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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…
Read More: Public Schools Increased Spending to $23,000 Per Student, Ballooned Reserves While Enrollment Declined
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 BenefitsEducation
PA School District Uses Tax Dollars to Fight School Choice
The West Shore School District—my district, as it happens—has issued a “newsletter” with the clear, but unstated, goal of opposing Senate Bill…
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Read More: PA School District Uses Tax Dollars to Fight School ChoiceTaxes & Economy
Hanger: Gas Fracking is Safe
John Hanger, who just departed with Gov. Ed Rendell as his Secretary of Environmental Protection, recently gave an exit interview to the anti-natural gas,…
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Long-term care insurance provides answer for seniors
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Read More: Long-term care insurance provides answer for seniorsGovernment Accountability
Podcast: Talking Transparency
In the latest The BOX podcast, Senior Fellow Jeff Coleman sits down with Representative Jim Christiana after the unanimous passage of his transparency legislation in the State House.
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The Insanity of Keeping Education Status Quo
In a guest opinion in today’s Lebanon Daily News, I make a case that keeping the status quo in education isn’t helping children, parents, taxpayers or teachers. Insanity? Judge…
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Read More: The Insanity of Keeping Education Status QuoTaxes & Economy
Green Energy Could Lead to More Blackouts
Recent controlled blackouts in Houston were reportedly caused by the inability of older fossil fuel power plants to operate in unusually cold temperatures. Now proponents of green energy are…
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It’s Time For School Choice In Pennsylvania
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Read More: It’s Time For School Choice In PennsylvaniaHealth Care
Five Reasons Corbett Should Stop Implementing Obamacare
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has indicated the state will continue to implement federal health care mandates, such as an an insurance exchange, at least for the time being. Here are…
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Read More: Five Reasons Corbett Should Stop Implementing ObamacareEducation
Chart of the Day: Education Spending Under SB 1
Below is a chart showing estimated spending in Pennsylvania under Senate Bill 1 (this assumes $50 million for opportunity scholarships, $75 million for…
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Read More: Chart of the Day: Education Spending Under SB 1Taxes & Economy
A Tax by Any Name Should Still Smell Defeat
State Senator Gene Yaw is pitching a new natural gas tax. The idea is to allow local communities to include the value of natural gas in property tax assessments,…
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Read More: A Tax by Any Name Should Still Smell DefeatEducation
Even with Act 1, School Property Taxes Climb
The Patriot News takes a look at the failure of Act 1 of 2006 (special session) to slow the growth of school property taxes. Indeed, since the slots law…
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Read More: Even with Act 1, School Property Taxes ClimbTaxes & Economy
Obama’s Energy Agenda
President Obama traveled to Penn State University yesterday to discuss his energy agenda and unveil his new taxpayer funded program incentivizing states to retrofit commercial buildings for energy efficiency.
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Get off the bench and rise to the Opportunity
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Read More: Get off the bench and rise to the OpportunityRegulation
With Government Booze, Consumers Lose
It’s funny how we keep hearing union mouthpiece Wendell Young proclaim how much an asset full government control over the liquor sales business is to Pennsylvania consumers, yet consumers still…
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Read More: With Government Booze, Consumers LoseRegulation
Pennsylvania Pensions & Politics: Groundhog Day Edition
Here is Rick Dreyfuss’s latest version of his presentation, Pensions & Politics: Managing “Generational Theft” given today to the Emerald Investment Forum.
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Read More: Pennsylvania Pensions & Politics: Groundhog Day EditionEducation
The Evidence on School Vouchers
Here is a letter I submitted to the Philadelphia Daily News to correct some “facts” about school choice: Elmer Smith’s column denouncing a school choice proposal…
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Read More: The Evidence on School VouchersHealth Care
More Bad News for ObamaCare
After Judge Roger Vinson declared that the entire healthcare overhaul is unconstitutional, Heritage analyst Conn Carroll explained how the decision effectively stops implementation in states (including Pennsylvania) that…
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Read More: More Bad News for ObamaCare