Commentary

Op-Ed: Will a Biden Presidency Reflect His Scranton Roots?

• Charles F. McElwee
• January 13, 2021

Biden’s persona is doubtless shaped by his Scranton roots, which he proudly referenced even before the 2020 campaign. It’s important to understand how the former vice president is a product…

Commentary

Op-Ed: Pa. Lawmakers must challenge endless Covid lockdowns in 2021

• Tirzah Duren
• December 29, 2020

How Pennsylvania lawmakers can help job creators — and those they support — recover in 2021.

Commentary

An election crisis like no other?

• Elizabeth Stelle
• December 24, 2020

If you think 2020 is bad, you don’t know 1876.

Commentary

Life In The Christmas City

• Charles F. McElwee
• December 24, 2020

Pennsylvania’s Bethlehem tells the tale of two economies in the pandemic era.

Commentary

Op-Ed: The restaurant revival that turned into a revolt

• Jennifer Stefano
• December 23, 2020

This trend is especially evident in Pennsylvania, where Gov. Tom Wolfannounced a three-week indoor dining ban on Dec. 10. His announcement came on…

Commentary

Energy

Climate Change Initiative Would Raise Costs Without Environmental Benefits, Critics Say

• Kevin Mooney
• December 22, 2020

If Pennsylvania joins a multistate climate change agreement that restricts carbon dioxide emissions, energy prices will increase and jobs will be lost in response to new regulatory…

Commentary

Energy

Energy Shows Why Regulatory Reform is Key

• Tirzah Duren
• December 21, 2020

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

No, Pennsylvania Lawmakers can’t Pick their own Electors

• Jennifer Stefano
• December 18, 2020

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

Op-Ed: Gov. Wolf’s COVID-19 restrictions will decimate small businesses across the state

• Jennifer Stefano
• December 16, 2020

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

Liquor Monopoly Can’t Make the PLCB Successful

• Tirzah Duren
• December 8, 2020

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

Energy

Op-Ed: Pennsylvania Governor’s Climate Regulations Draw Bipartisan Opposition as Hearings Begin

• Kevin Mooney
• December 7, 2020

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

Op-Ed: Pennsylvania Passes the Buck on State Budget

• Nathan Benefield
• December 7, 2020

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

Energy

Op-Ed: Was fracking to blame for Pa. Democrats’ “faceplant”?

• Kevin Mooney
• December 2, 2020

Biden’s fossil fuel flip-flop may have saved him, but fellow Democrats took the brunt of energy voters’ ire.

Commentary

Op-Ed: Navigating Pennsylvania’s Political Future

• Charles F. McElwee
• November 19, 2020

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

Op-Ed: Pennsylvania budget process should aid the cause of taxpayers and transparency

• Stephen Bloom
• November 18, 2020

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

“American Education Week” is About Helping Students and Families

• Colleen Hroncich
• November 16, 2020

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

Op-Ed: Don’t raise taxes while PA families are hurting

• Nathan Benefield
• November 16, 2020

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

State Budget

Balancing the State Budget Didn’t Have to Be This Hard

• Elizabeth Stelle
• November 12, 2020

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

Op-Ed: Dissecting Pennsylvania’s Realignment

• Charles F. McElwee
• November 10, 2020

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

Op-Ed: How Pennsylvania Democrats Deliberately Stoked 2020 Election Chaos

• Jennifer Stefano
• November 9, 2020

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

Op-Ed: Learning from Pennsylvania’s Election Chaos

• Nathan Benefield
• November 6, 2020

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