Pennsylvania’s complex state budget has enabled policymakers to keep taxpayers in the dark when it comes to state spending. Year after year, some elected officials use budget gimmicks to both make the budget appear balanced and to secure their own agendas. Pennsylvanians deserve reforms that bring true transparency to the budgeting process. We must limit spending growth to a sustainable rate, ensuring the state government—like hardworking taxpayers—live within its means.

State Budget

Markets Have Already Solved the Minimum Wage Debate

  • Joshua Schubert
  • May 18, 2026

Originally published by TribLIVE. Raising the minimum wage would have minimal impact on Pennsylvania’s economy. That’s not just my opinion; that’s precisely what the current administration—the…

Media Hit

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Education

Deficit Watch: May 2026

  • May 7, 2026

Background Pennsylvania continues to face serious fiscal challenges. The enacted 2025–26 General Fund budget created a $4.6 billion structural deficit. Gov. Josh…

Deficit Watch

Read More: Deficit Watch: May 2026

Education

[MEDIA] Andrew Lewis Addresses Pennsylvania Press Club

  • Andrew Lewis
  • April 27, 2026

Andrew Lewis, President & CEO of the Commonwealth Foundation, addressed the Pennsylvania Press Club on Monday afternoon. In his speech, Lewis outlined the path forward to make Pennsylvania the leading…

Media Hit

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State Budget

Deficit Watch: April 2026

  • April 6, 2026

Background Pennsylvania continues to face serious fiscal challenges. The enacted 2025–26 General Fund budget created a $4.6 billion structural deficit. Gov. Josh…

Deficit Watch

Read More: Deficit Watch: April 2026

State Budget

Shapiro’s “Affordability” Agenda Has a $7 Billion Problem

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 26, 2026

Originally published in The Mercury. Gov. Josh Shapiro wants Pennsylvanians to believe that he is delivering affordability. But his unaffordable budget tells a different story. The…

Media Hit

Read More: Shapiro’s “Affordability” Agenda Has a $7 Billion Problem

State Budget

Deficit Watch: March 2026

  • March 18, 2026

Background Pennsylvania continues to face serious fiscal challenges. The enacted 2025–26 General Fund budget created a $4.6 billion structural deficit. Gov. Josh…

Deficit Watch

Read More: Deficit Watch: March 2026

State Budget

Childcare Affordability Continues To Plague Pennsylvanians

  • March 11, 2026

Harrisburg, Pa., March 11, 2026 — Pennsylvania is one of the most overregulated states for childcare. And despite more than $50 million in additional state funding since 2023, too many families continue to find childcare…

Press Release

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Regulation

Fixing the Childcare Affordability Crisis in Pennsylvania

  • Corey V. Kendig, Elizabeth Stelle
  • March 10, 2026

Key Points Statewide numbers for 2024 show the average annual cost of center-based infant care in Pennsylvania at $14,910, or 11.5 percent of the median married…

Backgrounder

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Education

[MEDIA] Andrew Lewis on ‘Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words’

  • Andrew Lewis
  • March 5, 2026

Pennsylvania’s Policy Battles: Energy Independence, School Choice, and America 250 Andrew Lewis, President & CEO of the Commonwealth Foundation, joins “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words,” to discuss why…

Media Hit

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Government Accountability

Shapiro’s Taxpayer-Funded Vanity Tour Rages On

  • March 2, 2026

Recent reporting exposed the Shapiro administration’s reliance on artificial intelligence to write its newly released Housing Action Plan. And it’s no wonder Shapiro has outsourced his…

Blog

Read More: Shapiro’s Taxpayer-Funded Vanity Tour Rages On

State Budget

Yes, Gov. Shapiro’s Budget Raises Taxes

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 12, 2026

Originally published by PennLive. In his campaign-style budget address, Gov. Josh Shapiro claimed his budget neither enacts any new taxes nor requires future tax…

Media Hit

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State Budget

Has Governor Shapiro Actually Cut Taxes?

  • February 12, 2026

Gov. Josh Shapiro desperately wants Pennsylvanians to believe he isn’t a run-of-the-mill tax-and-spend Democrat. “The Governor has cut taxes seven times,” claims one of his latest…

Blog

Read More: Has Governor Shapiro Actually Cut Taxes?

State Budget

Pennsylvania is Shrinking. We Need More Workers

  • Jacob Custer, Nathan Benefield
  • February 4, 2026

Originally published by The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. New migration reports show that last year more people moved out of Pennsylvania than moved in, marking the commonwealth’s…

Media Hit

Read More: Pennsylvania is Shrinking. We Need More Workers

Education

Governor Shapiro’s Reckless 2026–27 Budget Proposal

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 3, 2026

Overview Gov. Josh Shapiro’s unaffordable budget worsens Pennsylvania’s structural deficit. The governor proposes nearly $53.26 billion in general fund spending, a 6.3 percent increase over the 2025–26 enacted budget. He…

Fact Sheet

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Education

Governor Shapiro Presents Unaffordable State Budget

  • February 3, 2026

Gov. Josh Shapiro returns to Pennsylvania to pitch spending plan families cannot afford.   Harrisburg, Pa., February 3, 2026 — In a campaign-style speech that doesn’t address the needs of Pennsylvanians, Gov. Josh Shapiro delivered his 2026 state budget address, proposing a $3.2  billion spending…

Press Release

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State Budget

2026–27 State Budget: Tackling the Structural Deficit

  • February 2, 2026

Summary Pennsylvania’s structural deficit has reached $4.8 billion due to excessive spending. Under Gov. Josh Shapiro and his predecessor, Tom Wolf, state spending has consistently grown at a faster pace…

Fact Sheet

Read More: 2026–27 State Budget: Tackling the Structural Deficit