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.
Taxes & Economy
Free analysis of costly Turnpike study
Toll Roads News offers some comments on the $75,000 taxpayer-funded “study” on a Turnpike lease. The Caucus report is in its nature hypothetical. It is based on…
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Read More: Free analysis of costly Turnpike studyTaxes & Economy
Did the PA min. wage increase cost jobs?
The PA Department of Labor and Industry released their report on the state minimum wage increase. As this Post-Gazette story indicated, the report doesn’t attempt to address what…
Media
Read More: Did the PA min. wage increase cost jobs?Taxes & Economy
Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission vs. PennDOT
Act 44 of 2007 dramatically expanded the scope and power of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) to increase tolls on the 537-mile Turnpike; enter into a lease agreement with…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission vs. PennDOTPublic Union Democracy
Texas v. Ohio
Wall Street Journal article contrasts the economic fortunes between Texas (good) and Ohio (bad), and explores some of the reasons behind this – namely taxes (Texas=low, Ohio=high and increasing)…
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NAFTA, Foreign Trade, and jobs
Cato’s Dan Griswold writes that “Ohio Needs More Foreign Trade” as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama denounce NAFTA in Ohio: Ohio workers would pay a heavy price for…
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Read More: NAFTA, Foreign Trade, and jobsRegulation
Union wants pension backing for roads
Financial Times article on public sector unions pushing for public pension funds to invest in roads and other infrastructure. Of course, as noted, many public pension funds (the California…
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Read More: Union wants pension backing for roadsTaxes & Economy
An Upside for the Middle Class
Interesting Washington Post article on the middle class: Items once considered luxuries — dishwashers, central air conditioning, video cameras — are now common. The average size of new…
Media
Read More: An Upside for the Middle ClassRegulation
How to Shrink an Economy
Penn State Altoona econ professor John McGinnis writes on how Pennsylvania’s “economic development” spending shrinks our economy – first by taxing to pay for this corporate welfare, then by…
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Read More: How to Shrink an EconomyState Budget
PA Budget Historical Numbers
I’ve received a couple of requests for historics Pennsylvania state budget numbers, so I thought I’d post the data here. The figures represent actual final spending from 1970-2007, while…
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Read More: PA Budget Historical NumbersTaxes & Economy
Daylight Saving Wastes Energy
A new study show that daylight savings time result in higher energy use, reports the Wall Street Journal, examing the effect of Indiana’s recent move to DST. Daylight Savings…
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Wages Are a Price, Too
A good chart of wages vs. inflation on the CARPE DIEM blog, along with a criticism of today’s Wall Street Journal article on inflation (and a humorous transposition…
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Foreigners Create Jobs
With transportation funding from last year's Act 44 looking increasingly unlikely to materialize, Gov. Rendell is wisely continuing to push for a private-sector lease of the Pennsylvania Turnpike as part…
Commentary
Read More: Foreigners Create JobsTaxes & Economy
Bio-Foolish Behavior
IBD Editorial on the lack of common sense in pushing for additional bio-fuel mandates and taxpayer subsidy: In 2005, America used 15% of its corn crop to replace…
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Read More: Bio-Foolish BehaviorHealth Care
Obama v. McCain on Health Care
Cato Daily Podcast with Michael Tanner on the differences between McCain and Obama – and the constrast of market-based reform vs. expansion of government – on health care.
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The Laffer Curve, Part II
Second part in the video series on the Laffer Curve – this video looks at real examples of how tax cuts result in economic and revenue growth.
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Read More: The Laffer Curve, Part IIHealth Care
RendellCare: What Would Jesus Do?
Remember the passage in the Bible where Jesus called upon the Roman Empire to provide universal, government-run health insurance? What! There’s no such passage? Perhaps someone should point that…
Commentary
Read More: RendellCare: What Would Jesus Do?Health Care
Semonizing on RendellCare
Morning Call article and Post-Gazette piece on the planned “CAP Sunday” and campaign to use sermons to promote RendellCare. (HT: GrassrootsPA) I’ve written on Jesus and…
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Read More: Semonizing on RendellCareRegulation
Corporate Welfare responsible for 125% of new jobs
A new study and press conference today by the Pennsylvania Economic Development Association (PEDA) takes credit for helping to “create” 186,000 jobs in PA from 2003 through…
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Read More: Corporate Welfare responsible for 125% of new jobsTaxes & Economy
The Running Total Of Our Taxes
One blog I have been following is Taxation With Representation, in which “Danny” keeps a running total of the total taxes his family has paid – income, Social Security,…
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Read More: The Running Total Of Our TaxesHealth Care
Wal-Mart can be good for your health
Salon.com article on the growth of retail clinics in providing low-cost health care services – and the opposition from entrenched special interests.
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Read More: Wal-Mart can be good for your healthTaxes & Economy
The ACLU gets it right for once
Tony Phyrillas on the ACLU’s defense of property owners’ right to put campaign signs in their yard in South Park (not that South Park).
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