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
Big Gas, Big Fast Food Chains, and Big Government
PA Independent reports that the largest drillers in the Marcellus Shale sat in on the Rendell and the Conquistadors’ Columbus Day meeting: Although 75 companies currently operate wells…
Media
Read More: Big Gas, Big Fast Food Chains, and Big GovernmentTaxes & Economy
PA Should Learn Lesson and Stop Subsidizing Housing Construction
This week the State Senate could pass a House bill to create a new housing trust fund for areas where affordable housing is in short supply due to the recession…
Media
Read More: PA Should Learn Lesson and Stop Subsidizing Housing ConstructionTaxes & Economy
What About the Constitution, Governor?
Recently Nate Benefield explained how Senate Bill 1155, which creates a severance tax on natural gas drilling companies, is unconstitutional. Katrina Currie subsequently updated the story:…
Media
Read More: What About the Constitution, Governor?State Budget
Spending Revolt Tour: Day 5 Update
The Spending Revolt National Tour stopped in Scranton on Sunday night for a Town Hall meeting, which was streamed live (and available here and below). The Scranton…
Media
Read More: Spending Revolt Tour: Day 5 UpdateTaxes & Economy
Too Much Spending or Not Enough Taxes?
Chart-master Veronique de Rugy sums up the debate over extending the tax cuts and federal deficits in a simple chart. The dominant blue bar represents the mind-boggling $42 trillion…
Media
Read More: Too Much Spending or Not Enough Taxes?Government Accountability
More Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying for Higher Taxes
I have highlighted the taxpayer funded propaganda in the guise of a “newsletter,” titled the Marcellus Shale Examiner, before. The latest newsletter, which leads with Gov. Rendell’s “We…
Media
Read More: More Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying for Higher TaxesTaxes & Economy
We are All Fiscal Conservatives Now
My remarks at PA Liberty Conference I’ll start with a question I often get…or at least a question that is often proffered to no one in particular, that I…
Media
Read More: We are All Fiscal Conservatives NowRegulation
Unintended Consequences of the Bulb Ban
The national phase-out of incandescent light bulbs begins in 2012, and by 2014, incandescents will be history. The popular replacement is the compact-fluorescent light (CFL), but there are very…
Media
Read More: Unintended Consequences of the Bulb BanTaxes & Economy
Lawmakers Should Read ALL Commonwealth Foundation Research
In a recent op-ed, Sen. Scarnati and Sen. Pileggi defended the Senate’s recent actions after a Lincoln Institute column described them as “leftist”. While the Senators cite CF’s research…
Media
Read More: Lawmakers Should Read ALL Commonwealth Foundation ResearchTaxes & Economy
Spending Revolt Tour: Day 1 Update
Day one of the Pennsylvania leg of the National Spending Revolt bus tour kicked off this morning in Erie. The weather, appropriately enough, is gloomy and gray—rather fitting, given…
Media
Read More: Spending Revolt Tour: Day 1 UpdateRegulation
Senate Must Insist on Real Pension Reform
The state pension time bomb is taking front stage again in the waning days of the 2009-2010 legislative session. The Senate is revisiting HB 2497—the $27 billion pension deferral…
Media
Read More: Senate Must Insist on Real Pension ReformHealth Care
ObamaCare will Dramatically Increase Medicaid Costs in PA
A reader asked us what kind of effect ObamaCare would have on Medicaid costs in Pennsylvania. We’ve put together some numbers, and it’s not pretty. First of all, even without…
Media
Read More: ObamaCare will Dramatically Increase Medicaid Costs in PATaxes & Economy
Immigration Verification and Welfare Fraud
Thank you for allowing the Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives, a non-partisan educational institute based in Harrisburg, to submit written testimony concerning HB 1359, which would require proof of…
Testimony
Read More: Immigration Verification and Welfare FraudTaxes & Economy
Cabot Squares Off with DEP
The pressure is building in Dimock, Pennsylvania, where the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and drilling company Cabot Oil and Gas are squaring off over a proposal to…
Media
Read More: Cabot Squares Off with DEPTaxes & Economy
Severance Tax at Odds with State Constitution
Earlier this week, Nate Benefield blogged on the unconstitutional process of the House-passed natural gas severance tax bill (SB 1155). This bill did not originate in the House,…
Media
Read More: Severance Tax at Odds with State ConstitutionTaxes & Economy
Governor Rendell Earns a D on Fiscal Policy
Cato’s 2010 Fiscal Report Card on America’s Governors is out. Not surprisingly, Pennsylvania ranks low. With a score of 40 points, Gov. Ed Rendell earns a D for his…
Media
Read More: Governor Rendell Earns a D on Fiscal PolicyGovernment Accountability
Severance Tax Legislation: The Process Stinks Too
The Pennsylvania House amended legislation to impose a severance tax on natural gas last night, and will likely vote on the bill tonight. We wrote yesterday about the merits…
Media
Read More: Severance Tax Legislation: The Process Stinks TooGovernment Accountability
Grassroots Activists Battle Special Interest Agenda
Earlier this year, we blogged on HB 2246, which would have allowed trial lawyers in auto cases to suggest the amount of compensation their plaintiffs should receive for their…
Media
Read More: Grassroots Activists Battle Special Interest AgendaTaxes & Economy
Fact Check: Severance Tax Proposal Would be Highest in US
SB 1155 would impose a severance tax rate of 39 cents per MCF. At the August estimated average wellhead price of $4.22 per MCF, this is an effective…
Media
Read More: Fact Check: Severance Tax Proposal Would be Highest in USTaxes & Economy
Democrats Natural Gas Jobs Tax is Off the Charts
Just how high is the PA House Democrat’s proposed natural gas jobs tax? It would represent the highest tax in the…
Media
Read More: Democrats Natural Gas Jobs Tax is Off the ChartsTaxes & Economy
Shale Gas is Revitalizing Communities
Cliff Wehrmen has a new pickup truck, thanks to the booming economy in Williston, North Dakota. In North Dakota, companies are fighting over workers via bidding wars, state unemployment…
Media
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