State Budget

Make Cardboard Checks Vanish

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 17, 2008

Senator Eichelberger’s stand against posing with cardboard checks when handing out taxpayer-funded grants is getting attention across the state, with a story in the Morning-Call, and…

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Taxes & Economy

Turnpike Lease Bids Due April 30

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 17, 2008

Governor Rendell has announced that bids for leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike will be due at or near the end of April. He also announced many of the terms…

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Education

New Education Blog

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 16, 2008

The Fordham Foundation has launched a new blog on education called Flypaper. A couple good posts in their first two days are this one on highlighting “surprising” story…

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Taxes & Economy

Candidate Surveys

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 16, 2008

Here are some candidate surveys for state legislative candidates: PA Right to Work Stop Teacher Strikes Democracy Rising Project Vote Smart…

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Taxes & Economy

Taxpayer Cost of Family Fragmentation

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 16, 2008

A new report on the taxpayer cost of family breakdown (i.e. divorce and family breakdown), putting the cost to PA taxpayers at over $2 billion annually. Click…

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Government Accountability

Book Review: Leave us Alone

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 15, 2008

I am blogging from Seattle, where I am attending a conference on government transparency. One of the best aspects of flying across the county is catching up on some reading.

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Taxes & Economy

What are “purely conservative principles”?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 15, 2008

Michael Smerconish comments on the “blueing” of the Philadelphia suburbs (HT: Grassroots PA). Smerconish dismisses the idea that residents are fleeing Philadelphia for the suburbs, noting that…

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Health Care

“Stupid Hicks” Oppose Big Government

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 15, 2008

I wasn’t going to post anything on Barack Obama’s comments about people “clinging” to guns and religion, until Philadelphia Daily News columnist John Baer offered his Obama can…

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Taxes & Economy

‘Government cannot spend its way out of a recession’

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 14, 2008

Tony Phyrillas summarizes the House Republicans’ tax reduction package unveiled today. The legislation includes:ยท Implementing Compete PA business tax relief, which includes removing the cap on net…

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