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.
Criminal Justice Reform
How YOU Benefit if Lawmakers Act on Corrections
Correcting the commonwealth’s criminal justice system is urgent. This is why Gov. Tom Corbett made it clear that he wants to see reform legislation on his desk by June…
Media
Read More: How YOU Benefit if Lawmakers Act on CorrectionsCriminal Justice Reform
Gov. Corbett Is Right: Real Corrections Reform, Right Now
We here at CF are proud to be part, along with Gov. George M. Leader, his family, and many others, of a transpartisan coalition favoring “real corrections reform, right…
Media
Read More: Gov. Corbett Is Right: Real Corrections Reform, Right NowCriminal Justice Reform
Corrections Coalition, Dynamic Duo Dandy Says Patriot
Hats off to the Patriot-News Editorial Board for calling for an end to the status quo approach to criminal justice that has failed Pennsylvanians. Today’s editorial highlights the dynamic…
Media
Read More: Corrections Coalition, Dynamic Duo Dandy Says PatriotCriminal Justice Reform
Commonsense Can Correct Corrections
Kyle, a convicted burglar sentenced to 1-3 years in Pennsylvania state prison, was granted parole in June 2011, but spent an extra 100 days in jail, not because he failed…
Commentary
Read More: Commonsense Can Correct CorrectionsRegulation
Pennsylvania’s Economy Struggles to Compete
In three separate studies on the state’s economic competitiveness and business climates, Pennsylvania remains near the bottom of the pack. The 2012 Alec-Laffer Economic Competitiveness Index, ranks states economic…
Media
Read More: Pennsylvania’s Economy Struggles to CompetePublic Union Democracy
Pennsylvania’s Pension Iceberg
Laura Olson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a story on the crisis in Pennsylvania’s public pensions, and Gov. Corbett injecting pension reform into the budget discussion: Even with…
Media
Read More: Pennsylvania’s Pension IcebergEducation
Chart: School District Fund Balances Nearly Tripled in 14 Years
PA Independent reported on Monday that Pennsylvania school districts’ fund balances reached $3.2 billion in 2011 (they compiled the data from the PA Department of Education’s (PDE)…
Media
Read More: Chart: School District Fund Balances Nearly Tripled in 14 YearsRegulation
Who Should Need the Government’s Permission to Work?
What's more dangerous, an incompetent barber or incompetent emergency medical worker? Most people would say and EMT, but a barber has to undergo almost nine times the hours of training…
Media
Read More: Who Should Need the Government’s Permission to Work?Health Care
New Healthcare Regs Would Cost PA Taxpayers $50 Million
A bill on the floor of the state House would circumvent consumer freedom when it comes to prescription drugs. Many employers, including the state, encourage employees to buy less costly…
Media
Read More: New Healthcare Regs Would Cost PA Taxpayers $50 MillionCriminal Justice Reform
Real Corrections Reform, Right Now
Albert Einstein is said to have remarked that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. We the undersigned submit that unfortunately,…
Poll
Read More: Real Corrections Reform, Right NowState Budget
Chart of the Day: General Fund Spending and Revenue
Yesterday, the Pa. Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a budget (the full Senate is expected to vote on it today) that includes $27.65 billion in General Fund spending. Unfortunately, this…
Media
Read More: Chart of the Day: General Fund Spending and RevenueState Budget
CF Applauds Pa. Senate Budget Use of TPA Index
HARRISBURG, PA (05.08.12) – The Commonwealth Foundation applauded Pennsylvania Senate leadership today for using the Taxpayer Protection Act index – inflation plus population growth – to compose their fiscal year 2012-13…
Press Release
Read More: CF Applauds Pa. Senate Budget Use of TPA IndexState Budget
Why Pennsylvania Needs Spending Limits
In a Capitolwire story (subscription), Senate Appropriations Chair Jake Corman notes that the proposed version of the state budget the Senate will take up this week increases spending by…
Media
Read More: Why Pennsylvania Needs Spending LimitsCriminal Justice Reform
Correcting Corrections Correctly
Over the last 30 years, Pennsylvania’s incarceration rate has increased by 500 percent and corrections spending has skyrocketed 1,700 percent. The unprecedented prison population growth at unsustainable costs…
Media
Read More: Correcting Corrections CorrectlyState Budget
This is the Change You’ve Been Looking For
I had the opportunity to hear Scott Rasmussen speak last week. The theme of his speech was “change”—as in how policy change happens. The lesson he gave was that policy…
Media
Read More: This is the Change You’ve Been Looking ForCriminal Justice Reform
HOPE for PA Corrections Reform
Launched in 2004, Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE) is an innovative supervision strategy that provides swift, predictable sanctions on substance-abusing probationers. Research shows the program has reduced probationers’ positive…
Media
Read More: HOPE for PA Corrections ReformRegulation
Reform Bills Would Begin to Reduce Fiscal Fire
While the fiscal fire is raging across Pennsylvania, Rep. Eli Evankovich’s pension reform proposal begins to extinguish the flames that threaten to consume the commonwealth. We’ve been on record…
Media
Read More: Reform Bills Would Begin to Reduce Fiscal FireState Budget
Good April Tax Collections, but State is Spending More Than Revenue
Two new reports show that Pennsylvania’s fiscal crunch for the current year is not a dire as previously thought. Pa. Department of Revenue monthly reports on tax collections shows…
Media
Read More: Good April Tax Collections, but State is Spending More Than RevenueState Budget
GAO Sounds the Fiscal Alarm on State Medicaid Costs
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has a new report on state and local government finances. Of greatest concern are the expected increases in Medicaid spending and health care for…
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Read More: GAO Sounds the Fiscal Alarm on State Medicaid CostsTaxes & Economy
Feds Tackling Long-Term Unemployment Georgia Style
The Federal Government is taking a page from the Peach State and looking for 10 states to participate in a new unemployment program modeled off of “Georgia Works.” The program…
Media
Read More: Feds Tackling Long-Term Unemployment Georgia StyleTaxes & Economy
What Does the Primary Earthquake Mean?
I’m writing to you from Pittsburgh, which was, in a certain sense, ground zero of last night’s primary earthquake. Last night, I watched Tom Smith—who has made it a matter…
Media
Read More: What Does the Primary Earthquake Mean?