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.
Criminal Justice Reform
Fiscal Outlook for Pennsylvania: Not Too Rosy
This week the new Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office held its first annual seminar on the state economy and revenue. After a series of presentations on the state of the…
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Read More: Fiscal Outlook for Pennsylvania: Not Too RosyCriminal Justice Reform
Corrections Reform: Another Sacred Cow?
Our friends at Reason.org have called out Pennsylvania lawmakers’ opposition to prison healthcare reform, calling it yet another public sector union sacred cow. At issue is House…
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Read More: Corrections Reform: Another Sacred Cow?Taxes & Economy
Impact Fee: Compromise on Details, not Principles
Capitolwire reports (subscription required) on the negotiations between the House and Senate Marcellus Shale impact fee bills — HB 1950 and SB 1100. Here’s a recap: The fee…
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Read More: Impact Fee: Compromise on Details, not PrinciplesTaxes & Economy
Will Anti-Gas Political Climate Prevent 10,000 Jobs?
U.S. Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey, along with Gov. Tom Corbett, have been lobbying for Shell to invest their petroleum chemistry plant, known as a “cracker”…
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Read More: Will Anti-Gas Political Climate Prevent 10,000 Jobs?Criminal Justice Reform
Time for Pennsylvania to Get Right on Crime
Last week on NPR, former U.S. Attorney General and Pennsylvania Gov. Dick Thornburgh joined Adam Gelb, director for Pew’s Public Safety Performance Project, to discuss criminal justice…
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Read More: Time for Pennsylvania to Get Right on CrimeState Budget
Turnpike Commission Defends Ballooning Debt
Following our post yesterday, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission wanted to make sure we saw their response to Auditor General Jack Wagner’s warning on their growing debt. The Turnpike…
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Read More: Turnpike Commission Defends Ballooning DebtTaxes & Economy
Do Millionaires Need Food Stamps?
For the past few years, politicians in Harrisburg and Washington have considered it a “success” to put more families on welfare. The result is an abundance of loopholes that allow…
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Read More: Do Millionaires Need Food Stamps?Taxes & Economy
Wagner’s Warning on Turnpike Debt Not Exaggerated
Auditor General Jack Wagner claims the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is in a state of fiscal crisis following a 181 percent increase in long-term debt since 2007. This shouldn’t…
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Read More: Wagner’s Warning on Turnpike Debt Not ExaggeratedTaxes & Economy
Chart of the Day: Pennsylvania Transportation Spending
Many advocates and industry representatives have been calling for increasing transportation spending in Pennsylvania. Yet over the past 16 years, state transportation spending has increased by 127 percent, a fact…
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Read More: Chart of the Day: Pennsylvania Transportation SpendingState Budget
Pennsylvania Budget Freezes in Perspective
Yesterday, Gov. Corbett and the Office of the Budget released a list of 2011-12 budgetary freezes—reductions in spending from the enacted General Fund budget—due in part to revenue shortfalls. I…
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Read More: Pennsylvania Budget Freezes in PerspectiveTaxes & Economy
PA Online Sales Tax Guidelines Claim First Casualty
When the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue issued a new bulletin instructing online vendors about collecting state sales tax, tax reform advocates expressed a lot of concern. The new…
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Read More: PA Online Sales Tax Guidelines Claim First CasualtyTaxes & Economy
Calvin Coolidge, Tom Corbett, and Why Politics Isn’t Like Business
My wife is awesome. As proof, I submit to you the fact that she willingly parted with 35 bucks in order to give me The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge for…
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Read More: Calvin Coolidge, Tom Corbett, and Why Politics Isn’t Like BusinessTaxes & Economy
Tax-Exempt Government Property Adds to Harrisburg’s Woes
The city of Harrisburg is facing a fiscal crisis primarily brought on by over-spending, accruing too much debt, and getting into areas government has no business—from the incinerator to owning…
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Read More: Tax-Exempt Government Property Adds to Harrisburg’s WoesTaxes & Economy
Map: PA Among Highest Unemployment Tax Rates
The Tax Foundation has a new map showing unemployment insurance tax rates. As you can see, Pennsylvania has one of the highest tax rates in the nation. The unemployment…
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Read More: Map: PA Among Highest Unemployment Tax RatesTaxes & Economy
PennFuture’s Political Games
Enviro-profiteers PennFuture (an environmental activist group) misused tens of thousands of taxpayers’ dollars, and what was the President and CEO Jan Jarrett’s response? “My bad.” Jarrett admitted…
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Read More: PennFuture’s Political GamesTaxes & Economy
Marcellus Drilling Rescues Williamsport
Earlier this month, I visited Williamsport, home of the Little League World Series and a growing economy. Clearly it’s not just baseball that brightens this central Pa. city…
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Read More: Marcellus Drilling Rescues WilliamsportHealth Care
No Rush on Health Insurance Exchanges
In late November the Department of Insurance announced that Pennsylvania would begin implementing a state health insurance exchange as laid out in PPACA (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care…
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Read More: No Rush on Health Insurance ExchangesTaxes & Economy
Drilling Regulations in Pennsylvania vs. Neighbors
Marcellus Shale opponents often mislead the public with claims such as the industry doesn’t pay taxes (debunked here), the economic benefits are overstated (read here,…
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Read More: Drilling Regulations in Pennsylvania vs. NeighborsGovernment Accountability
More on Hellholes, of the Judicial Sort
The yearly Judicial Hellhole report from the American Tort Reform Foundation ranks Philadelphia as the number one judicial hellhole for the second year in a row. Pennsylvania’s court…
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Read More: More on Hellholes, of the Judicial SortTaxes & Economy
New Study Show Impact of Shale Gas
Hot on the heels of UGI Utilities’ 13 percent reduction in gas rates, comes a comprehensive study examining the impact of shale gas on the economy nationwide. The report…
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Read More: New Study Show Impact of Shale GasHealth Care
How Much Will Obamacare Cost You?
The federal health care overhaul will be paid for with spending cuts and an estimated $420 billion in new taxes. How much of that $420 billion will come out of your pocket?…
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