennsylvania Legislature.  Jacob advises: [D]on’t cut the size of the legislature. But by all means cut the…

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Regulation

WAMs Strike Again – Allentown Gets Hockey Rink

  • October 20, 2009

Despite the numerous studies concluding subsidized sport arenas provide little to no overall economic benefits to communities – Allentown is getting a minor league hockey rink built with at least …

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Public Union Democracy

Political Power of Public Sector Unions

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 20, 2009

The Weekly Standard has a good piece on the growing political power of public sector unions, with a short history lesson, and many of the consequences (e.g.

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Government Accountability

Why Tort Reform is Ignored in the Health Care Debate

  • October 19, 2009

The discussion surrounding tort reform is often subdued when talking about health care costs. Trial lawyers, like the American Association for Justice, claim that undermine litigation costs as a part…

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Taxes & Economy

Map of State and Local Sales Tax Rates

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 19, 2009

The Tax Foundation has a new map showing sales tax rates by state – including both the state rate and the average local rate. With the local included, Pennsylvania…

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Health Care

Health Care “Facts” Disputed

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 19, 2009

Michael Cannon and Ramesh Ponnuru have an editorial challenging the assertions of Obama on health care.  The article came out a few weeks ago, and specifically cites claims made…

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State Budget

Facts About Spending Limits from Colorado

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 16, 2009

Voters in Maine will have the opportunity to vote on a referendum limiting state spending and tax increases. The Maine Heritage Policy Center released a new paper offering…

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Taxes & Economy

Job Losses in Pennsylvania Counties

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 16, 2009

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released data on county employment and wages today.  It is a little dated (March 2009) relative to national data, but does offer a profile…

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