State Budget
Pennsylvanians Are in Dire Need of Tax Reform
Originally published by RealClearPennsylvania. Today is Tax Day. Each year, April 15th reminds us of the costliness of government spending – and why lawmakers must reduce this financial burden on…
Read More: Pennsylvanians Are in Dire Need of Tax ReformHigh 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.
Health Care
ACA a Boon to Special Interests
Tim Carney continues to highlight the role special interests— including the largest players in the health care industry—played in crafting the socalled Affordable Care Act, dispelling the myth that…
Media
Read More: ACA a Boon to Special InterestsHealth Care
Pizza, Burgers and Health Care Reform
The devastating side effects of the Affordable Care Act are multiplying every day. It’s not uncommon to hear that premiums are rising, about 7 percent next year, according to the…
Media
Read More: Pizza, Burgers and Health Care ReformRegulation
No More Solyndras in Pa.’s Future?
Pennsylvania Independent’s Melissa Daniels writes that corporate welfare programs to benefit solar companies are on their way out in Pennsylvania, saving consumers more than $100 million. Two major state…
Media
Read More: No More Solyndras in Pa.’s Future?Public Union Democracy
Taxpayer Tornado Sweeps Through Kansas, Union Party Swept Away
What’s one of the few things stranger than a CF staffer reading the Huffington Post? Easy. A CF staffer reading on the Huffington Post about a great victory for the…
Media
Read More: Taxpayer Tornado Sweeps Through Kansas, Union Party Swept AwayHealth Care
State Officials Give Medicaid Expansion a Thumbs Down
Is expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act a good idea for states? According to state budget directors across the country, the answer is a resounding no. A recent survey conducted by…
Media
Read More: State Officials Give Medicaid Expansion a Thumbs DownTaxes & Economy
Welfare Anti-Fraud Measures Earn Gold Medal
The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare received an award for its recent efforts to curb waste and fraud. The Council of State Governments gave DPW a 2012 Innovations Award…
Media
Read More: Welfare Anti-Fraud Measures Earn Gold MedalTaxes & Economy
Olympic Lessons for Gold Medal Citizens
When you watch as much Olympics coverage as I do, you can learn a lot: like the size of swimming prodigy Missy Franklin’s feet (13), the weight of the tires…
Media
Read More: Olympic Lessons for Gold Medal CitizensTaxes & Economy
How Low Can Frackaphobes Go?
Winston Churchill once quipped that, “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” If so, then natural gas drilling myths…
Media
Read More: How Low Can Frackaphobes Go?State Budget
Pennsylvania Welfare Changes will Save an Estimated $173 Million
Act 80 of 2012 amends the Pennsylvania Welfare Code to include several reforms to Department of Public Welfare spending in the 2012-13 state budget. Act 80 will save state taxpayers…
Memo
Read More: Pennsylvania Welfare Changes will Save an Estimated $173 MillionCriminal Justice Reform
Don’t Fire Arrows without Arrowheads in Corrections Reform
Reforming our state corrections system is not being soft on crime—it is being smart on crime. To achieve transformative corrections reform, lawmakers should finish this critical legislative package and build…
Commentary
Read More: Don’t Fire Arrows without Arrowheads in Corrections ReformHealth Care
Medicaid Big Threat to States
A new study by the State Budget Crisis Task Force found Medicaid is one of the six biggest threats facing states. That should be no surprise to our readers.
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Read More: Medicaid Big Threat to StatesTaxes & Economy
Happy Cost of Government Day 2012
Today Pennsylvania reached its Cost of Government Day, according to Americans for Tax Reform’s annual report. In other words, it took the average Keystone worker until July 20, or…
Media
Read More: Happy Cost of Government Day 2012Regulation
Moody’s Sounds the Four Alarms
Yesterday, Moody’s Investor Services downgraded Pennsylvania’s bond rating one level. The downgrade implies Pennsylvania bonds are riskier than previously assessed, and it could make it more expensive for the…
Media
Read More: Moody’s Sounds the Four AlarmsTaxes & Economy
Welfare: Don’t Repudiate Resounding Results, Replicate Reform
A new move from the Obama administration would waive work requirements under TANF (cash assistance). Requiring recipients to work was a central provision of the highly successful 1996 welfare…
Media
Read More: Welfare: Don’t Repudiate Resounding Results, Replicate ReformHealth Care
ACA Encourages Young & Healthy to Stay Uninsured
An AP article claims the Affordable Care Act will lower the cost of insurance for young adults through a host of government interventions such as new mandates, Medicaid…
Media
Read More: ACA Encourages Young & Healthy to Stay UninsuredHealth Care
States Take a Stand Against Medicaid Expansion
The Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act would cost Pennsylvania an additional $2 billion through 2019, should the commonwealth participate. That represents merely the state share, as taxes…
Media
Read More: States Take a Stand Against Medicaid ExpansionHealth Care
What if Congress Passed the “TV Mandate”?
A friend of mine recently purchased a new flat screen TV, getting a no-interest loan for three years to finance it. He remarked in amazement at this wonder, noting he…
Media
Read More: What if Congress Passed the “TV Mandate”?Taxes & Economy
EPA Wants to Scare Jobs Out of Pennsylvania
The Environmental Protection Agency’s derailing of American’s economy is frightening enough to scare even the Ghostbusters (and they ain’t afraid of no ghost). Pennsylvania will be the 7th hardest hit…
Media
Read More: EPA Wants to Scare Jobs Out of PennsylvaniaTaxes & Economy
This Independence Day, You and I Have No Right
This morning, spurred by a blog post by Bill Kristol, I’ve been reading an Independence Day oration given by the famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass in 1852, during the run-up to…
Media
Read More: This Independence Day, You and I Have No RightState Budget
Olympic Hurdles Grab for Gold in Pennsylvania Budget
This July signals the beginning and end of two feats requiring amazing determination, stamina and perseverance—the start of the 2012 Summer Olympics and the on-time passage of the Pennsylvania state…
Commentary
Read More: Olympic Hurdles Grab for Gold in Pennsylvania BudgetHealth Care
State Officials Have the Power to Stop Federal Health Care
The Supreme Court health care ruling last week gave Pennsylvania two opportunities to undermine the Affordable Care Act. States can decline to set up a state exchange and choose not…
Media
Read More: State Officials Have the Power to Stop Federal Health Care