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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 Benefits
Ehrlich stings unions with pension plan
Media Hit
Read More: Ehrlich stings unions with pension planRegulation
Recap of the Pennsylvania Senate’s Busy Week
The PA State Senate had a busy week, all leading up to some key votes that took place yesterday. We have been closely following several bills and unfortunately a…
Media
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State Senate OKs bill overhauling school pensions
Media Hit
Read More: State Senate OKs bill overhauling school pensionsRegulation
RAMPing Up PA Liquor Control Board’s Monopoly Power
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, the largest supplier of alcohol in the world, recently enacted regulations to become the sole provider of its now-mandated educational program for Pennsylvania businesses, the…
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Read More: RAMPing Up PA Liquor Control Board’s Monopoly PowerRegulation
Why Not A Defined Contribution Retirement Plan for Public Employees?
In a Capitolwire story about the Pennsylvania pension “reform” bill that would primarily defer costs to the future, Sen. Pat Browne says, We tried to go as…
Media
Read More: Why Not A Defined Contribution Retirement Plan for Public Employees?Education
Enlow Hammers Home the Benefits of School Choice
Yesterday in the PA Senate, Robert Enlow, President and CEO of the Foundation for Educational Choice, spoke on the issue of school vouchers and their applicability in the state…
Media
Read More: Enlow Hammers Home the Benefits of School ChoiceTaxes & Economy
Dear Gas Companies: Replenish Our Slush Fund
Among PennFuture’s justifications for demanding a natural gas tax, as Katrina mentioned earlier, is that Pennsylvania’s “Growing Greener” funding “has all been spent.” Since the program…
Media
Read More: Dear Gas Companies: Replenish Our Slush FundRegulation
How HB 2497 Costs Taxpayers $67 Billion
A supporter writes, saying he called his state Senator about HB 2497, and the lawmaker told him the bill would “save money.” As we’ve…
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Read More: How HB 2497 Costs Taxpayers $67 Billion
Lots More Legislation on Tap in Harrisburg this Week
As in the norm in the Pennsylvania state capitol, lawmakers don’t pass a whole lot throught the year (despite being a full-time legislature) and then, at the very end of…
Media
Read More: Lots More Legislation on Tap in Harrisburg this Week
School Choice Saves Children from Failing Schools and Taxpayer Money
Chairman Piccola, and members of the Committee, thank you for the invitation to testify today. I’m Matt Brouillette, president of the Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives. But I am…
Testimony
Read More: School Choice Saves Children from Failing Schools and Taxpayer MoneyTaxes & Economy
PennFuture Will Say Anything to Get a Gas Tax
Here’s a letter to the editor I submitted in response to inflammatory claims made by PennFuture’s Jan Jarret and AFL-CIO’s Richard Bloomingdale about a severance tax: A recent editorial…
Media
Read More: PennFuture Will Say Anything to Get a Gas Tax
Blog Roundup
Check out these noteworthy posts that showed up in the blogosphere this week: The Tax Foundation tells us why “state budget deficits” is a loaded meaningless term used by…
Media
Read More: Blog RoundupTaxes & Economy
PennFuture: Just Give Us Your Money Already
Like Gov. Ed Rendell, PennFuture today held a whining session (were they at the same one?) about the Senate’s “failure” to pass a severance tax on natural…
Media
Read More: PennFuture: Just Give Us Your Money AlreadyRegulation
Commonwealth Foundation President Calls Pension Reform “Bailout for Union Bosses”
HARRISBURG, PA (10.12.10) – Commonwealth Foundation president and CEO Matthew J. Brouillette released the following statement regarding HB 2497 — the so-called SERS & PSERS pension reform legislation currently before…
Press Release
Read More: Commonwealth Foundation President Calls Pension Reform “Bailout for Union Bosses”
Rendell: Just Give Me Your Money Already
Gov. Ed “if you vote for Republicans you might die” Rendell held another lame-duck press conference today to quack about not getting higher taxes. Whining that the PA Constitutional…
Media
Read More: Rendell: Just Give Me Your Money AlreadyHealth Care
Big Gas, Big Fast Food Chains, and Big Government
PA Independent reports that the largest drillers in the Marcellus Shale sat in on the Rendell and the Conquistadors’ Columbus Day meeting: Although 75 companies currently operate wells…
Media
Read More: Big Gas, Big Fast Food Chains, and Big GovernmentTaxes & Economy
PA Should Learn Lesson and Stop Subsidizing Housing Construction
This week the State Senate could pass a House bill to create a new housing trust fund for areas where affordable housing is in short supply due to the recession…
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Read More: PA Should Learn Lesson and Stop Subsidizing Housing Construction
Salt-storage sheds are unsafe, state officials say
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Read More: Salt-storage sheds are unsafe, state officials sayTaxes & Economy
What About the Constitution, Governor?
Recently Nate Benefield explained how Senate Bill 1155, which creates a severance tax on natural gas drilling companies, is unconstitutional. Katrina Currie subsequently updated the story:…
Media
Read More: What About the Constitution, Governor?State Budget
Spending Revolt Tour: Day 5 Update
The Spending Revolt National Tour stopped in Scranton on Sunday night for a Town Hall meeting, which was streamed live (and available here and below). The Scranton…
Media
Read More: Spending Revolt Tour: Day 5 Update