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
Budget Outlook: Restrained Spending Growth
On Tuesday, Budget Secretary Randy Albright gave the mid-year budget briefing (slides available here) for the 2018-19 budget. If you’re expecting a repeat of the Wolf Administration’s tax-and-spend rhetoric…
Media
Read More: Budget Outlook: Restrained Spending GrowthTaxes & Economy
Will Carbon Taxes Bring Paris Protests to Pa?
“Nothing reveals the disconnect between ordinary voters and an aloof political class more than carbon taxation,” write the editors of the Wall Street Journal. As French “yellow vest”…
Media
Read More: Will Carbon Taxes Bring Paris Protests to Pa?Health Care
Four Ways Pa. Lawmakers Can Reduce the Cost of Health Care
Bureaucracy just makes things worse. Case in point: Obamacare. Pennsylvanians have faced soaring health care costs and far fewer options ever since the law was passed. Thankfully, a…
Media
Read More: Four Ways Pa. Lawmakers Can Reduce the Cost of Health CareRegulation
Just Say No To Corporate Welfare
“We prefer the term ‘corporate welfare.’” Elizabeth Stelle, CF’s Director of Policy Analysis, recently appeared on the KD/PG Sunday Edition to discuss the GM bailout, Amazon’s HQ2 forgoing Pennsylvania, and…
Media
Read More: Just Say No To Corporate WelfareRegulation
Our Christmas Wish: A Solvent Pennsylvania
“I’m dreaming of a solvent Penn’s Woods/Just like the one we used to know.” Lyrics not worthy of Bing Crosby, but still music to the ears of a…
Media
Read More: Our Christmas Wish: A Solvent PennsylvaniaRegulation
Turnpike Toll Hikes Highlight Missed Opportunities
There are three things Pennsylvanians have learned to count on: death, taxes, and Turnpike toll hikes. On January 6th, the state toll road will increase rates by another 6…
Media
Read More: Turnpike Toll Hikes Highlight Missed OpportunitiesRegulation
Harsh Conditions Continue: Pennsylvania’s 2017-18 Business Climate
After the recent decision by Amazon not to put an HQ2 location in Pennsylvania, business owners and taxpayers all across the state are asking the same questions: What barriers…
Media
Read More: Harsh Conditions Continue: Pennsylvania’s 2017-18 Business ClimateState Budget
2017-18 State Budget & Spending Trends
Over the next month, CF will recount what happened on major issues in the 2017-18 legislative session and what policies lawmakers need to prioritize in the 2019-20 session to make…
Media
Read More: 2017-18 State Budget & Spending TrendsState Budget
IFO Projects $1.7 Billion State Budget Deficit in 2019
Last year’s state budget boasted a series of firsts. It was the first budget in four years enacted before the June 30 deadline and represents the only budget Gov.
Media
Read More: IFO Projects $1.7 Billion State Budget Deficit in 2019Criminal Justice Reform
One Policy Where Trump and Wolf Agree
President Trump and Gov. Tom Wolf agree: minimum sentencing laws are counterproductive. Last Wednesday, President Trump announced his support of the FIRST STEP Act. The bill gives federal judges more…
Media
Read More: One Policy Where Trump and Wolf AgreeRegulation
Billions in Bribes Couldn’t Overcome Business Climate
As the old saying goes, “you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.” Such is the case with the business climate in Pennsylvania. And it appears…
Media
Read More: Billions in Bribes Couldn’t Overcome Business ClimateTaxes & Economy
Pennsylvania’s Path to Tax Relief
Pennsylvania’s high state and local tax burden is hindering job growth, suppressing wages, and enabling wasteful government spending.
Memo
Read More: Pennsylvania’s Path to Tax ReliefRegulation
On Amazon and Unilaterally Disarming Corporate Welfare
Amazon just announced that instead of one “HQ 2”, they will chose two new facilities—neither of which will be in Pennsylvania, instead choosing New York and Virginia. This shouldn’t…
Media
Read More: On Amazon and Unilaterally Disarming Corporate WelfareRegulation
Pennsylvania’s Pension Systems
In 2017, Pennsylvania passed landmark pension reform that will kick in come January. But our $70 billion plus liability is still growing and so is the municipal pension crisis.
Memo
Read More: Pennsylvania’s Pension SystemsHealth Care
What Do Lower Exchange Premiums Mean?
For the first time in the history of the Affordable Care Act, exchange premiums are decreasing in Pennsylvania. Insurance Commissioner Altman announced an aggregate average decrease of 2.3 percent…
Media
Read More: What Do Lower Exchange Premiums Mean?Government Accountability
Pennsylvania’s #1 Special Interest Problem
A solution that makes the problem worse is no solution at all. Yet, recent calls for campaign finance reform and a natural gas severance tax would do just that—selectively…
Media
Read More: Pennsylvania’s #1 Special Interest ProblemCriminal Justice Reform
Three Bills to Help Vulnerable Pennsylvanians Await Signature
Last week we celebrated passage of a transformative welfare reform bill, which Governor Wolf vetoed late Friday afternoon. But it wasn't the only good policy that cleared both chambers…
Media
Read More: Three Bills to Help Vulnerable Pennsylvanians Await SignatureTaxes & Economy
Natural Gas Outshines Solar, Blows Past Wind
Natural gas is by far the best the most efficient way to produce electricity, according to a recent report by the Manhattan Institute. The report indicates that dollar-for-dollar,…
Media
Read More: Natural Gas Outshines Solar, Blows Past WindRegulation
Corporate Welfare: A Bad Deal for Pennsylvanians
Hanover company WNS closed its doors for good at the end of September, putting 107 men and women out of work. This news comes just two years after Governor…
Media
Read More: Corporate Welfare: A Bad Deal for PennsylvaniansRegulation
Corporate Welfare’s Record of Failure
In a free market economy, entrepreneurs succeed or fail based on their ability to meet their customers’ needs. Yet all too often, government disrupts this process by conferring tax credits,…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Corporate Welfare’s Record of FailureCriminal Justice Reform
Pennsylvania’s Financial Condition? Critical
Despite what you may have heard, Pennsylvania’s fiscal troubles haven’t disappeared. The recent state budget did not address the commonwealth’s short- or long-term financial challenges. It merely papered over them.
Media
Read More: Pennsylvania’s Financial Condition? Critical