Regulation

Government Strikes Out, Yet Keeps Playing

  • Colleen Hroncich
  • May 19, 2017

For state government, it isn’t ‘three strikes and you’re out.’ Or even four strikes. In fact, state officials get to play by their own rules when it comes to economic…

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Education

Can ESAs Coexist with Tax Credit Scholarships? Absolutely

  • James Paul
  • May 19, 2017

As lawmakers move closer to introducing education savings accounts (ESAs) in Pennsylvania, some may wonder how ESAs would coexist with the commonwealth’s private scholarship programs, the Educational…

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Education

School District Spending, Rainy Day Funds are Surging—Again

  • James Paul
  • May 18, 2017

Americans love Springtime—and for good reason! With Spring comes warm weather, blooming flowers, and baseball season. Most importantly, Spring is time for new data from Pennsylvania’s Department of Education—which yesterday…

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Education

Research: ESAs Boost Teacher Pay, Create Jobs, and Reduce Poverty

  • James Paul
  • May 17, 2017

Pennsylvania is among a dozen states pursuing education savings accounts—innovative school choice tools that empower parents to customize their child’s education. ESAs are flexible spending accounts, controlled by…

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Read More: Research: ESAs Boost Teacher Pay, Create Jobs, and Reduce Poverty

Education

For Most Teachers, Status Quo Pension a Lousy Deal

  • James Paul
  • May 16, 2017

Illuminating new research confirms what CF has been saying for years: Pennsylvania’s pension system is a bad deal for teachers. In EducationNext, authors Chad Aldeman and Kelly Robson…

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Taxes & Economy

Pennsylvania’s ‘Economic Iron Curtain’

  • Gordon Tomb
  • May 15, 2017

Imagine discovering buried treasure on your property. Suddenly, you can provide for your family, send your kids to college debt-free, pay off your parent’s mortgage, or fund your retirement. It…

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Regulation

Liquor “Modernization” a Financial Flop

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 12, 2017

Last year, the legislature enacted a law allowing restaurants and a small number of grocery stores to sell wine and “modernizing” the government liquor stores to “run more like…

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State Budget

Charting Pennsylvania’s Past Can Shape Its Future

  • May 12, 2017

Decades of poor policy decisions have contributed to Pennsylvania’s current fiscal struggles. Not coincidentally, as the size and scope of government has increased, so have the commonwealth’s financial and economic…

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Education

New SRC Member Slams Ghost Teaching

  • James Paul
  • May 10, 2017

Estelle Richman, appointed by Gov. Wolf to Philadelphia’s School Reform Commission (SRC), was unanimously confirmed to the position today by Pennsylvania’s Senate. The SRC is tasked with overseeing Philadelphia’s…

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