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
The Case for a Pennsylvania Tax and Expenditure Limitation
Executive Summary In recent years, states across the United States with both limits on how much their governments can tax and/or spend and “super-majority” provisions that make it more difficult…
Fact Sheet
Read More: The Case for a Pennsylvania Tax and Expenditure LimitationEducation
Governor Rendells Rewarding Results & Accountability
Testimony of Matthew J. Brouillette, President, Commonwealth Foundation Thank you Chairman Stairs and members of the Committee for the invitation to testify this afternoon on Governor Rendell’s “Rewarding Results and…
Commentary
Read More: Governor Rendells Rewarding Results & AccountabilityTaxes & Economy
The New Pennsylvania Slogan: Pay Me Now and Pay Me Later
Remember the television commercials promoting an automotive oil filter that featured the statement “You can pay me now, or pay me later”? Well, when it comes to business taxes, Pennsylvania…
Commentary
Read More: The New Pennsylvania Slogan: Pay Me Now and Pay Me LaterTaxes & Economy
Governor Rendells Plan for a New Pennsylvania
Testimony of Matthew J. Brouillette, President, Commonwealth Foundation Thank you Rep. Argall and members of the House Appropriations Committee for the opportunity to speak to you this afternoon on…
Commentary
Read More: Governor Rendells Plan for a New PennsylvaniaRegulation
Pennsylvanias $2 Billion Corporate Giveaway
Executive Summary Current proposals under consideration in the Pennsylvania General Assembly would grant limited gambling licenses to horse racetracks across the Commonwealth in an attempt to bolster the struggling industry.
Fact Sheet
Read More: Pennsylvanias $2 Billion Corporate GiveawayEnergy
Earth Day Reality Check: Embrace the Truth Not Environmental Hysteria
Forty years ago, native Pennsylvanian Rachel Carson and author of Silent Spring wrote “We stand now where two roads diverge.” Carson’s statement accurately reflects the current state of Pennsylvania’s regulatory…
Commentary
Read More: Earth Day Reality Check: Embrace the Truth Not Environmental HysteriaTaxes & Economy
Governor Rendell Strikes Out With Economic Development Bonds
Governor Ed Rendell moonlights as a cable television sports commentator. So when Pennsylvanians recently saw headlines reading “Rendell Wants $2 Billion for Bonds,” many of them could be forgiven for…
Commentary
Read More: Governor Rendell Strikes Out With Economic Development BondsEducation
What $17.4 Billion Cant Buy
There are few things in Pennsylvania that $17,438,840,000 cannot buy. Yet in signing the 2003-04 Budget, Governor Rendell told Pennsylvanians that $10,400 average per-pupil revenue is simply not enough to…
Commentary
Read More: What $17.4 Billion Cant BuyTaxes & Economy
Sizing Up Pennsylvanias Next DEP Secretary
Today, the acronym DEP still stands for the “Department of Environmental Protection,” thanks to the era of relative cooperation between government and industry established by former DEP Secretaries James Seif…
Commentary
Read More: Sizing Up Pennsylvanias Next DEP SecretaryRegulation
Betting On Gambling: Potential Costs and Consequences for Pennsylvania
Executive Summary …
Fact Sheet
Read More: Betting On Gambling: Potential Costs and Consequences for PennsylvaniaEducation
Getting More, Paying Less: Children, Taxpayers, and Public Schools Benefit from the Educational Improvement Tax Credit
Executive Summary The public school system is one of the most expansive and expensive government monopolies in America. Yet both real-world experience and economic research suggest that this monopoly of…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Getting More, Paying Less: Children, Taxpayers, and Public Schools Benefit from the Educational Improvement Tax CreditTaxes & Economy
Economic Development
Across the United States, state and local governments are locked in a constant competition to attract and retain businesses. Public subsidies, in the form of grants, loans, tax incentives, and…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Economic DevelopmentTaxes & Economy
Parent Reform: The Next Movement in Public Education?
Lebanon sure isn’t Lake Wobegon where, as Garrison Keillor tells it, all the children are above average. Heck, this Lebanon, Pennsylvania school district is apparently so troubled by children, it’s…
Commentary
Read More: Parent Reform: The Next Movement in Public Education?Regulation
The Economic Impacts of Introducing Slot Machines at Racetracks in Pennsylvania: A Review of the Penn State Harrisburg Study
Purpose …
Fact Sheet
Read More: The Economic Impacts of Introducing Slot Machines at Racetracks in Pennsylvania: A Review of the Penn State Harrisburg StudyState Budget
Rightsizing State Government: Solutions to Pennsylvanias Fiscal and Economic Challenges
Executive Summary “[W]e must find a way to make government live within its means. That is my first priority as governor. We must act now, and we cannot fail. We…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Rightsizing State Government: Solutions to Pennsylvanias Fiscal and Economic ChallengesTaxes & Economy
Creating A Truly New Pennsylvania
Pennsylvanians with high hopes that Governor Ed Rendell’s economic development policies will create a “new Pennsylvania” had better be prepared for disappointment. The new governor’s recent public comments make it…
Commentary
Read More: Creating A Truly New PennsylvaniaEducation
School Taxes and Education Quality: Rendells Rhetoric Versus Reality
Governor Rendell’s inaugural speech reiterated his campaign promise to reform Pennsylvania’s school funding and property tax system while boosting the state’s share of total school revenue to 50 percent. But…
Commentary
Read More: School Taxes and Education Quality: Rendells Rhetoric Versus RealityPublic Union Democracy
The Impact of Compulsory Unionism on Economic Development
Executive Summary With increasing global competition taking a toll on U.S. manufacturing jobs, and state governments and municipalities struggling to achieve greater operating efficiencies in the face of declining revenues…
Report
Read More: The Impact of Compulsory Unionism on Economic DevelopmentPublic Union Democracy
Nobody should be forced to pay for someone elses politics!
Testimony of Matthew J. Brouillette, President, Commonwealth Foundation Thank you Mr. Chairman and Members of the House Labor Relations Committee for the invitation to testify this morning on an important…
Commentary
Read More: Nobody should be forced to pay for someone elses politics!Education
Waiting at the Cradle
"Hey, what about the kids?" That is the slogan for a multimillion-dollar public relations campaign called "Focus Five for Kids," created to highlight children's issues during the Pennsylvania gubernatorial campaign.
Commentary
Read More: Waiting at the CradleEducation
Property Tax & School Funding Reform: The Michigan Experience and Principles for Pennsylvania
Executive Summary After decades of relative inaction, Pennsylvania policymakers may finally tackle the issue of property-tax and school-funding reform. While states such as Michigan have already substantively addressed the problem…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Property Tax & School Funding Reform: The Michigan Experience and Principles for Pennsylvania