Latest Content
Education
Senate Education Committee Approves Bipartisan PASS Scholarships, Offering Lifeline to Students in Need
Harrisburg, Pa., May 6, 2025—Today, the Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee approved legislation to establish Pennsylvania Award for Student Success (PASS) Scholarships. Similar to the popular Lifeline Scholarship proposal, PASS would…
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
Education
Andrew Lewis on ‘This Week in Pennsylvania’
Read More: Andrew Lewis on ‘This Week in Pennsylvania’
Prosperity
Stephen Bloom joins RJ Harris in the Morning to Talk Tax Reform
Read More: Stephen Bloom joins RJ Harris in the Morning to Talk Tax ReformPublic Union Democracy
Lawmakers Must Prioritize Pro-Worker Legislation
With a few session days left, lawmakers must prioritize legislation to align state law with federal law and tell workers their rights. HB 2571 enforces the U.S. Supreme Court decision…
Media
Read More: Lawmakers Must Prioritize Pro-Worker LegislationPublic Union Democracy
Enforcing Janus
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Janus v. AFSCME is a landmark decision for public sector workers—yet is not self-enforcing. It's time for Pennsylvania lawmakers to defend public sector employees' new-found rights…
Media
Read More: Enforcing JanusEducation
Back-to-School Disappointment for Thousands
Thousands of kids across Pennsylvania are finishing up their first month of school. For many of them, the beginning of the school year is an exciting chance to catch up with…
Media
Read More: Back-to-School Disappointment for Thousands
Safe and Smart: Tearing Down Obstacles to Work
What does Pennsylvania gain from putting up more barriers to work for people getting out of prison? Making the comeback from a criminal conviction to rejoining the community is hard…
Media
Read More: Safe and Smart: Tearing Down Obstacles to WorkEducation
Opportunity Denied: 50,000+ Tax Credit Scholarship Applications Rejected Annually
Pennsylvania’s tax credit scholarship programs are so popular that they could double in size and still not meet demand. That’s a major finding of a new report by the…
Press Release
Read More: Opportunity Denied: 50,000+ Tax Credit Scholarship Applications Rejected AnnuallyPublic Union Democracy
Lawmakers and Union Leaders Attack Election Privacy
Today, Rep. Maureen Madden and Rep. Thomas Mehaffie introduced anti-worker legislation that would strip government workers of privacy rights in workplace elections and give union leaders workers’ personal information. HB…
Press Release
Read More: Lawmakers and Union Leaders Attack Election PrivacyPublic Union Democracy
Legislation Moves to Enforce Workers’ Rights
In the first full session day after the landmark Janus v. AFSCME U.S. Supreme Court decision, the state House Labor Committee passed legislation to protect the rights of public sector…
Media
Read More: Legislation Moves to Enforce Workers’ RightsPublic Union Democracy
House Committee Advances Bills Giving Government Workers a Bigger Voice
Today, the Pennsylvania House Labor and Industry Committee passed several crucial bills supporting government workers’ constitutional rights. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that…
Press Release
Read More: House Committee Advances Bills Giving Government Workers a Bigger VoiceCriminal Justice Reform
Safe and Smart: Fixing Harsh Life Sentences
In this second blog in our Safe and Smart series, we tackle Pennsylvania’s practice of sentencing offenders to life without parole (LWOP). LWOP is coming under greater scrutiny from people across the…
Media
Read More: Safe and Smart: Fixing Harsh Life SentencesCriminal Justice Reform
Philadelphia Forced to Reform Unjust Confiscation
Four years ago we told you the story of Markela and Chris Sourovelis, Philadelphians who lost their home when their son committed a minor drug crime thanks to an…
Media
Read More: Philadelphia Forced to Reform Unjust ConfiscationEducation
Young Entrepreneurs in Action
It’s rare to see kids voluntarily give up their Saturday to work. But that’s exactly what my 12- and 14-year old daughters—along with a dozen other kids—did at the recent…
Media
Read More: Young Entrepreneurs in ActionPublic Union Democracy
Lawmakers Can Stand Up for Home Care Workers
In early 2015 Governor Wolf issued an executive order unionizing home care workers throughout Pennsylvania, many of whom care for their own relatives. The state Supreme Court recently upheld the order. By…
Media
Read More: Lawmakers Can Stand Up for Home Care WorkersCriminal Justice Reform
Safe and Smart: Restructuring Pa.’s Probation System
CF’s newest policy brief, Safer Communities, Smarter Spending, provides a unique look at the problems in Pennsylvania’s criminal justice system. The commonwealth’s incarceration rate is too high. Its supervision…
Media
Read More: Safe and Smart: Restructuring Pa.’s Probation SystemTaxes & Economy
Where Are Americans Moving?
Millions of people move throughout the United States each year. Some make a home on the next street over. Others move across the country. This is a normal and healthy…
Media
Read More: Where Are Americans Moving?Public Union Democracy
Time to Shed Light on New Workers’ Rights
This Labor Day marks ten weeks since the Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that government employees should not be forced to pay a union or risk losing their…
Media
Read More: Time to Shed Light on New Workers’ RightsEducation
More is Not Always Better
In the ongoing school funding case, William Penn School District v. Pennsylvania Department of Education, several school districts are suing the state on the grounds that Pennsylvania has…
Media
Read More: More is Not Always Better
Work Requirements on Tap in Washington and Harrisburg
At the end of this month, the federal farm bill expires. Its replacement—a monolithic piece of legislation—is the subject of significant controversy over strengthening food stamp work requirements for healthy…
Media
Read More: Work Requirements on Tap in Washington and HarrisburgTaxes & Economy
How Pennsylvania Can Transform Its Tax Code
Pennsylvania’s state and local tax structure is an illogical patchwork of punitive and nuisance taxes, administrative inefficiencies, and special interest carveouts. A new report from the Tax Foundation highlights…
Media
Read More: How Pennsylvania Can Transform Its Tax CodePublic Union Democracy
Worker Empowerment Begins with Choice
As Pennsylvanians return to work following Labor Day celebrations, it’s an appropriate time to ask: what does a fair, employee-focused workplace look like? It shouldn’t involve blocking workers’ ability to…
Media
Read More: Worker Empowerment Begins with ChoicePublic Union Democracy
Four Teachers Finally Gain Control Over their Paycheck
Jane Ladley retired from teaching three years ago, but until two weeks ago the teachers union held part of her pay in escrow. Jane was a religious objector to…
Media
Read More: Four Teachers Finally Gain Control Over their Paycheck