Every family, business owner, and taxpayer in Pennsylvania should be able to increase their financial security without undue interference from our state government. Free-market policies that limit taxes, allow entrepreneurs to innovate and create jobs, and offer stability to families will put our state on track to become a national leader. Policies that enact spending limits, cut taxes, and reduce regulations will help Pennsylvania avoid debt and restore sound fiscal planning that will benefit citizens in the years to come.

Taxes & Economy

Trump Administration’s Food Stamp Changes Could Affect 59 Pa. Counties

  • December 20, 2018

Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced plans to strengthen existing work requirements for work-capable adults in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or food stamps). The rule change…

Press Release

Read More: Trump Administration’s Food Stamp Changes Could Affect 59 Pa. Counties

Health Care

Affordable Care Act Struggles Continue: Sarah’s Health Care Story

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • December 19, 2018

Sarah is a social service worker from Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, where she and her husband also homeschool their four young children. For four years her family received insurance through Medicaid.

Media

Read More: Affordable Care Act Struggles Continue: Sarah’s Health Care Story

Regulation

Taking the First Step Toward Pension Reform in 2017-18

  • Colleen Hroncich
  • December 19, 2018

In the Christmas classic Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, the Winter Warlock despairs, “It is so difficult to make a change.” Kris Kringle disagrees, “It’s as easy as taking…

Media

Read More: Taking the First Step Toward Pension Reform in 2017-18

Taxes & Economy

Facts Refute Gov. Wolf’s Climate Change Concern

  • Gordon Tomb
  • December 17, 2018

Editor's Note: A version of this blog was also published in the Daily Caller and appeared at NaturalGasNow.org. When Gov. Wolf uses the past…

Media

Read More: Facts Refute Gov. Wolf’s Climate Change Concern

Taxes & Economy

Bureaucrats are Keeping Pennsylvanians Dependent on Food Stamps

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • December 13, 2018

Great things are happening in our economy, including more job opportunities and rising incomes. Yet, Pennsylvania is continuing to see near-record food stamp enrollment. The Census Bureau's newly-released American…

Media

Read More: Bureaucrats are Keeping Pennsylvanians Dependent on Food Stamps

State Budget

Budget Outlook: Restrained Spending Growth

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 12, 2018

On Tuesday, Budget Secretary Randy Albright gave the mid-year budget briefing (slides available here) for the 2018-19 budget. If you’re expecting a repeat of the Wolf Administration’s tax-and-spend rhetoric…

Media

Read More: Budget Outlook: Restrained Spending Growth

Taxes & Economy

Will Carbon Taxes Bring Paris Protests to Pa?

  • Gordon Tomb
  • December 11, 2018

“Nothing reveals the disconnect between ordinary voters and an aloof political class more than carbon taxation,” write the editors of the Wall Street Journal. As French “yellow vest”…

Media

Read More: Will Carbon Taxes Bring Paris Protests to Pa?

Health Care

Four Ways Pa. Lawmakers Can Reduce the Cost of Health Care

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • December 6, 2018

Bureaucracy just makes things worse. Case in point: Obamacare. Pennsylvanians have faced soaring health care costs and far fewer options ever since the law was passed.   Thankfully, a…

Media

Read More: Four Ways Pa. Lawmakers Can Reduce the Cost of Health Care

Regulation

Just Say No To Corporate Welfare

  • December 4, 2018

“We prefer the term ‘corporate welfare.’” Elizabeth Stelle, CF’s Director of Policy Analysis, recently appeared on the KD/PG Sunday Edition to discuss the GM bailout, Amazon’s HQ2 forgoing Pennsylvania, and…

Media

Read More: Just Say No To Corporate Welfare

Regulation

Our Christmas Wish: A Solvent Pennsylvania

  • Gordon Tomb
  • December 4, 2018

“I’m dreaming of a solvent Penn’s Woods/Just like the one we used to know.” Lyrics not worthy of Bing Crosby, but still music to the ears of a…

Media

Read More: Our Christmas Wish: A Solvent Pennsylvania

Health Care

Welfare Program Restarts with No Proof of Poverty Alleviation & No Budget

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • December 3, 2018

After a six-year hiatus, Pennsylvania's General Assistance program is back in operation…without a budget. The Wolf administration's unilateral decision to resurrect a program, without identifying a funding source, is symbolic…

Media

Read More: Welfare Program Restarts with No Proof of Poverty Alleviation & No Budget

Regulation

Turnpike Toll Hikes Highlight Missed Opportunities

  • Elizabeth Stelle, Nathan Benefield
  • November 30, 2018

There are three things Pennsylvanians have learned to count on: death, taxes, and Turnpike toll hikes. On January 6th, the state toll road will increase rates by another 6…

Media

Read More: Turnpike Toll Hikes Highlight Missed Opportunities

State Budget

2017-18 State Budget & Spending Trends

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • November 26, 2018

Over the next month, CF will recount what happened on major issues in the 2017-18 legislative session and what policies lawmakers need to prioritize in the 2019-20 session to make…

Media

Read More: 2017-18 State Budget & Spending Trends

Government Accountability

It’s Apparent PA’s Not Transparent

  • Jessica Barnett
  • November 20, 2018

Parties and perks on taxpayers' dime was the headline-grabbing news from Pennsylvania's Auditor General investigation of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC). His findings underscore the need for government transparency. The SRBC,…

Media

Read More: It’s Apparent PA’s Not Transparent

State Budget

IFO Projects $1.7 Billion State Budget Deficit in 2019

  • Nathan Benefield
  • November 19, 2018

Last year’s state budget boasted a series of firsts. It was the first budget in four years enacted before the June 30 deadline and represents the only budget Gov.

Media

Read More: IFO Projects $1.7 Billion State Budget Deficit in 2019

Criminal Justice Reform

One Policy Where Trump and Wolf Agree

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • November 16, 2018

President Trump and Gov. Tom Wolf agree: minimum sentencing laws are counterproductive. Last Wednesday, President Trump announced his support of the FIRST STEP Act. The bill gives federal judges more…

Media

Read More: One Policy Where Trump and Wolf Agree

Regulation

Billions in Bribes Couldn’t Overcome Business Climate

  • Colleen Hroncich
  • November 15, 2018

As the old saying goes, “you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.” Such is the case with the business climate in Pennsylvania. And it appears…

Media

Read More: Billions in Bribes Couldn’t Overcome Business Climate

Taxes & Economy

Pennsylvania’s Path to Tax Relief

  • Bob Dick
  • November 15, 2018

Pennsylvania’s high state and local tax burden is hindering job growth, suppressing wages, and enabling wasteful government spending.

Memo

Read More: Pennsylvania’s Path to Tax Relief

Regulation

On Amazon and Unilaterally Disarming Corporate Welfare

  • Nathan Benefield
  • November 13, 2018

Amazon just announced that instead of one “HQ 2”, they will chose two new facilities—neither of which will be in Pennsylvania, instead choosing New York and Virginia. This shouldn’t…

Media

Read More: On Amazon and Unilaterally Disarming Corporate Welfare