The continued growth in public welfare spending is unsustainable. The federal government is responsible for much of the welfare system, but states can adopt reforms that preserve welfare resources for the most vulnerable. By enacting reforms that promote work and independence, Pennsylvania can right-size state welfare spending and help more Pennsylvanians get back on their feet. Taxpayers deserve a welfare system that compliments a strong economy.

Education

No More Blank Checks for Broken Systems

  • Andrew Lewis
  • July 1, 2025

Originally published by PennLive. As the deadline looms, Pennsylvania lawmakers are nowhere near reaching an agreement on the state budget. This uncertainty in Harrisburg revolves around…

Media Hit

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Health Care

How Welfare Reforms in the OBBB Protect Pennsylvanians

  • June 24, 2025

Summary Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as Food Stamps, were intended to help provide health insurance and food for low-income seniors,…

Fact Sheet

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Education

The Hypocrisy of the ‘No Kings’ Protests

  • Nathan Benefield
  • June 19, 2025

Originally published by Delaware Valley Journal. This past week, left-wing advocacy groups organized nationwide protests under the banner “No Kings,” opposing President Donald Trump. Let’s be real: These protests aren’t…

Media Hit

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Health Care

Medicaid Reform Needed to Eliminate Waste and Fraud

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • April 23, 2025

Originally published by Morning Call. Our national health-care safety net, known as Medicaid, is fundamentally broken. It prioritizes the healthy over the sick and insurers over patients—with little accountability. Finally,…

Media Hit

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Prosperity

Time for Shapiro to Ditch Corporate Welfare and Cut Red Tape

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • November 26, 2024

Originally published at The Philadelphia Citizen For two years, Gov. Josh Shapiro has talked about the need for government to “move at the speed of business.” Though…

Media Hit

Read More: Time for Shapiro to Ditch Corporate Welfare and Cut Red Tape

Education

Pennsylvania is Now the Bellwether on Democrats’ Future

  • Andrew Lewis
  • November 21, 2024

Originally published at RealClearPennsylvania The Keystone State was expected to be the bellwether on November 5th, and it didn’t disappoint. Not only did Donald Trump carry Pennsylvania …

Media Hit

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Education

Pennsylvania Democrats have no mandate—except to compromise

  • Andrew Lewis
  • November 20, 2024

Originally published at The Patriot-News Pennsylvania Democrats took a bigger shellacking than most people realize. By now, everyone knows that Republicans cleaned up in federal races. Donald…

Media Hit

Read More: Pennsylvania Democrats have no mandate—except to compromise

Education

How Republicans should change Washington

  • Nathan Benefield
  • November 18, 2024

Originally published in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette With their recent victories, President-elect Donald Trump and congressional Republicans received a new mandate to act. But what does this mandate entail? Hints…

Media Hit

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Education

Commonwealth Foundation names Andrew Lewis as new president and CEO

  • Andrew Lewis, Charles Mitchell
  • September 26, 2024

Originally published at Broad + Liberty The Commonwealth Foundation, a think tank focused on “transforming free-market ideas into actionable public policies,” appointed Andrew Lewis, a former Pennsylvania state representative…

Media Hit

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Education

Lies, damn lies, and two weeks to flatten the curve

  • Guy Ciarrocchi
  • March 12, 2024

Originally published at Broad + Liberty March 13: the fourth anniversary of Pennsylvania’s “two weeks to flatten the curve.” Governor Tom Wolf issued his first executive order, closing all…

Media Hit

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Welfare

Medicaid Eligibility Matters

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • May 22, 2023

Originally published at RealClearPennsylvania Should a health-care program for low-income seniors, the disabled, kids, and pregnant mothers be co-opted by hundreds of thousands of healthy adults? Adults not even…

Media Hit

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Welfare

Unwinding Medicaid Continuous Enrollment

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • April 10, 2023

Summary On April 1, Pennsylvania returned to normal Medicaid eligibility rules and began a year-long process of redetermining eligibility for all 3.68 million beneficiaries.Medicaid spending grows faster than our state…

Fact Sheet

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Welfare

Medicaid needs a better ‘normal’ in Pa.

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • April 7, 2023

Originally published in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review This month, Medicaid is finally returning to normal — but “normal” was never that great. Currently, an estimated 600,000 ineligible Pennsylvanians…

Media Hit

Read More: Medicaid needs a better ‘normal’ in Pa.

Education

Common Ground in the Commonwealth Poll Findings

  • Jennifer Stefano
  • April 6, 2023

Summary The Common Ground in the Commonwealth Poll, conducted March 24-29, is the first in a series of quarterly surveys taking the pulse of voters on the “state of the…

Memo

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Prosperity

Tearing Down Barriers to Prosperity: How More Economic Freedom Can Reduce Poverty and Boost Prosperity in Pennsylvania

  • Meg Tuszynski
  • February 21, 2023

Key Findings Economic freedom, specifically lower government spending, strongly and consistently offers both increases in prosperity and reductions in poverty.States that gained economic freedom from 2010 to 2019 tend to…

Executive Summary

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Independence

Pa’s Wayward Welfare State

  • October 27, 2022

Summary Policies that expanded Medicaid eligibility to healthy, working-aged people and do not require the verification of eligibility have expanded the size and complexity of a program designed to focus…

Fact Sheet

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Health Care

Preserving Medicaid Before It’s Too Late

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • September 24, 2020

Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program is a national leader in all the wrong ways. Sub-standard access to care and soaring enrollment, costs, and fraud crowd out services for people with intellectual disabilities and low-income…

Backgrounder

Read More: Preserving Medicaid Before It’s Too Late