Commentary

Education

Can Your Family Bear the Burden of Tax Increases?

• October 24, 2014

Can you afford to lose the equivalent of a mortgage payment? How about four? Given a possible 188 percent increase in the state income tax rate to pay for Tom…

Commentary

Healthcare Problems Require Personal Solutions

• Elizabeth Stelle
• October 17, 2014

Next month, Obamacare enrollment will start anew. Rather than a solution to an ailing healthcare system, this promises mass confusion, higher prices, and more families looking for help. …

Commentary

Scholarships Offer Lifeline to PA Students

• James Paul
• October 14, 2014

Last summer, 5-year-old Kaiden Myers was preparing to enter kindergarten, but his mother, Marpessa, was worried she wouldn't be able to send him to a good, safe school. Read how…

Commentary

State Budget

Immunizing Taxpayers from Chronic Overspending

• Nathan Benefield
• October 7, 2014

Last week, two major bond rating agencies (Fitch and Standards & Poor’s) downgraded Pennsylvania’s debt rating citing poor fiscal health. While this should worry voters—taxpayers will be forced to pay…

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

New Tax Would Add to Challenges of Gas Industry

• Gordon Tomb
• October 6, 2014

Armstrong County farmer Randy Walker worries about the effect of a natural gas severance tax on his royalties and the job market. Mr. Walker’s concerns are well founded. The natural gas…

Commentary

Education

Overcoming the Philadelphia School Crisis

• James Paul
• September 16, 2014

Think there's a problem with Philadelphia's schools? You're not alone. More than half of Philadelphia voters said their schools deserved a D or an F grade in a poll released…

Commentary

Education

Misconceptions Cloud School Funding Debate

• Nathan Benefield
• September 9, 2014

Would you believe that nearly three-quarters of Pennsylvania’s voters underestimate how much money we spend on schools? Shocking but true, according to a new poll testing the public’s knowledge of…

Commentary

Health Care

Falling Through the Cracks in Obamacare

• Elizabeth Stelle
• August 26, 2014

Mark Ferkler is a Delaware County resident in his mid-thirties. He’s healthy, gainfully employed and now, thanks to Obamacare, is newly uninsured. Yes, you read that right — uninsured. Despite…

Commentary

Education

For Teachers, Knowledge is Power

• Priya Brannick
• August 11, 2014

Like any other group of professionals, teachers are a diverse lot, holding vastly differing social, cultural, and political views. So why is it that they’re lumped together and forced to…

Commentary

Education

Taxing Business Won’t Save Students

• Elizabeth Stelle
• July 25, 2014

Paul Battista told a Congressional subcommittee last year: “We can now pay a higher family-sustaining wage! We have people working for us that are the primary breadwinners of their household.”…

Commentary

Regulation

Budget Shields Taxpayers, but Challenges Remain

• July 17, 2014

A contentious budget season has officially ended after Governor Corbett signed a $29 billion appropriations bill into law. But is it fiscally responsible? And what’s holding up reforms on the…

Commentary

Education

Teachers’ Views Matter

• July 7, 2014

From my vantage point on the frontlines of Pennsylvania’s public schools, I see teachers’ unions with money to spend and power to wield who are unresponsive to the very people…

Commentary

Education

Give Teachers the Freedom to Choose

• June 24, 2014

Let teachers worry about teaching; let politicians worry about politics. That’s been my mantra throughout my career as an educator. But, sadly, most public school teachers in Pennsylvania don’t have…

Commentary

State Budget

Can Taxpayers Weather the Budget Storm?

• June 19, 2014

For the seventh consecutive year, Pennsylvania state government is projected to spend more money than it collects in taxes. Facing a deficit of nearly $1.3 billion, families may be asked…

Commentary

Education

Why I Left Teaching: Union Politics

• June 17, 2014

I taught science full-time for more than two decades and enjoyed a rewarding career educating a generation of public school students in Westmoreland County. I retired from teaching earlier than…

Commentary

Public Union Democracy

For Union Leaders, the Law Doesn’t Apply

• Matthew Brouillette
• June 11, 2014

Pennsylvania's government union executives should be at the top of any list of political power players in Harrisburg. With the kind of influence that millions in campaign contributions and political…

Commentary

Health Care

My Obamacare Agony

• Priya Brannick
• June 10, 2014

I thought I was lucky. The last day to sign up for Obamacare had arrived, and I’d managed to purchase a plan on the national Obamacare exchange. I was just…

Commentary

Education

Pension Reform Benefits Teachers & Taxpayers

• Nathan Benefield
• May 30, 2014

Standard & Poor’s recently issued a stern warning that they would lower Pennsylvania’s bond rating—making it more expensive for the state to borrow money—unless they “adopt meaningful pension reform.” This…

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

Severance Tax Benefits the Powerful at Citizens’ Expense

• Gordon Tomb
• May 6, 2014

Washington County farmer Shawn Georgetti was living paycheck to paycheck before the Marcellus Shale boom. Thanks to a natural gas lease, he’s finally been able to upgrade his 30-year-old equipment.

Commentary

Health Care

My Obamacare Plan is Failing Me

• Priya Brannick
• April 15, 2014

Tuesday is the last day to sign up for health insurance on the Obamacare exchange. Luckily I’ve already purchased an exchange plan. But barely one month into my new health…

Commentary

Public Union Democracy

Super PACs Supersize Union Political Spending

• Nathan Benefield
• April 8, 2014

Super PACs are elbowing into state elections, promising to supersize the already dominating role unions play in electoral politics. Effectively, Super PACs can collect and spend an unlimited amount of…

Commentary