Media

Regulation

Good Returns Won’t Close the Gap

• Andrew Abramczyk
• October 9, 2019

The state teachers’ pension fund, PSERS, just reported a 6.7% return over the past twelve months. That is a very good investment return. Sadly, when starting from a deep…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Union Contracts Bow to Worker Pressure

• Kevin Mooney
• October 8, 2019

Public employee unions, which spend dues and fees on political activity that frequently conflict with the views of their rank-and-file members, are finally showing signs of yielding to legislative and…

Media

Regulation

RGGI Would Hurt Pennsylvanians

• Tirzah Duren
• October 7, 2019

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is a network of nine surrounding states that have imposed caps on CO2 emissions in a failed attempt to impact climate trends. Current member states have experienced increased…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Unconstitutional Union Fees that Won’t Go Away?

• October 7, 2019

The 2018 Supreme Court Janus v. AFSCME decision was a fantastic victory for American workers, striking down the ability of public-sector unions to charge nonunion public-sector employees “fair share”…

Media

Regulation

Pensions and Pa’s Poor Fiscal Health

• October 4, 2019

Pennsylvania recently underwent a “fiscal physical’ and didn’t exactly come out with a clean bill of health. Truth in Accounting, an economic think tank, recently released its report on the…

Media

State Budget

Soda Taxes Target the Poor

• Tirzah Duren
• October 4, 2019

Soda may not be on the list of Seven Deadly Sins but try telling that to lawmakers in Philadelphia. On January 1, 2017, the city instituted a tax of 1.5…

Media

Education

Duty, honor, country: Educational freedom for families who serve

• Marc LeBlond
• October 3, 2019

Ask any military family with kids and they’ll tell you that one of the most stressful parts of getting orders to a new duty station is figuring out where their…

Media

Taxes & Economy

How to Increase Economic Growth

• Andrew Abramczyk
• October 3, 2019

The following testimony was given at the Pennsylvania Fiscal and Economic Summit at York College on August 22.       Good afternoon.  Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you…

Testimony

Regulation

Mimosa Monopoly

• Tirzah Duren
• October 2, 2019

Pennsylvania is waging a secret war on millennials. Okay, maybe not on millennials, but definitely on brunch, and that’s pretty much the same thing. The deleterious effect of Pennsylvania’s sky-high…

Media

State Budget

How to Improve State Budgeting Practices

• Andrew Abramczyk
• October 1, 2019

The following testimony was given at the Pennsylvania Fiscal and Economic Summit at York College on August 22, 2019. Thank you for the opportunity to address you this morning on…

Testimony

Regulation

The Liquor Control Board is a Jobs Program, Not a Business

• Andrew Abramczyk
• September 30, 2019

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) recently announced “record sales and record net income” for the year ended June 30th. Such wording is the language of a business proudly…

Media

Criminal Justice Reform

Rallying for Probation Reform

• Jessica Barnett
• September 27, 2019

Earlier this week, hundreds of activists gathered in the capitol in support of probation reform. Here’s what Pennsylvanians impacted by the probation system have to say: “I couldn’t…

Media

Researchers Give School Choice an A+

• September 26, 2019

Governor Wolf has declared all-out war on opportunity for Pennsylvania students, seeking to cap charter school enrollment and limit charter school expansion. He says charters are “too expensive” and…

Media

Education

Charter Reform Done Right

• Marc LeBlond
• September 20, 2019

Whether it’s a walk down the hall to a colleague’s office, or a flight across the ocean to see an old friend, visits show you care. Governor Tom Wolf visits many…

Media

Education

District Admits Breaking Charter Funding Law

• Colleen Hroncich
• September 11, 2019

You don’t often see a public official admit willfully and repeatedly breaking the law. Yet that’s what Pottsville Superintendent Jeffrey Zwiebel brazenly did in the Philadelphia Inquirer last week…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Why Can’t Workers Leave Their Unions?

• Jessica Barnett
• September 11, 2019

We recently released a 50-state report analyzing labor issue trends and grading states by their labor laws. So where does Pennsylvania fall in this ranking? A disappointing D.

Media

Death and Taxes…and Dating?

• Tirzah Duren
• September 9, 2019

You can’t put a price on love, but you can put a price on finding it…and in Pennsylvania, it’s not cheap.  Taxes, regulations, and government overreach are known to unnecessarily increase the cost…

Media

Back to School, Back to Basics

• Marc LeBlond
• September 6, 2019

In the summer of 1961, legendary Packers coach Vince Lombardi opened training camp with the following greeting for his players: “Gentlemen, this is a football.” Lombardi wasn’t condescending to or…

Media

Regulation

Employment for Disabled Workers is Up, but Regulations are Holding Them Back

• Tirzah Duren
• September 6, 2019

Lyft, a major ride sharing company, rolled out a feature to make it easier for those who are deaf or hard of hearing to be employed as a driver. The labor…

Media

Health Care

Sen. Martin Introduces Bill to Protect Safety Net

• Elizabeth Stelle
• September 5, 2019

Steve Blazer of Surge Staffing is taking an unusual approach to filling hundreds of open warehouse positions: attending job fairs at state prisons. Steve’s struggle to find workers is…

Media

Education

Wolf’s Solution for Low-Income Kids? Attack the Schools that Save Their Lives

• Marc LeBlond
• September 3, 2019

Shortly after announcing his troubling plan to restrict student access to schools of choice through executive actions, Governor Wolf tried to add positive spin via Twitter:…

Media