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Education
Fully funded public education must include cyber charters
Originally published at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review When a parent says that a public school isn’t what it used to be, the implication is usually bad. But for Brenda Jesky,…
Read More: Fully funded public education must include cyber chartersEducation
Shapiro Failed on School Choice—Again. There’s Hope Despite Him
Read More: Shapiro Failed on School Choice—Again. There’s Hope Despite HimEducation
Education Needs More Choices—Not More Money
Read More: Education Needs More Choices—Not More MoneyRegulation
Dispelling the Myths About Alcohol Privatization
The friends of government-run liquor stores have to resort to such tactics as they have neither public opinion nor facts on their side. Here are just a few of the…
Commentary
Read More: Dispelling the Myths About Alcohol PrivatizationHealth Care
Expanding Medicaid: Eat Now, Starve Later
When the governor released his budget last month, the loudest opposition hinged on Medicaid - government insurance for the poor and disabled. Advocates of expanding the program via the Affordable…
Commentary
Read More: Expanding Medicaid: Eat Now, Starve LaterHealth Care
No “Free Lunch” with Medicaid Expansion
If I offered you a "free lunch" every day for the rest of your life, you'd take it, right? Oh, but there are a few strings attached. The lunch may…
Commentary
Read More: No “Free Lunch” with Medicaid ExpansionEducation
Education: America’s New Civil Right
Education can and should be America's newest civil rights issue. Today, too many schools are failing too many children. The system is broken, and access to a quality…
Commentary
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PLCB Should Not Pass Go
Growing up in Pennsylvania, we enjoyed playing games over the holidays and none more than Monopoly. The possibilities were endless, the rules clear and the objective simple - heck, it…
Commentary
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Privatization Poll
A strong majority of Pennsylvanians favor ending government sale of wine and liquor according to a comprehensive poll conducted by nationally-renown pollster, FM3. The poll found more than 3 out…
Commentary
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Liquor Privatization: Just the Facts
In a recent Delaware County Times webcast on Pennsylvania liquor store privatization, on which I was a panelist, there was a great deal of information thrown into the mix which may have…
Commentary
Read More: Liquor Privatization: Just the FactsState Budget
Standing with Taxpayers
Most Pennsylvanians probably weren't aware – or don't care – that Governor Corbett delivered his 2013-14 budget proposal this week. But they should! Spending $20,900 per family of four, the…
Commentary
Read More: Standing with TaxpayersEducation
Cyber Proposal Undermines Cherished School Option
The Matunis girls are just two of some 32,000 students statewide who are thriving at cyber schools. New legislation unveiled in Harrisburg, however, could do serious damage to cyber…
Commentary
Read More: Cyber Proposal Undermines Cherished School OptionRegulation
Pension Bomb to Hit Pennsylvania Families
Are you ready to pay an additional $1,000 in state and local taxes alone? Prepared to see your child's teacher laid off? Thanks to bad promises politicians made to good…
Commentary
Read More: Pension Bomb to Hit Pennsylvania FamiliesTaxes & Economy
Promise Land Panned: Mike’s Story
In the movie Promised Land, Matt Damon plays a smooth talking land man who is sent to rural Pennsylvania to secure the rights to drill for natural gas on locals'…
Commentary
Read More: Promise Land Panned: Mike’s StoryRegulation
Averting the “Lottery Cliff” for Seniors and Taxpayers
From the greatest generation to the latest generation, Pennsylvania’s seniors have worked a lifetime to build this great commonwealth through hard work and sacrifice, but are now being told the…
Commentary
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Handouts Hurting Poor, Help Up a Better Way
The holidays are a great time to be grateful for the gifts we've received. And, as we remember well, fallen Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney claimed that some Americans have…
Commentary
Read More: Handouts Hurting Poor, Help Up a Better WayEducation
Pa. Must Pull Parent Trigger to Save Education
Martin Luther King Jr. believed that, "unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality." If correct, then no stronger love or enduring truth can personify his…
Commentary
Read More: Pa. Must Pull Parent Trigger to Save EducationPublic Union Democracy
Why Cities Fail
Harrisburg is broke. Literally. So are 26 other cities across the commonwealth that are stuck in the state's Act 47 program for financially strapped municipalities. Many enter in – like…
Commentary
Read More: Why Cities FailGovernment Accountability
Labor Day is for Taxpayers, Not Unions
Comprising the government employee unions, private sector unions, trial lawyers, extreme greens, and other nonprofits that feed off taxpayer money, the Union Party is aligned for a single purpose: To…
Commentary
Read More: Labor Day is for Taxpayers, Not UnionsTaxes & Economy
Fix Welfare to Protect Poor, Save Taxpayers
Despite prevalent evidence showing the current welfare system does irreparable harm by trapping families and children in a cycle of poverty, presumptive Republican vice-presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan's plan to…
Commentary
Read More: Fix Welfare to Protect Poor, Save TaxpayersCriminal Justice Reform
Don’t Fire Arrows without Arrowheads in Corrections Reform
Reforming our state corrections system is not being soft on crime—it is being smart on crime. To achieve transformative corrections reform, lawmakers should finish this critical legislative package and build…
Commentary
Read More: Don’t Fire Arrows without Arrowheads in Corrections ReformEducation
Massive Strategic Victory for Kids
I've long been convinced that Thomas Jefferson was exactly right when he wrote, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never…
Commentary
Read More: Massive Strategic Victory for KidsState Budget
Olympic Hurdles Grab for Gold in Pennsylvania Budget
This July signals the beginning and end of two feats requiring amazing determination, stamina and perseverance—the start of the 2012 Summer Olympics and the on-time passage of the Pennsylvania state…
Commentary
Read More: Olympic Hurdles Grab for Gold in Pennsylvania BudgetCriminal Justice Reform
Pennsylvania Passes Proven Prison Reform
Pennsylvania's inmate population and rate of recidivism have reached crisis levels in recent years. Since 1980, Pennsylvania's inmate population increased over 500% between 1980 and 2009. …
Commentary
Read More: Pennsylvania Passes Proven Prison Reform