Media

Education

Public School Failures Leave Graduates Unemployable

• Priya Brannick
• August 31, 2012

William Marsh would like to hire a couple of good workers for his steel bar manufacturing company in Warminster, Pa. But he has a problem: He can’t find good…

Media

Health Care

Medicaid Myth #2: Medicaid Expansion Helps Poor

• Elizabeth Stelle, Priya Brannick
• August 30, 2012

Yesterday, we began a series on the many myths surrounding Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan’s plan to reform Medicaid. We started with the myth that Ryan would gut Medicaid,…

Media

Health Care

Will Paul Ryan Raid Medicaid?

• Elizabeth Stelle, Nathan Benefield
• August 29, 2012

The 2012 campaign continues to center on candidates and their allies calling the other guys “extremists,” and few bear the title as often as Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan.  For…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Indiana: Ending Forced Unionism Creates Jobs

• Priya Brannick
• August 29, 2012

It’s been only six months since Indiana became the 23rd right to work state in America, but it is already seeing a surge in business activity. Indiana adopted right…

Media

Pennsylvania would do well to follow Wisconsin’s lead

• August 29, 2012

Media Hit

Education

Back to School Numbers

• Nathan Benefield
• August 28, 2012

With kids returning to school this week, here are some fast facts about education spending and performance in Pennsylvania. $14,865: The amount Pennsylvania school districts spent per student in…

Media

Pa. internal budget guidelines warn of cost increases, declining federal dollars

• August 27, 2012

Media Hit

For Allentown, arena is all reward, no risk

• August 27, 2012

Media Hit

Regulation

Counties Clamor to Qualify for Flexible Funding

• Elizabeth Stelle
• August 24, 2012

Thirty counties have applied for slots in the Department of Public Welfare’s Human Services County Block Grant pilot program.  Unfortunately, the pilot program was limited to 20 counties. The…

Media

State Budget

Four Alarms Reverberate in Corbett Memo

• Nathan Benefield
• August 24, 2012

A recent memo from Gov. Corbett to all state agencies offers budget-saving tips, reminding officials that Pennsylvania faces a four alarm fiscal fire. PA Independent has…

Media

Education

Opportunity Scholarships a “Choice for a Better Future”

• Priya Brannick
• August 24, 2012

This week, the Times-Herald of Montgomery County published my letter to the editor on underperforming schools and why Pennsylvania’s new opportunity scholarships matter: In “Norristown School…

Media

Taxes & Economy

Pittsburgh Transit Bailout Railroads Taxpayers

• Nathan Benefield
• August 23, 2012

PA Independent reports that Pennsylvania state taxpayers will give $30 million to the Port Authority of Allegheny County to entice the local union to sign a contract: Pittsburgh’s…

Media

Regulation

Booze Bosses Busted?

• August 22, 2012

The unethical behavior of top Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board executives, including “CEO” Joe Conti, has landed the Kings of Cabernet under investigation by the state Ethics Commission. The…

Media

Taxes & Economy

Raising Taxes on “the Rich,” And Everybody Else Too

• Priya Brannick
• August 20, 2012

Bernard Hinault, five-time cycling champion of the Tour de France, once grumbled that the French government taxed the rich so heavily, the state had claim to three pumps of…

Media

Education

Hundreds of Pa. Schools Taking Opportunity Scholarships

• Nathan Benefield, Priya Brannick
• August 20, 2012

Since our last update on the new Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) program, the Pa. Department of Education and Department of Community and Economic Development have compiled additional information…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Union Leaders Misrepresent Pension Reforms

• Priya Brannick
• August 15, 2012

CF Senior Fellow Rick Dreyfuss testified yesterday before the Pennsylvania House about how to make our public pensions current, affordable and predictable, proposing a five-step plan for doing…

Media

Education

Keep Tuition Affordable Legislative Package

• Nathan Benefield
• August 15, 2012

Testimony of Nathan A. Benefield to Pennsylvania House State Government Committee, August 15, 2012 Good morning, my name is Nathan Benefield; I am the director of policy analysis for the…

Testimony

State committees debate pension reform

• August 15, 2012

Media Hit

Welfare

Welfare Without Work Fails

• Elizabeth Stelle
• August 15, 2012

The Obama administration recently relaxed welfare to work requirements, arguing it will help the truly needy. In contrast, Pennsylvania lawmakers took an opposite step by including new welfare work requirements…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Union Allowed to Stalk in Pennsylvania

• Nathan Benefield
• August 13, 2012

A new report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce highlights special state laws governing labor unions. For example, four states, including Pennsylvania, have anti-stalking laws, but exempt labor unions…

Media

Health Care

ACA a Boon to Special Interests

• Nathan Benefield
• August 13, 2012

Tim Carney continues to highlight the role special interests— including the largest players in the health care industry—played in crafting the socalled Affordable Care Act, dispelling the myth that…

Media