Public Union Democracy
Teachers’ Unions Influence and the Politics of Education
Get ready for a riveting episode of Disunion: The Government Union Report! Host David Osborne is joined by The Daily Signal Investigative Columnist and WIBC radio host Tony Kennett for…
Read More: Teachers’ Unions Influence and the Politics of EducationCompulsory public unions threaten individual worker rights and cost taxpayers billions. Reforms to the Pennsylvania Public Employee Relations Act are needed to restore and protect workers’ rights. No one—including government employees—should be blocked from leaving a union. To increase government integrity and accountability, policies should be adopted that ensure all special interests groups, including government unions, interact with the state government on a level playing field.
Public Union Democracy
Obama’s Run-Around of Congress
Q: What do Card Check and Net Neutrality have in common? A: They are bad policy ideas Congress won’t pass, yet the White House is finding ways to work…
Media
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Public vs. Private Employment & Pay
Pennsylvania's private sector lost 113,600 jobs while state and local governments added 40,200 positions between 2000 and 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At the same time, public-sector…
Fact Sheet
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Special Interests Denounce “Special Interests”
HARRISBURG, PA (05.11.10) — The Commonwealth Foundation expressed disappointment today that special interest groups which demand taxpayer subsidies for certain energy companies are attacking Pennsylvania’s natural gas companies for simply…
Press Release
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State & Local Fiscal Reforms
Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute recently presented a paper to the Federal Reserve of St. Louis on state and local government fiscal reforms. Edward’s four main themes were:…
Media
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PA Public School Staff Grows As Enrollment Declines
Despite stagnation in qualitative measures of school performance, cries for additional spending in public schools have not subsided. In fact, Gov. Rendell says…
Media
Read More: PA Public School Staff Grows As Enrollment DeclinesPublic Union Democracy
Cost-Saving Ideas for Pennsylvania State Budget
Testimony of Nathan A. Benefield, Director of Policy Research, Commonwealth Foundation to the Pennsylvania Senate Government Management and Cost Study Commission, April 12, 2010 Good morning; I am Nathan…
Testimony
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Ten Tips to Balance the Budget
Contrary to Gov. Rendell's rhetoric, there are a plethora of reforms and cuts that can balance the budget without taking more from the pockets of Pennsylvania taxpayers. Here are ten…
Commentary
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You’ve Been Duped
Apparently our April Fools Day news release hit a little too close to home for some. We announced that under new…
Media
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Rendell’s War on (Some) Special Interests
Gov. Rendell, of course, didn't declare war on all special interests - only those who oppose his tax-borrow-and-spend agenda. For example, while he lambasts the natural gas industry for opposing…
Commentary
Read More: Rendell’s War on (Some) Special InterestsPublic Union Democracy
Yes, Unemployment Benefits Do Cause Higher Unemployment
David Henderson has a post up on the Econlog blog about how unemployment benefits increase the unemployment rate. He cites himself, the Federal Reserve, and Obama economic advisor Larry…
Media
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Teacher Unions Bankrupting the State
The pension crisis has been looming large throughout the state, yet pension reform proposals in Pennsylvania have been met with protests by school employees unions. The Pottstown…
Media
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The Impact of Unions on Public Policy
The latest Cato Journal takes on the topic of “Are Unions Good for America?” The journal features a number of good articles on issues of relevance nationally and in…
Media
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PSEA Complicit in Pension Debacle
The PSEA has a ridiculous new video calling on members to demand state lawmakers “keep their promise” on pension plans – essentially saying “don’t reform the system at all,”…
Media
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Growth of Government Unions in Pennsylvania
Eric Boehm notes the growth of public-sector union members (which now represent a majority of union members nation-wide) and the decline of private union members in Pennsylvania. More…
Media
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Dude, Where’s My Raise?
A struggling economy and high unemployment left many without their yearly raise or bonus in 2009. That is, of course, unless you were a government employee. As originally reported on…
Media
Read More: Dude, Where’s My Raise?Government Accountability
Free Political Speech and Paycheck Protection
The US Supreme Court today upheld that the First Amendment protects speech around elections from corporations and unions. The case concerns Citizens United, which produced a film Hillary: The Movie,…
Media
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Five Alternatives to Tolling I-80
A recent Pocono Record article calls the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission’s proposal to toll I-80 “a riddle with no easy answers” (HT GrassrootsPA). However, there are alternatives to that…
Media
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Pittsburgh Prevailing Wage Proposal Still on Table
The Pittsburgh City Council is once again considering imposing a prevailing wage rule on workers in city-subsidized buildings. (HT to Grassroots PA). In contrast to what the article…
Media
Read More: Pittsburgh Prevailing Wage Proposal Still on TableEducation
PA’s “Race to the Top” Plan Upsets Cyber Schools and PSEA
The Pennsylvania Department of Education’s “Race to the Top” plan – attempting to get about $400 million from federal taxpayers via the “stimulus” – has drawn a number of critics.
Media
Read More: PA’s “Race to the Top” Plan Upsets Cyber Schools and PSEAEnergy
Five Threats to Pennsylvania’s Prosperity
Pennsylvania has long been one of the most economically stagnant states in the nation. For the period 1991-2008, the Commonwealth ranked 45th in job growth, 46th in personal income growth,…
Commentary
Read More: Five Threats to Pennsylvania’s ProsperityPublic Union Democracy
Project Labor Agreements
Testimony from the Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives to the Pennsylvania House Republican Policy CommitteeDecember 09, 2009 We would like to thank the members of the House Republican…
Testimony
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