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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,…
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Education
Shapiro Failed on School Choice—Again. There’s Hope Despite Him
Read More: Shapiro Failed on School Choice—Again. There’s Hope Despite Him
Education
Education Needs More Choices—Not More Money
Read More: Education Needs More Choices—Not More MoneyEducation
How Taxpayers are Funding Big Labor’s Education Failures
More than $92 million in taxpayer dollars for public education is being funneled through school districts back to these special interest groups, including the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and…
Commentary
Read More: How Taxpayers are Funding Big Labor’s Education FailuresRegulation
Not Paying Pension Bills Hurts our Grandkids
Politicians last year passed their version of pension reform by deferring existing unfunded liabilities, making them even more unaffordable. The situation was so severe that they felt compelled to include…
Commentary
Read More: Not Paying Pension Bills Hurts our GrandkidsTaxes & Economy
The Real Victims of a Severance Tax
Jim VanBlarcom, a busy Bradford County dairy farmer, set a work day aside to come to Harrisburg and tell his story to Gov. Tom Corbett's Marcellus Shale panel. Royalty money…
Commentary
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Pa. Education – A State of Emergency
At the start of our nation, founding father John Adams was as concerned with the positive development of our offspring as he was with that of the republic. Seeing the…
Commentary
Read More: Pa. Education – A State of EmergencyEducation
Spending for Higher Education Doesn’t Create Economic Growth
The Coleman Report, published in 1966, and subsequent experience and analysis has demolished the idea that inputs alone are very useful in explaining the output of K-12. As the college…
Commentary
Read More: Spending for Higher Education Doesn’t Create Economic GrowthEducation
Saving Our School Boards
Schools must be able to furlough teachers based on a broad-based assessment of student needs, not a last-in/first-out requirement that ignores teachers' classroom performance, ability to connect with students, grasp…
Commentary
Read More: Saving Our School BoardsRegulation
A Penny Saved or a Penny Burned?
For any family, saving a few dollars for the future and paying off credit card bills would be the fiscally prudent path. Likewise, state lawmakers should resist the temptation to…
Commentary
Read More: A Penny Saved or a Penny Burned?Energy
Economic Pitfalls of Taxing Marcellus Shale
The facts are that in Pennsylvania, Marcellus drillers contributed more than $15 billion in capital investment and have paid in excess of $5 billion in royalties to landowners not including…
Commentary
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A Pitt Student’s Take on Corbett’s Budget Proposal
As a Pitt student, I will not be joining in those manufactured protests, nor will I be participating in lobbying activities like Pitt's yearly "Harrisburg Day" when the University spends…
Commentary
Read More: A Pitt Student’s Take on Corbett’s Budget ProposalGovernment Accountability
Bring PA Toward the Mainstream in Limiting Lawsuit Abuse
Having defeated a slew of trial-lawyer amendments, Pennsylvania's House of Representatives approved the Fair Share Act for the third time on Monday. The legislation, which has passed both chambers of the…
Commentary
Read More: Bring PA Toward the Mainstream in Limiting Lawsuit AbuseEducation
White-out not Needed for Higher Ed Cuts
Today, the percentage of students enrolling at Pennsylvania's public universities who don't graduate four year ranges from 42-89 percent, with Penn State boasting a mere 58 percent. As for their…
Commentary
Read More: White-out not Needed for Higher Ed CutsPublic Union Democracy
Taxpayers First: The New, New Deal
Today, the average government employee enjoys better health care benefits, better pensions, better job security, and an earlier retirement than the average private-sector worker. To pay for this, however, taxpayers…
Commentary
Read More: Taxpayers First: The New, New DealEducation
Public Policy and Free Enterprise in Pennsylvania
Public Policy and Free Enterprise in Pennsylvania represents a partnership with the Commonwealth Foundation and the department of economics at Duquesne University. Key findings in these five papers include Over…
Commentary
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Scholars Aren’t Made from Dollars
All indications say academic performance remains inadequate, with thousands of children trapped in failing schools while waiting lists for charter schools and Educational Improvement Tax Credit scholarships grow. Proponents of…
Commentary
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Obamacare: We Can’t Keep the Change
In the days before the new health care law passed Congress last year, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi famously said that we would "have to pass the bill to find out…
Commentary
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The Bubble Bursts at Penn State
The story is told that when someone asked John D. Rockefeller how much money is enough, he responded, "Just one dollar more." Penn State's President, Graham Spanier, like most college…
Commentary
Read More: The Bubble Bursts at Penn StateRegulation
Retaining the Film Tax Credit: Two Thumbs Down for Taxpayers
Behind the lens of Gov. Tom Corbett's budget the focus is largely on putting taxpayers first and fostering economic growth. But at a time when the director should be yelling,…
Commentary
Read More: Retaining the Film Tax Credit: Two Thumbs Down for TaxpayersState Budget
Corbett Budget Offers a New Path
Albert Einstein defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." For too long Pennsylvania state government has been spending beyond its means and…
Commentary
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Spending Transparency Coming to Pennsylvania?
PennWATCH (House Bill 15), sponsored by Rep. Jim Christiana, would create a user-friendly database with searchable information on all state government spending. The bill passed the Pennsylvania House unanimously on…
Commentary
Read More: Spending Transparency Coming to Pennsylvania?Education
School Daze Ends with Choice
If Pennsylvania's public schools are broken, why don't we just fix them? Easier said than done, of course, but it's not from a lack of trying. For decades, taxpayers, parents…
Commentary
Read More: School Daze Ends with ChoiceEducation
Parents Need Choices & Control of Their Children’s Education
Almost 40,000 students used an EITC scholarship last year—with an average value of $1,000—to attend a better or safer school. The average annual family income for these students was only…
Commentary
Read More: Parents Need Choices & Control of Their Children’s Education