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Fairness
The Questions Chavez-DeRemer Must Answer
Originally published at RealClearPolicy Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) faces an uphill battle—and deservedly so. As President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for labor secretary, Chavez-DeRemer has both sides of the aisle…
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Education
How Pennsylvania House Democrats may derail Shapiro’s national ambitions
Read More: How Pennsylvania House Democrats may derail Shapiro’s national ambitions
Education
Allentown students need more than strategic plans, they need choices
Read More: Allentown students need more than strategic plans, they need choicesEnergy
Energy Shows Why Regulatory Reform is Key
Right now in Pennsylvania —the second-largest energy-producing state behind Texas— Governor Wolf is using executive action to attempt to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). This interstate…
Commentary
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No, Pennsylvania Lawmakers can’t Pick their own Electors
The truth is, there is tradition around voting in Pennsylvania, but, more importantly, there are laws. Those laws and the powers they delegated to Pennsylvanians in the voting booth should…
Commentary
Read More: No, Pennsylvania Lawmakers can’t Pick their own Electors
Op-Ed: Gov. Wolf’s COVID-19 restrictions will decimate small businesses across the state
Pasquale and Anna have 30 employees who rely on them to earn a living. That’s why their family decided to keep paying all their employees and not to take any…
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: Gov. Wolf’s COVID-19 restrictions will decimate small businesses across the state
Liquor Monopoly Can’t Make the PLCB Successful
After closing state stores, the PLCB attempted online sales, but the website was unable to handle the increased traffic. As a “solution,” the PLCB implemented lottery-like randomization to limit online purchases and…
Commentary
Read More: Liquor Monopoly Can’t Make the PLCB SuccessfulEnergy
Op-Ed: Pennsylvania Governor’s Climate Regulations Draw Bipartisan Opposition as Hearings Begin
The Wolf administration’s own estimates reportedly show that the tax from selling allowances would generate $2.36 billion over the next decade, which energy consumers would pay through their…
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: Pennsylvania Governor’s Climate Regulations Draw Bipartisan Opposition as Hearings Begin
Op-Ed: Pennsylvania Passes the Buck on State Budget
Wolf and the legislature didn’t consider these eventualities when they completed the budget. Instead, during this bleak holiday season, they set up struggling families for a bigger tax bill next…
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: Pennsylvania Passes the Buck on State BudgetEnergy
Op-Ed: Was fracking to blame for Pa. Democrats’ “faceplant”?
Biden’s fossil fuel flip-flop may have saved him, but fellow Democrats took the brunt of energy voters’ ire.
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: Was fracking to blame for Pa. Democrats’ “faceplant”?
Op-Ed: Navigating Pennsylvania’s Political Future
But future challenges aren’t limited to Democrats. In the case of Republicans, the party must listen to its growing working-class base, particularly in historically Democratic counties. In 2016 and 2020,…
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: Navigating Pennsylvania’s Political Future
Op-Ed: Pennsylvania budget process should aid the cause of taxpayers and transparency
The Commonwealth Foundation estimates that lawmakers could transfer $345 million from shadow reserves to help meet the current budget deficit, without even affecting current spending commitments. This transfer represents less…
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: Pennsylvania budget process should aid the cause of taxpayers and transparency
“American Education Week” is About Helping Students and Families
While we’re running out of time, it’s not too late to pass this crucial support for families. Lawmakers are returning to Harrisburg for a special post-election session, and they have…
Commentary
Read More: “American Education Week” is About Helping Students and Families
Op-Ed: Don’t raise taxes while PA families are hurting
Months into this severe pandemic response, the economy is slowly recovering, as are state revenues, but lawmakers face a budget shortfall of at least $3 billion, according to the Independent Fiscal Office’s…
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: Don’t raise taxes while PA families are hurtingState Budget
Balancing the State Budget Didn’t Have to Be This Hard
If lawmakers had enacted the Taxpayer Protection Act in 2018, they would face a $770 million gap between revenues and spending. Going one step further, if lawmakers had enacted the…
Commentary
Read More: Balancing the State Budget Didn’t Have to Be This Hard
Op-Ed: Dissecting Pennsylvania’s Realignment
In Pennsylvania, Biden prevailed because enough voters in rural counties, working-class regions, and suburban towns found him inoffensive, if not appealing, during a turbulent period. Outside Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, this…
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: Dissecting Pennsylvania’s Realignment
Op-Ed: How Pennsylvania Democrats Deliberately Stoked 2020 Election Chaos
Republicans and Democrats have long understood the problems with mass mail-in ballots. The usual stages of ballot security are lost: unlike absentee ballots, some people are claiming they received unsolicited mail-in…
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: How Pennsylvania Democrats Deliberately Stoked 2020 Election Chaos
Op-Ed: Learning from Pennsylvania’s Election Chaos
We shouldn’t rely on courts to fix Pennsylvania’s election issues. Instead, changes to election timelines and processes should be enacted by the state legislature, not through executive actions or court…
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: Learning from Pennsylvania’s Election Chaos
Key Issues to Remember as Pennsylvania Counts Its Ballots
This election has sucked all the oxygen out of the room for too long. It’s a sign that government in Washington, D.C. has grown way beyond its constitutional bounds. But…
Commentary
Read More: Key Issues to Remember as Pennsylvania Counts Its Ballots
Op-Ed: Four Places to Watch in Pennsylvania on Election Day
From upscale suburbs to blue-collar villages, Pennsylvanians will likely determine the presidential victor. Many consider this election a referendum on Trump’s pandemic-era leadership -- especially in a state where COVID-19…
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: Four Places to Watch in Pennsylvania on Election Day
Op-Ed: PA Supreme Court’s power grab threatens election integrity
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that Pennsylvania’s Democrat-majority state Supreme Court usurped the Legislature to tip the political scales. In 2018, the Court threw out congressional district maps passed by the…
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: PA Supreme Court’s power grab threatens election integrityEnergy
Op-Ed: Drilling and Fracking Equal Jobs. Does Biden Understand That?
In the past decade, fracking enabled drillers to reach the gas trapped in that shale quickly and cheaply, creating tens of thousands of jobs in the shale and pipeline service industries alone.
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: Drilling and Fracking Equal Jobs. Does Biden Understand That?
Op-Ed: I still believe America’s brightest days are ahead
The British soldier was right—only we can govern ourselves, but Walter and Peggy give hope that this American approach works. This election week, we should follow their lead, treating those…
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: I still believe America’s brightest days are ahead
Op-Ed: Despite pandemic challenges, health care improvements are underway
Fixing America’s health care system will take time but the signs of progress are encouraging. If our elected leaders in Washington and Harrisburg can continue to peel back rigid restrictions,…
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: Despite pandemic challenges, health care improvements are underway