Media

Education

Corbett’s Case for School Choice

• May 10, 2011

Gov. Tom Corbett delivered the following speech at the American Federation for Children conference at the Washington Marriott in Washington D.C. on Monday, May 9, 2011. What isn’t working about public…

Media

Education

PA House Passes Expansion of Scholarship Tax Credit

• Nathan Benefield
• May 10, 2011

The Pennsylvania House today passed, on a 190-7 vote, HB 1330, which would expand the amount of tax credits available through Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC), and increase income…

Media

Education

Bad Economists and Good Budget Cuts

• Charles Mitchell
• May 10, 2011

Yesterday in the Patriot-News, yet another Penn State administrator campaigned against Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed cuts to the generous subsidies our public universities receive from taxpayers (many of which…

Media

Education

Of School Choice and Government-Run Swimming Pools

• Nathan Benefield
• May 10, 2011

Responding to a letter I wrote, a letter in the Allentown Morning Call attempts to make the case that school vouchers are a bad idea—using the rationale that…

Media

Pennsylvania budget ideas: Matthew Brouillette

• May 10, 2011

Media Hit

Regulation

Should States Stop Regulating Telephones?

• Elizabeth Stelle
• May 9, 2011

Land line use in the United States continues to decline as more households are going “wireless” and relying exclusively on their cell phones. About 17 percent of Pennsylvania households…

Media

Should Government be Required to Advertise in Newspapers?

• Nathan Benefield
• May 9, 2011

We were recently asked to sign onto a letter opposing HB 633, legislation which would allow local governments to post public notices online, rather than buy advertisements in local…

Media

Analysis: The push toward privatizing

• May 8, 2011

Media Hit

Facts too stubborn for gas-tax fiction

• May 8, 2011

Media Hit

Directors fear business-run public schools

• May 8, 2011

Media Hit

Education

On School Spending “Cuts”

• Nathan Benefield
• May 6, 2011

A reader writes in, noting that a school board member is pushing the “stop the billion dollar cut” campaign, and asking for some info. Here are some quick facts.

Media

Thumbs Down on PLAs in PA

• Matthew Brouillette
• May 6, 2011

The…

Media

Taxes & Economy

What Does “Fair Share” Mean?

• Nathan Benefield
• May 5, 2011

The debate over adding an additional tax (or an impact fee) on top of the…

Media

School Choice Hypocrisy at Solanco Public Schools

• Matthew Brouillette
• May 5, 2011

The Solanco School District in Lancaster County wants to buy-off parents who are choosing charter schools for their children with their own $1,000 taxpayer-funded voucher if they switch…

Media

Government Accountability

Reining in Spending with Performance-Based Budgeting

• Elizabeth Stelle
• May 4, 2011

The House State Government Committee held a hearing today on reforming the budgeting process. HB 726, sponsored by Rep. Stan Saylor, would institute performance based-budgeting. Today, most of the…

Media

Regulation

A Half-Billion Saved is a Half-Billion Earned

• Nathan Benefield
• May 4, 2011

After April’s General Fund tax collections came in at 9 percent above forecasts, some lawmakers are clamoring to spend any surplus Pennsylvania has at the end of the…

Media

Taxes & Economy

Natural Gas Industry Paid Over $1 Billion in Taxes

• Elizabeth Stelle
• May 3, 2011

Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue released detailed numbers, showing oil and gas producers paid over $1.1 billion in state taxes since 2006. This includes $234 million paid this…

Media

Regulation

Public Pensions & Politics

• Elizabeth Stelle
• May 3, 2011

Here’s a presentation on government pensions from our senior fellow Rick Dreyfuss. PA Pension Reform Presentation  …

Media

Regulation

PLCB’s Consumer Ca$htastrophe Continues

• May 2, 2011

In another blinding flash of the obvious, the PLCB, Pennsylvania’s purveyors of perestroika, revealed in a Harrisburg Patriot News article today what we already knew:  The supermarket wine kiosks…

Media

Education

Has Penn State “bin Laden” with Speech-Squelching Policies?

• Charles Mitchell
• May 2, 2011

Our friends at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) say yes: The announcement late last evening that U.S. forces had killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan…

Media

Education

Property Taxpayer Referendum

• Nathan Benefield
• May 2, 2011

Good afternoon.  I am Nathan Benefield, Director of Policy Research for the Commonwealth Foundation.  We are a nonprofit, independent public policy research and educational institute based in Harrisburg.  I would…

Testimony