Prosperity
New Year, New Taxes in Pennsylvania
Originally published at RealClearPennsylvania The new year is always a great opportunity to shed vices like smoking and binge eating. For state and local lawmakers, their guilty pleasure tends…
Read More: New Year, New Taxes in PennsylvaniaHigh taxes make for a slow-growing economy. And communities feel the pinch of high taxes as more and more native Pennsylvanians leave the Keystone State to prosper elsewhere. To remain economically competitive, Pennsylvania must lower state taxes and ensure businesses have the opportunity to succeed. Lower taxes will incentivize more individuals to call Pennsylvania their home, ultimately spurring our statewide economy forward.
State Budget
Three Takeaways on Gov. Wolf’s 2021 Budget
Our commonwealth faces a structural budget deficit. Families need education lifelines to get back on track. Small businesses need regulatory and tax relief to stay afloat. Patients need more options to access care.
Commentary
Read More: Three Takeaways on Gov. Wolf’s 2021 BudgetTaxes & Economy
Crucial Reforms Needed in End-of-Year Budget
The recently completed state budget will dig Pennsylvania into a deep hole. Lawmakers passed a 7.5% increase in spending. The General Fund budget, including billions in one-time federal funds, is $36.54 billion—up from $33.98 billion last…
Media
Read More: Crucial Reforms Needed in End-of-Year BudgetState Budget
Balancing the State Budget Didn’t Have to Be This Hard
If lawmakers had enacted the Taxpayer Protection Act in 2018, they would face a $770 million gap between revenues and spending. Going one step further, if lawmakers had enacted the…
Commentary
Read More: Balancing the State Budget Didn’t Have to Be This HardState Budget
How to Balance the State Budget without Raising Taxes in a Pandemic
Reducing spending to reflect how the pandemic impacted state agencies and balance the budget without tax hikes or borrowing is the first step. Without additional structural spending changes laid out in…
Backgrounder
Read More: How to Balance the State Budget without Raising Taxes in a PandemicEnergy
Op-Ed: Drilling and Fracking Equal Jobs. Does Biden Understand That?
In the past decade, fracking enabled drillers to reach the gas trapped in that shale quickly and cheaply, creating tens of thousands of jobs in the shale and pipeline service industries alone.
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: Drilling and Fracking Equal Jobs. Does Biden Understand That?Energy
Op-Ed: Pennsylvania should keep fracking and oil as pro-energy policies
The Keystone State is also the nation’s second-largest producer of natural gas, third-largest producer of coal, 16th-largest producer of crude oil, and third-largest producer of electricity in general, according to…
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: Pennsylvania should keep fracking and oil as pro-energy policiesRegulation
Help Restaurants by Privatizing the PLCB
Clearly, Gov. Wolf looks out of touch—and perhaps he knows it. Last week, following his veto, he released a proposal to waiver license fees collected by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB)…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Help Restaurants by Privatizing the PLCBHealth Care
Preserving Medicaid Before It’s Too Late
Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program is a national leader in all the wrong ways. Sub-standard access to care and soaring enrollment, costs, and fraud crowd out services for people with intellectual disabilities and low-income…
Backgrounder
Read More: Preserving Medicaid Before It’s Too LateHealth Care
COVID-19 Could Change the Way Pennsylvania Does Business
Small business owners like Elvira, Jessa, and Andy deserve a fighting chance to keep their business dreams alive. That’s the only way to heal Pennsylvania’s economy.
Fact Sheet
Read More: COVID-19 Could Change the Way Pennsylvania Does BusinessState Budget
Marijuana Money Can’t Fix the Budget
The dollars involved are small and legalization would create new expenses.
Memo
Read More: Marijuana Money Can’t Fix the BudgetEnergy
Lawmakers Fight Wolf on Cap and Trade Plan
Governor Wolf is determined to pull Pennsylvania into a multi-state compact that restricts carbon dioxide emissions and raises the cost of power. But thanks to the natural gas revolution Pennsylvania…
Commentary
Read More: Lawmakers Fight Wolf on Cap and Trade PlanHealth Care
Lawmakers Push to Do Better, Rebuild Our Economy
Today the Republicans in the Pa. House attempted to override the Governor’s veto of HR 836, the bill that would end Pennsylvania’s 6-month long state of emergency and the…
Commentary
Read More: Lawmakers Push to Do Better, Rebuild Our EconomyRegulation
Lawmakers Try to Stop Restaurant Catastrophe
Bars and restaurants in Pennsylvania are sounding the alarm, warning that mass closures are on the horizon due to unnecessarily strict government regulations. A new report from the …
Media
Read More: Lawmakers Try to Stop Restaurant CatastropheTaxes & Economy
Wolf Takes More Federal Money, Complains About It
Governor Wolf is focused more on wrangling over unemployment aid than lowering unemployment.
Commentary
Read More: Wolf Takes More Federal Money, Complains About ItHealth Care
Preserving Medicaid: How to Stop Shortchanging Patients and Bankrupting Taxpayers
Pennsylvania is a Medicaid leader in all the wrong ways. Enrollment has skyrocketed beyond population growth, and the state ranks fourth in the share of the state budget consumed by Medicaid.
Report
Read More: Preserving Medicaid: How to Stop Shortchanging Patients and Bankrupting TaxpayersEducation
Unleashing Educational Opportunity
Applying cautious estimates, this study finds that the two private school choice programs in Pennsylvania are expected to provide billions in long-run economic benefits from higher lifetime earnings, fewer high…
Report
Read More: Unleashing Educational OpportunityHealth Care
Struggling Small Businesses Overwhelm Govt. Lifeline
Nearly 50,000 Pennsylvania small businesses applied for COVID relief grants from state government over the last two weeks, catching bureaucrats off guard as local businesses continue to see steep revenue…
Media
Read More: Struggling Small Businesses Overwhelm Govt. LifelineEducation
The Race to Rebuild: How Pa. Can Bounce Back After COVID-19
Pennsylvanians are facing some of the biggest challenges of their lifetimes. It is time for lawmakers to launch a race to rebuild Pennsylvania using the following policy solutions.
Report
Read More: The Race to Rebuild: How Pa. Can Bounce Back After COVID-19Regulation
Competition, Not Corporate Welfare: 3 Ways to Help All Businesses Flourish
To effectively promote economic growth and job creation, policymakers need to stop investing tax dollars in failed programs and start enacting policies that benefit a wide range of job creators.
Memo
Read More: Competition, Not Corporate Welfare: 3 Ways to Help All Businesses FlourishEnergy
Pa. Can Energize Its Energy Sector by Cutting Red Tape—Not with Industry Subsidies
This week the state legislature passed House Bill 732. The bill—designed to exempt volunteer service providers from a 1 percent realty transfer tax— now offers tax credits to the…
Memo
Read More: Pa. Can Energize Its Energy Sector by Cutting Red Tape—Not with Industry SubsidiesGovernment Accountability
5 Ways Lawmakers can Avert a COVID-19 Lawsuit Frenzy
The economy is reopening, but the threat of lawsuits from COIVD-19 exposure is just beginning.
Fact Sheet
Read More: 5 Ways Lawmakers can Avert a COVID-19 Lawsuit Frenzy