Health Care

Try to Reform Health Care

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 3, 2009

The Senate Republican’s unveiled their caucus’s plan on health care, which is largely the same as they had last year, and thus my criticism of that plan still…

Media

Read More: Try to Reform Health Care

State Budget

Even more reasons to oppose the stimulus

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 3, 2009

NTU’s blog has a long list (via Tom Coburn) of wasteful spending and bad policy in the federal “stimulus” bill, including: $2 billion earmark to re-start FutureGen,…

Media

Read More: Even more reasons to oppose the stimulus

Taxes & Economy

Pennsylvania’s Revenue Shortfall Climbs

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 2, 2009

The PA Department of Revenue released the January Revenue Collections this afternoon.  We’ll have the full “Deficit Watch” up on the website tomorrow, but here are the quick…

Media

Read More: Pennsylvania’s Revenue Shortfall Climbs

Education

Overspending Schools Don’t Need More Taxpayer Funding

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 2, 2009

NYTimes article (registration required) looks at how much of the federal “stimulus” money would go to school spending, particularly for school construction.  Critics and supporters alike…

Media

Read More: Overspending Schools Don’t Need More Taxpayer Funding

Education

More Subsidies for Higher Education

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • February 2, 2009

Governor Rendell is proposing an increase of $128 million in tuition aide for students at PASSHE schools. There’s no question that skyrocketing tuition is hitting families hard, but throwing…

Media

Read More: More Subsidies for Higher Education

Taxes & Economy

Should government get bigger, or smaller?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 2, 2009

Richard Rahn has a commentary for the Cato Institute on the “optimal size of government”.  He takes the premise that we need some level of government (to protect our…

Media

Read More: Should government get bigger, or smaller?

Taxes & Economy

501 added to Pa. payroll since state hiring freeze

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 1, 2009

AP story on the 501 employees hired since the hiring freeze, including several over $100,000 (former legislator Dan Surra, for whom a new $95,000 position was created, just missed…

Media

Read More: 501 added to Pa. payroll since state hiring freeze

Taxes & Economy

The Super Bowl (Economic Version): Phoenix vs. Pittsburgh

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 1, 2009

Harold Miller has an interesting blog post, featuring a few graphs, comparing the economic growth of the Pittsburgh region to the Phoenix region – the two hometowns for tonight’s…

Media

Read More: The Super Bowl (Economic Version): Phoenix vs. Pittsburgh

Regulation

PA Judge Overturns State Mercury Rule

  • Nathan Benefield
  • January 31, 2009

A Pennsylvania judge ruled that a state-specific regulation on mercury emissions (one that was put into place by the Department of Environmental Protection over the objections of many…

Media

Read More: PA Judge Overturns State Mercury Rule