Prosperity
Ending Poverty Starts With Increasing Work And Paychecks, Not Government Budgets
Originally published at The Federalist Lawmakers across the spectrum agree that poverty is a perennial crisis. But if they are ever going to come together to find an effective…
Read More: Ending Poverty Starts With Increasing Work And Paychecks, Not Government BudgetsMany Pennsylvanians face chronic unemployment, welfare dependency, and the cycle of poverty. This happens because labor incentives have been overridden by bad policies that keep millions out of the workforce and enact excessive red tape. We can reverse this trend by ending the practice of waiving work requirements on able-bodied Pennsylvanians with no dependents, removing barriers to employment for those seeking a fresh start, and creating a healthcare system without burdensome regulations.
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Health Care
Budget Could Transform Pa., For Good or Ill
About one week remains for lawmakers to finalize a state budget. But along with a spending plan, a number of major policy reforms remain in the mix. The outcomes of…
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More Reasons to Pass on Medicaid Expansion
Elected officials are standing strong in their opposition to the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, despite a number of “independent studies” touting the benefits of “…
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Four Reasons to Avoid Medicaid Expansion
Medicaid expansion is bad news for all Pennsylvanians. Here are four reasons why: 1. Expansion undermines the quality of health care. Medicaid patients suffer from limited access to care. A…
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Reality Check: We’re Overspending
Bad revenue collections and updated projections highlight a big problem in the state budget: We are spending more than we are collecting. The problem is much worse than a recent…
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Corbett’s Wise Medicaid Stance
While advocates of expanding the welfare state are using new studies to push Gov. Tom Corbett to expand Medicaid, his position of resisting the “free money” argument is wise given…
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States Fix Medicaid
That's why leaders in statehouses across the country should do the right thing and follow Pennsylvania's lead. Instead of waiting for dollars and dictates from D.C. to expand a broken…
Commentary
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Name Change Won’t Fix Welfare
Pennsylvania’s welfare system is broken, and significant reforms are needed to help lift individuals out of poverty. Changing the name of the Department of Public Welfare to the Department of…
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Reforms Bringing Sanity to Welfare
Last year the Pa. Department of Public Welfare implemented—and Commonwealth Foundation touted—a new asset test on food stamps to ensure those with means were not benefiting from programs intended…
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Medicaid Expansion Myths and Facts
For our fiscal health, and the health of families, we desperately need the flexibility to allow state officials to design a solution that fits the needs of Pennsylvanians-not an…
Fact Sheet
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Medicaid Expansion Deals Don’t Deliver
Time is ticking for President Obama to get more buy-in on a pivotal part of Obamacare—Medicaid expansion. States are under immense pressure to accept an influx of federal funds in…
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Will Medicaid Expansion Boost Pennsylvania’s Economy?
A new study commissioned by the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania predicts that if the state expands Medicaid, the program will produce $3.2 billion in annual growth over…
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Read More: Will Medicaid Expansion Boost Pennsylvania’s Economy?Health Care
Note to Lawmakers: The Power Is Yours!
One of my favorite cartoon’s growing up was Captain Planet. The cartoon’s catchy theme song ended with an emphatic, “The power is yours!” It’s a message all of our state lawmakers…
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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
Sequester-Sized Savings
We’ve already busted the myth that federal money for the expansion of Medicaid is somehow “free.” As Nathan Benefield explains, government only distributes what if first taxes out of…
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Facts, Not Hate, In Medicaid Debate
“A few dying residents won’t matter to these people…” So say supporters of implementing Obamacare in Pennsylvania about our friends at Americans for Prosperity. AFP launched a new action…
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Medicaid “Free Lunch” Nauseates Lawmakers
Following news that Gov. Corbett was going to meet with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, and rumors he might reverse his opposition to expanding…
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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
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Where Does Government Get Money?
Where does the federal government get its money? Does it grow on trees? Does it fall from the sky like manna from heaven? Is there a genie who keeps granting…
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Medicaid Harms States, Poor & Taxpayers
A new report and commentary from the Galen Institute details the reasons why the “free money” promised by the federal government for expanding Medicaid is a bad deal…
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Read More: Medicaid Harms States, Poor & TaxpayersTaxes & Economy
Welfare Traps Good People in Broken System
CBS 21’s Chris Papst presents a chilling story showing how easy it is for Pennsylvania families to get trapped in the welfare system. Investigators discovered a single mother of two making $20,000 in Pennsylvania can…
Media
Read More: Welfare Traps Good People in Broken SystemHealth Care
Medicaid Expansion: The Price was Wrong
Governor Corbett made the right call yesterday when he decided to recommend against expanding Medicaid in Pennsylvania. Here is my letter to the editor to the Philadelphia Inquirer explaining…
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