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
Unprecedented Prison Population Growth
This is the first installment in a three-part series that will look at Pennsylvania’s correctional system, public policies that have worked in other states, and provide a blueprint to bring…
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Chart of the Day: Pennsylvania School Revenue per Student
Critics of state spending cuts claim there is a lack of funding for public schools. But from the 1995-96 school year through 2009-10 (the latest year with data available…
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Read More: Chart of the Day: Pennsylvania School Revenue per StudentGovernment Accountability
Veterans: Let’s Do It For Them – VOTE!
Why should you vote in the upcoming elections? Hear from three generations of combat veterans, all from the same Pennsylvania hometown, who speak of the selfless sacrifice of our…
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Read More: Veterans: Let’s Do It For Them – VOTE!Taxes & Economy
The Facts about Fracking and Physicians
Yesterday’s statement by the Pennsylvania Medical Society President Marilyn Heine should put to rest the recent panic over a provision in Act 13—the newly enacted Marcellus Shale legislation…
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Read More: The Facts about Fracking and PhysiciansTaxes & Economy
Today We Celebrate PA’s Tax Freedom Day
You might have thought Tax Freedom Day was April 17—the last day to file your taxes—but for Pennsylvania, it’s really today, April 18. Tax Freedom Day is calculated…
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Read More: Today We Celebrate PA’s Tax Freedom DayHealth Care
Medicaid Flexibility: The Key to a Sustainable Safety Net
As we inch towards the state budget deadline, welfare spending reductions in Pennsylvania continue to be contentious. The reductions that are proposed concentrate on 20 percent of spending, since…
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Read More: Medicaid Flexibility: The Key to a Sustainable Safety NetRegulation
Government-run Golf a Taxpayer Double Bogey
Believe it or not, local governments, i.e., taxpayers, own 49 golf courses in Pennsylvania. One of the poorest performers is Dauphin Highlands Golf Course, owned by Dauphin County taxpayers, which…
Commentary
Read More: Government-run Golf a Taxpayer Double BogeyState Budget
State Spending Limits for Pennsylvania
Prior to 2011-12, Pennsylvania's total operating budget had increased for at least 40 consecutive years. The Taxpayer Protection Act (TPA) would force lawmakers to limit government spending during boom years,…
Fact Sheet
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Medicaid Waivers & the Looming Fiscal Crisis
In the waning days of 2008, the state of Rhode Island secured a global waiver for its Medicaid program. The waiver exempted the state from many federal rules and mandates in exchange for a…
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Read More: Medicaid Waivers & the Looming Fiscal CrisisRegulation
Schools Get Property Tax Referendum Exemptions for Pension Costs
Last year, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed, and Gov. Corbett signed, legislation reducing the number of exemptions to the school tax referendum requirement. But as noted this…
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Read More: Schools Get Property Tax Referendum Exemptions for Pension CostsTaxes & Economy
Marcellus Shale: Pennsylvania’s Manna From Heaven
Yesterday, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and the Pennsylvania Chemical Industry Council hosted a forum on the benefits of natural gas for Pennsylvania’s manufacturing sector. David Taylor of the…
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Read More: Marcellus Shale: Pennsylvania’s Manna From HeavenTaxes & Economy
PA to Copy Missouri’s Failed Land Banking Policy
Pennsylvania is close to adopting Missouri’s 40 year old failed land banking policy. House Bill 1682, which has already passed the House and the Senate’s Urban Affairs and…
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Read More: PA to Copy Missouri’s Failed Land Banking PolicyHealth Care
Not Why I’m Here
“Why am I here?” That’s an excellent question to ask yourself if you work in Harrisburg. This week, as I read a piece by Karen Langley in the Pittsburgh…
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Read More: Not Why I’m HereState Budget
Do Government Programs Grow the Economy?
While decades of increased government spending have resulted in economic stagnation, many advocates of increasing government spending claim that their favored program will “grow the economy.” They argue that…
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Read More: Do Government Programs Grow the Economy?Health Care
Change We Can’t Afford
This week, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act celebrated its two-year anniversary before the U.S. Supreme Court. The controversial health care law finds itself in front of the highest…
Commentary
Read More: Change We Can’t AffordTaxes & Economy
Chart of the Day: Welfare Overlap
The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) encompasses much more than Food Stamps and Medicaid. There are numerous federally-funded and state-only aid programs. In fact, most of the 2.7 million…
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Read More: Chart of the Day: Welfare OverlapHealth Care
PPACA Will Put a Quarter of Pennsylvanians on Medicaid
There is no shortage of media coverage marking PPACA’s two year anniversary, but one statistic from the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare did grab my attention: Instead of…
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Read More: PPACA Will Put a Quarter of Pennsylvanians on MedicaidTaxes & Economy
Energy Essential to Economic Growth
The World Economic Forum has a released an updated study on energy and economic growth in the US and guess what sector plays a huge role? That’s…
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Read More: Energy Essential to Economic GrowthEducation
No School Tax Referendums in Pennsylvania this Year
Remember the gnashing of teeth over “cuts” in state education subsidies (driven by the end of federal stimulus money)? The education establishment and partisan critics of Gov. Corbett insisted this…
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Read More: No School Tax Referendums in Pennsylvania this YearState Budget
Pennsylvania Government Debt
Today, Pennsylvanians owe $121 billion in state and local government debt. This equates to more than $9,400 for every person, and almost $38,000 for the average family of four in…
Fact Sheet
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Is Corporate Welfare for Shell Cracker Good for PA?
Astute readers may remember that last month Pennsylvania earned the dubious distinction of the highest taxes for mature businesses and the second highest taxes for new businesses. So how…
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