Taxes & Economy

PA Senate Budget by the Numbers

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 5, 2009

Jake Corman, PA Senate Appropriations Chairman, has introduced the Senate Republicans version of the state budget (SB 850). The $27.3 billion General Fund budget represents a $1.7 billion reduction…

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Taxes & Economy

Industry Leaders Fact Check Misleading Severance Tax Report

  • May 5, 2009

Last week, the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center (PBPC) released a report advocating for a severance tax on natural gas and other extracted natural resources. In response, three of the…

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Regulation

Stimulus Money to Help Deal with Pension Crisis?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 4, 2009

A number of Pennsylvania House Republicans are proposing using a portion of the federal stimulus money to pay into PSERS, the retirement fund for school employees.  The $435 million…

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Taxes & Economy

Bailouts and the Press

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • May 4, 2009

History has a way of repeating itself and all these comparisons between today’s recession and the great depression are sometimes eerily similar. Economic conditions and the popularity of the internet…

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Taxes & Economy

Obama’s New Business Tax Scheme

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 4, 2009

President Obama is set to unveil a plan to crack down on cabinet members corporations that, in his view, are avoiding paying their share in taxes.  Basically the plan…

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Education

Weighted Student Funding Formula

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 4, 2009

Reason Foundation has a new yearbook and resources on weighted student funding.  Weighted student funding is a way for school districts, and states, to fund students instead of school…

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State Budget

Pennsylvania Budget Deficit Grows by Nearly $1 Billion

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 1, 2009

Both the Pennsylvania House Democrats and Republicans are reporting an April General Fund revenue shortfall of $941.5 million. I am still waiting for the report from the Department of…

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Taxes & Economy

Over $4 Million in PA Unemployment Fraud

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 1, 2009

WGAL has a story on reports from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry of over $4 million in fraud in unemployment compensation benefits.  You can assume there is…

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State Budget

PA House Dems to Introduce Budget

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 1, 2009

Dwight Evans, chair of the Pennsylvania House Appropriations Committee, is scheduled to introduce the 2009-10 budget legislation “using the Rendell budget proposal as the basis.” They are also estimating…

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