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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 Money
Education
Jay-Z, MLK, and the progressive opposition to genuine reform
Read More: Jay-Z, MLK, and the progressive opposition to genuine reformTaxes & Economy
Pennsylvanias Great Rail Disasters Continue
Dozens of cities around the country, including Pennsylvania cities like Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, are building, planning, or considering new or expanded rail systems. But is rail really the best…
Commentary
Read More: Pennsylvanias Great Rail Disasters ContinueTaxes & Economy
Only We, the People, Can Restore the Spirit of 1776
The history of the world is a story about mankind’s struggle to be free. Millions upon millions of people have died over the age-old question about which form of tyrannical…
Commentary
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Time to Act (not 72) on Pennsylvanias School Tax Crisis
The Homeowner Tax Relief Act of 2004 (Act 72) failed long before nearly 80 percent of Pennsylvania’s school boards even had the opportunity to reject it. Despite Gov. Ed Rendell’s…
Commentary
Read More: Time to Act (not 72) on Pennsylvanias School Tax CrisisTaxes & Economy
A Horsepower Boost to PAs Economic Engine
When it comes to state officials spending their tax dollars, Pennsylvanians want some restraint. That is the clear message contained in a recent statewide survey of citizens by Susquehanna…
Commentary
Read More: A Horsepower Boost to PAs Economic EngineTaxes & Economy
Undereducated Today, Outsourced Tomorrow?
The outsourcing of jobs to lower-wage countries was a hot topic throughout the campaign of 2004, but it is not clear what the president of the United States can do…
Commentary
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Growing Redder Too
It’s safe to say that nearly every Pennsylvanian wants to “improve the quality of life in Pennsylvania … create new jobs, revitalize our communities and sustain our families.” And according…
Commentary
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Limited Government, Unlimited Opportunity
Remarks from Matthew J. Brouillette’s unveiling of the Commonwealth Foundation’s “Unlimited Opportunity Blueprint” at the Tuesday Club’s Breakfast Lyceum on January 11, 2005. For seventeen years, the Commonwealth…
Commentary
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Tax Cuts Cost Government Nothing
Many citizens suspect that their elected representatives and bureaucrats live in an entirely different world than they do. Further confirming their suspicions, evidence has emerged once again in Harrisburg that…
Commentary
Read More: Tax Cuts Cost Government NothingTaxes & Economy
Act 72: The Culprit Escapes Again
As Gov. Rendell campaigns across the commonwealth to encourage school board members to opt-in to Act 72—the Homeowners Property Tax Relief Act—the real culprit (and beneficiary) of ever-increasing school property…
Commentary
Read More: Act 72: The Culprit Escapes AgainTaxes & Economy
When Growing Green Means Going Red
When it comes to “Growing Green,” Gov. Ed Rendell and the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania General Assembly believe that taxpayers should go further into the red. After spending several months promoting dueling…
Commentary
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“A Republic, If You Can Keep It!”
A famous Pennsylvanian was once asked what kind of government the Framers of the U. S. Constitution had given the American people. His reply was, “A republic, if you can…
Commentary
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Reflections on the Battle of Ideas
As nearly 500 Pennsylvanians gather in Harrisburg on April 15-16 to be part of the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference, it is an appropriate time to reflect on the…
Commentary
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Meet the New Pennsylvania: Same as the Old Pennsylvania
April 15 marks the first Tax Day on which Pennsylvanians will fully feel the impact of the roughly $1 billion tax increase passed in December 2003 by the General Assembly…
Commentary
Read More: Meet the New Pennsylvania: Same as the Old PennsylvaniaEducation
The Union Behind the Curtain
California’s Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is giving his 49 colleagues across the country a quick tutorial in political courage. And Gov. Ed Rendell would be wise to sit up in class…
Commentary
Read More: The Union Behind the CurtainState Budget
Spending Limits: If Gov. Rendell Doesnt Like Them, They Must Be a Good Idea
Well, that didn’t take long. Within a week of Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader David “Chip” Brightbill’s announcement that he would introduce a bill and/or constitutional amendment to bring state government…
Commentary
Read More: Spending Limits: If Gov. Rendell Doesnt Like Them, They Must Be a Good IdeaPublic Union Democracy
The Teachers Menace: Compulsory Unionism
“I want to urge devotion to the fundamental of human liberty—to the principles of voluntarism. No lasting gain has ever come from compulsion. … [T]he workers of America adhere to…
Commentary
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An Overdue Diet for an Overweight Government
Working Pennsylvanians received wage or salary increases averaging just slightly more than 6 percent over the last two years—yet state government spending during the first half of the Rendell Administration…
Commentary
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School Choice Works!
A Quick Guide to the Scholarly Literature on School Choice During a recent round of visits with print journalists, I spoke to a newspaper editor who told me that she…
Commentary
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The Somerset Nine: Pennsylvanias Magnificent Seven
What does it take for school board members to be fiscally responsible with taxpayers’ money? For the nine members of the Somerset Area School District (SASD) board of directors, the…
Commentary
Read More: The Somerset Nine: Pennsylvanias Magnificent SevenTaxes & Economy
NutraSweet Candidates
In the summer of 1999, then First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton launched a “listening tour” throughout New York State to vet a potential candidacy for the U.S. Senate. Some variation…
Commentary
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For Pennsylvania Taxpayers, It’s Not Easy Being “Green”
When it comes to being “green,” Kermit the Frog has nothing on Gov. Ed Rendell and the Pennsylvania House Republicans. The two sides are promoting dueling environmental plans, both of…
Commentary
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