Regulation
Harris’s Price Controls Ignore Basic Economics
Originally published at Delaware Valley Journal Vice President Kamala Harris wants to make groceries cheaper. However, her vague proposal to ban “price gouging” will have the opposite effect. Economists,…
Read More: Harris’s Price Controls Ignore Basic EconomicsEvery 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.
Related Issues
State Budget
House Budget Holds the Line on Taxes
Yesterday, the PA House of Representatives advanced a $29.1 billion spending bill. This bill could be voted on by the full House today. There is much to like in this…
Media
Read More: House Budget Holds the Line on TaxesRegulation
5 Ways to Balance the Budget Without Increasing Taxes
State spending is at an all-time high, but calls for even more spending persist, despite Pennsylvania’s precarious fiscal situation. Pennsylvania doesn’t need more government spending to improve the…
Media
Read More: 5 Ways to Balance the Budget Without Increasing TaxesState Budget
Lack of Priorities Triggers PA Budget Crisis
Pennsylvania has a prioritization problem. Recent controversies about the State Racing Fund and the legislature’s reserve fund provide two examples of why Pennsylvania consistently wrestles with budget crises. Auditor General…
Media
Read More: Lack of Priorities Triggers PA Budget CrisisState Budget
Can Taxpayers Weather the Budget Storm?
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
Read More: Can Taxpayers Weather the Budget Storm?Public Union Democracy
Triple Threat Pension Debt
At more than $50 billion in debt our pension plans for state and school workers are among the worst funded in the country. Without reform, Pennsylvanians face cuts to services, teacher layoffs, higher…
Poll
Read More: Triple Threat Pension DebtRegulation
RCAP and Corporate Welfare Hurt Pennsylvanians
What would you do if the government spent your tax dollars on a project that could bankrupt your business? Would you fight back by pointing out the injustice? Hopefully you’re…
Media
Read More: RCAP and Corporate Welfare Hurt PennsylvaniansHealth Care
There’s No Such Thing as a Temporary Expansion
Last week, the House Health and Human Services Committee advanced HB 1492 to accept the Obamacare Medicaid Expansion. This move would shift the purpose of Medicaid from caring for vulnerable…
Media
Read More: There’s No Such Thing as a Temporary ExpansionRegulation
Union Lobbyists Not Interested in Solving Pension Crisis
My latest letter to the editor in the Phoenix Reporter and Item corrects the record, noting that government union leaders have for years denied a pension crisis, supported underfunded pensions for…
Media
Read More: Union Lobbyists Not Interested in Solving Pension CrisisPublic Union Democracy
The Government Union Billion Dollar Tax Hike
In 2012, Americans paid more in taxes than they did for food, clothing and shelter combined. In Pennsylvania, residents labor under the 10th highest tax burden in the…
Media
Read More: The Government Union Billion Dollar Tax HikeHealth Care
My Obamacare Agony
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
Read More: My Obamacare AgonyRegulation
Archaic Laws and Eight-Foot Walls
Pennsylvania’s Prohibition-era liquor laws did nothing but provide headaches for two entrepreneurs, demonstrating yet again the absurdity of our state liquor code. Danya Henninger at the Philadelphia Inquirer…
Media
Read More: Archaic Laws and Eight-Foot WallsTaxes & Economy
Should Taxpayers Pay for Strippers?
Should individuals be able to spend their welfare benefits on liquor, tobacco, gambling or strippers? Currently, they can. House Bill 907 would codify Department of Welfare electronic benefit card…
Media
Read More: Should Taxpayers Pay for Strippers?Education
Pension Reform Benefits Teachers & Taxpayers
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
Read More: Pension Reform Benefits Teachers & TaxpayersRegulation
Use School Reserves to Fund Pensions
In 2013, Pennsylvania school districts increased their reserve funds by $445 million—to a total approaching $4 billion as of June 30, 2013—according to the latest data from…
Media
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Pension Study: PA’s Economy Can Still Be Saved
For Immediate Release Commonwealth Foundation Contact: 717-671-1901 It’s Not Too Late to Save PA’s Economy Pension Reform: Learning from Others May 27, 2014, Harrisburg, Pa. – Pennsylvania…
Press Release
Read More: Pension Study: PA’s Economy Can Still Be SavedRegulation
Stopping the Sinkhole
Evidence from the private sector and some reformed public sector pension programs shows that pension reform is possible and creates significant savings to firms in the private sector and taxpayers…
Report
Read More: Stopping the SinkholeState Budget
2014 Pennsylvania State Budget
Governor Corbett's proposed budget of $29.4 billion in General Fund spending (a 3.3% increase) and $71.8 billion in spending from all funds represents Pennsylvania's highest spending levels ever—exceeding years when…
Fact Sheet
Read More: 2014 Pennsylvania State BudgetState Budget
Simple Solutions for Significant State Savings
Pennsylvania is plagued with budget challenges, but these challenges don’t have to defeat us. We have solutions aimed at improving PA’s fiscal health while growing its economy. In previous…
Media
Read More: Simple Solutions for Significant State SavingsPublic Union Democracy
Government Union CEOs Make Their Own Rules
When questioned about why he failed to register as a lobbyist, UFCW president Wendell Young IV excused himself with a special exemption from the law that doesn’t exist. He told…
Media
Read More: Government Union CEOs Make Their Own RulesRegulation
PA Tops in Corporate Welfare
Pennsylvania’s system of economic development subsidies costs taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually, yet this spending does little to promote overall job growth. Given the state’s fiscal hurdles,…
Media
Read More: PA Tops in Corporate WelfareEducation
Ignoring Pension Costs Won’t Work
We’ve mentioned before the big lie of “$1 billion cut from education.” Part of the reason that lie continues is that union executives ignore a big chunk of education…
Media
Read More: Ignoring Pension Costs Won’t Work