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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 BenefitsTaxes & Economy
Shale Gas is Revitalizing Communities
Cliff Wehrmen has a new pickup truck, thanks to the booming economy in Williston, North Dakota. In North Dakota, companies are fighting over workers via bidding wars, state unemployment…
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PA House Democrats Unveil Nation’s Highest Severance Tax
Harrisburg, PA—A proposal by Pennsylvania House Democrats to levy severance taxes on natural gas would make Pennsylvania the most heavily-taxed natural gas producing state in the nation. At 39 cents…
Press Release
Read More: PA House Democrats Unveil Nation’s Highest Severance TaxState Budget
Where to Find Ideas to Balance the PA Budget
John Micek of the Morning Call has a piece today noting that the two candidates for Governor — Dan Onorato and Tom Corbett — have promised no, or few, new…
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What’s the matter with Pennsylvania Republicans?
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Read More: What’s the matter with Pennsylvania Republicans?Taxes & Economy
Why Do We Need a Severance Tax?
Proponents of a natural gas severance tax have been offering several arguments supporting a tax, here are the three main talking points used by tax advocates: 1) Higher taxes will…
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Despite $5 billion debt, gubernatorial candidates promise no tax hikes
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Read More: Despite $5 billion debt, gubernatorial candidates promise no tax hikesGovernment Accountability
State to CF: Transparency Denied
A couple months ago, we requested the salary information of state employees for our new openPAgov database (if you missed the launch, we currently have Pennsylvania school district…
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Read More: State to CF: Transparency DeniedTaxes & Economy
Video: Natural Gas and Pennsylvania’s Business Climate
Here is bonus footage from our upcoming video series, Know the Drill, about the natural gas boom in Pennsylvania. In this clip, Brian Grove, who works for Chesapeake Energy,…
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Read More: Video: Natural Gas and Pennsylvania’s Business ClimateTaxes & Economy
The Downside to Government Spending
While federal stimulus funding for turtle tunnels, ant colony research, iPod Touch devices for students, and Blackberry smart phones for smokers might stimulate a few Americans,…
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Read More: The Downside to Government SpendingHealth Care
PA Medicaid Enrollment Reaches All-Time High
One in six Pennsylvanians are now eligible for Medicaid or Medical Assistance, thanks to the economic downturn and generous eligibility standards. The Post-Gazette reports 2.2 million individuals now rely…
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Read More: PA Medicaid Enrollment Reaches All-Time HighTaxes & Economy
Video: Cost of Natural Gas Drilling in Pennsylvania
In this video, from a 2009 Commonwealth Foundation luncheon, State Senator Mary Jo White speaks about the costs of drilling in Pennsylvania compared to other similar states. To learn…
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Read More: Video: Cost of Natural Gas Drilling in PennsylvaniaHealth Care
Why Obama Can’t “Sell” the Health Care Law
The AP writes that President Obama blames himself for not “selling” the health care law — this despite giving dozens of speeches on the issue and spending millions…
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Read More: Why Obama Can’t “Sell” the Health Care LawTaxes & Economy
All Is Not What It Appears to Be
Hey! Did you know that what is depicted in those nature documentaries is not always genuinely “in the wild?” It’s often set up in controlled circumstances, according to Chris Palmer,…
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Public-sector unions serve no public interest outside themselves
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Read More: Public-sector unions serve no public interest outside themselvesTaxes & Economy
The Hail Mary for Solar Subsidies
Solar power advocates’ fight to triple the state’s costly solar energy mandates took a new turn this week. Proponents, including DEP Secretary Hanger and Governor Rendell, urged the…
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Read More: The Hail Mary for Solar SubsidiesState Budget
Being Tough on Crime Is Not Enough
With one in 28 Pennsylvanians in jail or prison, on probation, or on parole in 2007 — at the cost of more than $1.8 billion — Pennsylvania is at a…
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Read More: Being Tough on Crime Is Not EnoughTaxes & Economy
Video: Bradford County Residents Talk About a Natural Gas Tax
In this video, part of a forthcoming series on the Marcellus Shale natural gas boom in Pennsylvania, residents from Bradford County speak out about the proposed natural gas severance…
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Read More: Video: Bradford County Residents Talk About a Natural Gas TaxEducation
Commonwealth Foundation Launches Online Portal Tracking Education Spending and Achievement in Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, PA – How much does education cost the average Pennsylvania taxpayer? What percentage of students passes basic achievement tests? How much is per pupil spending in a given district?…
Press Release
Read More: Commonwealth Foundation Launches Online Portal Tracking Education Spending and Achievement in PennsylvaniaRegulation
Film Tax Credits are Bad Economics
Josh Barro of the Manhattan Institute hammers on film tax credits, which have been so popular among lawmakers in Pennsylvania and other states, who love when movie stars…
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