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Education
Public Schools Increased Spending to $23,000 Per Student, Ballooned Reserves While Enrollment Declined
Harrisburg, Pa., May 15, 2025 — Pennsylvania school districts increased overall revenue collected in 2023–24 to $23,000 per student, while expanding general fund reserves to $7.4 billion, according to new…
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Energy
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on RGGI
Read More: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on RGGI
Education
Senate Education Committee Approves Bipartisan PASS Scholarships, Offering Lifeline to Students in Need
Read More: Senate Education Committee Approves Bipartisan PASS Scholarships, Offering Lifeline to Students in Need
Prosperity
New Report: Gig-Workers Prefer Flexibility of Portable Benefits
Read More: New Report: Gig-Workers Prefer Flexibility of Portable Benefits
Taxpayers shell out $49M for retiring employees’ sick time
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Top 10 Posts of 2011
For your “year in review” pleasure, here are the most popular CF articles and research papers of 2011, based on readership: Citizens Guide to Electric Choice and Competition…
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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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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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Fans of private liquor sales hope for victory in 2012
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Nathan Benefield | Santa has misplaced Corbett’s wish list
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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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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 WilliamsportEducation
PSEA Exposed: Vex, Lies and Audio Tape
Nestled in the $4.2 million the Pennsylvania State Education Asssociation spent in 2010-11 on political activities are some very telling expenditures on polling firms. For example, remember the much-touted…
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Read More: PSEA Exposed: Vex, Lies and Audio TapeHealth 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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County neighbors scoff at rail resolution
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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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Boardwalk Empire Eyes Bourbon Bust
In 1933, a board game called Monopoly was created and Pennsylvanians took pride in seeing Keystone State references throughout. Sadly, another monopoly board game was created that year called the…
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Read More: Boardwalk Empire Eyes Bourbon BustGovernment 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 SortGovernment Accountability
Redistricting Reform Needed…Four Years Ago
The Pennsylvania House is expected this week to to pass the Congressional redistricting bill. House Democrats, in the minority, are complaining about the gerrymandering of the new map.
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Union Party vs. Taxpayer Party: PA’s Political Paradigm
If you don’t receive our Weekly Update every Monday via email, here’s what you missed yesterday. If you want to get these updates directly, sign up here. Dear…
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Read More: Union Party vs. Taxpayer Party: PA’s Political ParadigmRegulation
Time to End Borrowing for Corporate Welfare
The Pa. House is expected to vote this week on SB 1054, legislation to authorize $1.66 billion in state borrowing for the “capital budget.” The annual cost of this…
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The Growing Lobbying Might of the PSEA
The Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state’s largest government union with 192,000 members, spent an astonishing $2.6 million in 2009-10 on “political activities and lobbying.” If that seems like a…
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Read More: The Growing Lobbying Might of the PSEAWelfare
Protecting Medicaid for the Poor
The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare has trimmed Pennsylvania’s Medicaid rolls by 150,000 people since August. Welfare spending advocates and organizations receiving welfare dollars…
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Read More: Protecting Medicaid for the Poor