Media

Government Accountability

I Did It for Them – Did You?

• April 24, 2012

There’s no hiding it, I don’t even try.  I’m proud to be an American veteran and to be a part of something so much larger than myself through serving in…

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Criminal Justice Reform

Unprecedented Prison Population Growth

• April 24, 2012

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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Education

Chart of the Day: Pennsylvania School Revenue per Student

• Nathan Benefield
• April 23, 2012

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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Government Accountability

Why I’m Voting Tuesday

• April 23, 2012

I have a confession to make: A couple of years ago, I didn’t vote in the primary.  I had started a new job, was taking night classes, and had just…

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Regulation

Wizards of Whine Crying Fowl

• April 20, 2012

Call me Ostrich, a ruffed grouse or anything you like, Mr. Conti, but don’t call me and nearly 70 percent of Pennsylvanians satisfied with the PLCB’s iron-fisted…

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Government Accountability

The Left’s Latest Witch Hunt

• Nathan Benefield
• April 20, 2012

The Wall Street Journal and Pennsylvania Independent both feature stories about attacks from leftist groups against the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The free-market association of state lawmakers…

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Government Accountability

Veterans: Let’s Do It For Them – VOTE!

• April 20, 2012

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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Taxes & Economy

The Facts about Fracking and Physicians

• April 19, 2012

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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Taxes & Economy

Today We Celebrate PA’s Tax Freedom Day

• April 18, 2012

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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Education

Union Guts More Teaching Jobs

• April 18, 2012

Yes, the chickens are truly coming home to roost.  But before status quo apologists cry ‘fowl,’ economic realities due to union strong-arm tactics and unsustainable benefits programs…

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Welfare

Why We Are Losing the War on Poverty

• Elizabeth Stelle
• April 17, 2012

Michael Tanner, Director of Health and Welfare Studies at the Cato Institute, published a study that cuts to the heart of the poverty problem in the U.S. Tanner writes…

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Education

Who are Teacher Unions Protecting?

• Elizabeth Stelle
• April 17, 2012

The Patriot-News published my letter that questions whether teacher unions protect teachers. Union lobbying to create an unsustainable pension program is directly connected to the Central Dauphin School Board’s…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Union Party Speaks: Defend Union Agenda

• Nathan Benefield
• April 16, 2012

We’ve mentioned many times that the real party controlling the Pennsylvania legislature is not the Republican Party, but rather the Union Party. Today, in a story by the Pittsburgh…

Media

Pennsylvania school pension fund bets $250M — on the weather!

• April 16, 2012

Media Hit

School spending: The exemption ruse

• April 16, 2012

Media Hit

Analysis: What’s at stake in shrinking the legislature?

• April 15, 2012

Media Hit

Health Care

Medicaid Flexibility: The Key to a Sustainable Safety Net

• Elizabeth Stelle
• April 13, 2012

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…

Media

State Budget

Chart of the Day: Pennsylvania State Debt Payments

• Nathan Benefield
• April 12, 2012

The chart of the day shows the growth in Pennsylvania General Fund Debt service over the past decade: from $350 million in fiscal year 2002-03 to $1.1 billion in Gov.

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Education

School Choice: What the Research Says

• April 11, 2012

As the benefits of current school choice programs become clearer, it is time to take our eyes off the past and look towards the future. Jay Green argues that…

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Education

Good Teachers Matter

• April 10, 2012

According to the findings of a National Bureau of Economic Research report, teaching quality is closely reflected by test scores—when looking at a teacher’s impact on students’s test score gains…

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Government Accountability

Think Government Union Dues aren’t Used for Politics? Think Again

• Nathan Benefield
• April 10, 2012

Government unions often defend their dues—and the fact that taxpayers subsidize the collection of dues—by claiming dues cannot be used for politics. That is not the case. Union dues cannot…

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