Media

Education

Are School Vouchers Constitutional in Pennsylvania?

• Nathan Benefield
• December 7, 2011

Several attacks on school choice claim that using state funds for vouchers that might go to private schools is unconstitutional. Here are some facts and legal analysis on that issue.

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Education

Hughes’ Boos a Ruse

• December 7, 2011

In the absence of facts and any plausible excuse for poor performance, it’s always a good time to attack the messenger.  As if on cue, this well-worn strategy was trotted…

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Education

Lorenzo’s Boil: Why Father Not PSEA Knows Best

• December 7, 2011

It’s just over 24 hours ago that children and parents trapped in failing and violent Pennsylvania schools delivered to Harrisburg lawmakers 4,300 messages of urgency and hope. Among the messengers was Lorenzo…

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Education

Educrats Fight for System Not Kids, Taxpayers

• December 7, 2011

The Sharon Herald posted an article Sunday about anti-voucher signs popping up around the Sharon, Sharpsville and Greenville areas in Mercer County.  I’ve seen these signs in Western Pa.

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Education

PSEA Ignores Children’s Cries for Help, Facts

• Priya Brannick
• December 6, 2011

Following the Commonwealth Foundation’s press conference with legislators highlighting how one violent act occurs every 17 minutes in Pennsylvania’s worst-performing schools, the Pennsylvania State Education Association retorted: “In…

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Education

Dear Reluctant Rural Republican…

• Charles Mitchell
• December 6, 2011

A friend just forwarded me some objections offered by a Republican member of the House of Representatives from a rural area who’s reluctant to support a comprehensive school choice bill…

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Rendell employer gets state contract

• December 6, 2011

Media Hit

School choice advocates lobby Legislature to support bill

• December 6, 2011

Media Hit

Education

Chart of the Day: Public School Enrollment vs Staff

• Elizabeth Stelle, Nathan Benefield
• December 5, 2011

One of the drivers of education spending is an increase in staff sizes while enrollment has declined. Data from the PA Department of Education indicates that from 1999-2000 to…

Media

Corbett-appointed panel looks at Pa. liquor sales

• December 4, 2011

Media Hit

Education

Radical Reform Required…Now!

• Charles Mitchell
• December 2, 2011

My friend Nick Pandelidis, a physician and entrepreneur in York, has published an excellent piece on school choice in the York Daily Record.  After recounting much data, he concludes:…

Media

Taxes & Economy

Marcellus Shale Drilling Equals Affordable Energy

• December 1, 2011

As the Intelligencer Journal reports, Marcellus Shale drilling is the reason UGI Utilities is dropping natural gas rates by 13.5 percent, providing significant savings for the 15 counties…

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PLCB: Shhhhhh, Innovation Elves at Work

• December 1, 2011

Season’s greetings, comrades, and welcome to the PLCB North Pole (see Pennsylvania Perestroika Palace) where cutting-edge innovation and creativity are at a fever pitch these days.    But unlike…

Media

Taxes & Economy

Chart of the Day: Shale Growth Fuels Tax Growth

• Nathan Benefield
• December 1, 2011

We noted previously how the boom from Marcellus Shale natural gas has fueled a dramatic increase in state corporate tax collections.  Pennsylvania Department of Revenue data also show a…

Media

Regulation

PLCB is $30 Million in the Hole

• Nathan Benefield
• November 30, 2011

As Jay noted earlier, Auditor General Jack Wagner and a number of defenders of the current government monopoly argue that the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) is a great…

Media

AG: Perestroika Better Than Freedom

• November 30, 2011

They may take our wines, but they can never take our freedom!  Okay, maybe they can take both? According to a report posted on Fox 43 Harrisburg today, Pennsylvania Auditor General…

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Owned or Rented by the PSEA?

• Matthew Brouillette
• November 29, 2011

A prominent politician (someone you’d recognize if I named him) reminded me yesterday that the primary obstacle in letting parents choose the safest and best school for their children is…

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Education

Improving Public Education…Through School Choice

• Nathan Benefield
• November 28, 2011

Here is a letter to the editor I submitted to the Pocono Record, correcting the record on school choice: Your editorial, “Support your public schools” bashes school choice…

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Vets: Drilling = Zero Impact on Hunting

• November 28, 2011

It’s Buck Monday, so the Patriot News asked hunters how much environmental impact has natural gas drilling had on hunting?  Zero, says long-time hunter and tour guide Ed Fisher,…

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Pa. gov’t salaries going up

• November 28, 2011

Media Hit

Welfare

Getting Serious About Welfare Abuse

• Elizabeth Stelle
• November 25, 2011

The Department of Public Welfare’s effort to curb fraud and abuse continues. This week the Department announced the creation of a new office, the Office of Program Integrity. This…

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