Media

How many lobbyists does it take to drive a bus?

• Nathan Benefield
• June 20, 2008

Mass transit is in trouble, we are told. Despite exposes of waste, legislators and the Governor feel we need to pump more money into transit systems (without reforming them),…

Media

Taxes & Economy

Power surge in Nashville

• June 20, 2008

Shortly after the release of Al Gore’s Academy Award-winning film, An Inconvenient Truth, one of our sister think tanks, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, discovered Gore’s home energy…

Media

Will Markosek ask for return of taxpayer’s money?

• Nathan Benefield
• June 19, 2008

Blog readers may recall a study commissioned by House Democrats, championed by Transportation Committee Chair Joe Markosek, paid for with $75,000 of taxpayer funds. The study supposedly said Act…

Media

Taxes & Economy

State Personal Income and Ethanol Policy

• Nathan Benefield
• June 19, 2008

The BEA issued their quarterly update of state personal income. Normally, my comments on these reports are limited to how Pennsylvania is lagging behind the national average (true again…

Media

Taxes & Economy

Obama: NAFTA not so bad after all

• Nathan Benefield
• June 19, 2008

Barack Obama tells Fortune magazine that NAFTA hasn’t been as bad as he said it was. It may have been that he was pandering during the campaign, or it…

Media

Government Accountability

Josephs offers lip service on reform

• Nathan Benefield
• June 18, 2008

Tony Phyrillas is the latest to criticize the House State Government Committee chair for single-handedly stalling redistricting reform Joining Phyrillas on that bandwagon – Governor Ed…

Media

State Budget

Senate Passes Trimmed Down Budget

• Nathan Benefield
• June 18, 2008

Tired of waiting for the House Democrats to pass a budget bill, the Senate today passed their own version (as an amendment to supplemental appropriations for last year).

Media

Proposed School Funding Formula Explained

• Nathan Benefield
• June 18, 2008

The Morning Call ran a story yesterday, including comments by me, on how Governor Rendell’s proposed funding formula will benefit schools that have raised property taxes rather than schools…

Media

Regulation

Pensions ‘spike’ troubles state officials

• Nathan Benefield
• June 18, 2008

Deb Erdley has an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on how lawmakers are starting to pay attention to the looming crisis in state pension plans. The only quibble…

Media

Regulation

Tax credits and stupid Hollywood movies

• Nathan Benefield
• June 17, 2008

M. Knight Shyamalan came to Harrisburg yesterday to promote the state’s film tax credit. He basically said, “more money for me is good for you.” The Tax Foundation…

Media

Education

State pre-K program “getting results”?

• Nathan Benefield
• June 17, 2008

The PA Department of Education issued a statement, patting themselves on the back, claiming that the “Pre-K Counts” program was working as intended. They cite an increase in…

Media

Government Accountability

Limiting political speech won’t create good government

• Nathan Benefield
• June 16, 2008

In the latest Democracy Rising Newsletter, Tim Potts takes on two issues: redistricting and campaign finance. On redistricting I agree with him–we should not let those running for…

Media

Regulation

Smoking bans and individual rights

• Nathan Benefield
• June 16, 2008

Given the title, and the link from GrassrootsPA, I expected Eric Heyl’s column on the smoking ban to be a good read. Needless to say, I was disappointed.

Media

Taxes & Economy

Biofuels Are Indefensible

• Nathan Benefield
• June 16, 2008

Scathing editorial by the chairman of Nestle in the Wall Street Journal on the push for biofuels (including massive subsidies and mandates from government) If there’s one certainty,…

Media

Taxes & Economy

Economic Benefits of NAFTA

• Nathan Benefield
• June 16, 2008

National Center for Policy Analysis has a new analysis on the economic benefits of NAFTA. NAFTA critics most frequently point to the “lost jobs” but here are some facts:…

Media

Taxes & Economy

Reagonomics Works!

• Nathan Benefield
• June 16, 2008

A new comparative study of economic growth among countries finds that big government results in slower economic growth, whereas countries with smaller government have greater growth. They also note that…

Media

Regulation

Corporate Welfare In, Fiscal Restraint Out

• June 16, 2008

Commonwealth Foundation calls House budget irresponsible and misguided HARRISBURG, PA — Today, the Commonwealth Foundation charged that proposals by the Pennsylvania House Democrats to increase Governor Rendell’s proposed budget by…

Press Release

Education

Abandoning The SAT – Fraud or Folly?

• Nathan Benefield
• June 14, 2008

Interesting discussion about universities ending use of the SAT at Wake Forest (presumably applicable to the ACT – which I took, and scored crazy high on) at Minding the…

Media

Government Accountability

Are Pennsylvania and Iraq going in opposite directions?

• Nathan Benefield
• June 14, 2008

Jonathan Jenkins, a Pennsylvania resident serving in Iraq, ask “Are Pennsylvania and Iraq going in opposite directions?” He offers the perspective the Iraq is improving, while Pennsylvania is declining,…

Media

Regulation

Tenant unlikely for $250 million airport

• Nathan Benefield
• June 13, 2008

A LBFC study on the Hazleton area airport proposal finds that prospect of attracting a major client is remote (FedEx and DHL said “heck no”, while UPS said “very…

Media

Health Care

Voters Send Mixed Messages on Health Care

• Nathan Benefield
• June 13, 2008

Michael Tanner on polls about health care and the divergent proposals , concluding, “as November approaches, voters will reach a fork in the road, and as Yogi Berra says,…

Media