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Health Care

Health Savings Sabotage

• Nathan Benefield
• April 20, 2008

The Wall Street Journal has a column on a bill that passed the US House that would undermine Health Savings Accounts (also see the SPN blog on this…

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Health Care

The Health Insurance Mafia

• Nathan Benefield
• April 18, 2008

Here is a great editorial in the Wall Street Journal on how the health insurance industry acts like the Mafia: Most discussions about the rising…

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Taxes & Economy

Getting Better, Not Bitter, in Pennsylvania

• Nathan Benefield
• April 18, 2008

WebMemo from the Heritage Foundation about whether Pennsylvanians should be “bitter” over all the jobs “lost”. I would point readers to my commentary on Prospering in Pennsylvania, but…

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Government Accountability

58 lawmakers who kept the pay raise

• Nathan Benefield
• April 18, 2008

Rock the Capital has released their latest (final) update on the 2005 legislative pay raise – who took the unvouchered expenses, who kept them, who paid them back, who…

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Government Accountability

“Easy” Real Change, by Newt Gingrich

• Nathan Benefield
• April 18, 2008

As promised, here is my review of Newt Gingrich’s latest book, Real Change. This was a frustrating read for me. For starters, Newt’s premise is how we…

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Education

Answers to Attacks on Cyber Schools

• Nathan Benefield
• April 17, 2008

One of our loyal readers asked for some help responding to attacks on Cyber School Funding and a lobbying effort by Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) in support of HB…

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State Budget

Make Cardboard Checks Vanish

• Nathan Benefield
• April 17, 2008

Senator Eichelberger’s stand against posing with cardboard checks when handing out taxpayer-funded grants is getting attention across the state, with a story in the Morning-Call, and…

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Taxes & Economy

Turnpike Lease Bids Due April 30

• Nathan Benefield
• April 17, 2008

Governor Rendell has announced that bids for leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike will be due at or near the end of April. He also announced many of the terms…

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Education

New Education Blog

• Nathan Benefield
• April 16, 2008

The Fordham Foundation has launched a new blog on education called Flypaper. A couple good posts in their first two days are this one on highlighting “surprising” story…

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Taxes & Economy

Candidate Surveys

• Nathan Benefield
• April 16, 2008

Here are some candidate surveys for state legislative candidates: PA Right to Work Stop Teacher Strikes Democracy Rising Project Vote Smart…

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Taxes & Economy

Taxpayer Cost of Family Fragmentation

• Nathan Benefield
• April 16, 2008

A new report on the taxpayer cost of family breakdown (i.e. divorce and family breakdown), putting the cost to PA taxpayers at over $2 billion annually. Click…

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Government Accountability

Book Review: Leave us Alone

• Nathan Benefield
• April 15, 2008

I am blogging from Seattle, where I am attending a conference on government transparency. One of the best aspects of flying across the county is catching up on some reading.

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Taxes & Economy

What are “purely conservative principles”?

• Nathan Benefield
• April 15, 2008

Michael Smerconish comments on the “blueing” of the Philadelphia suburbs (HT: Grassroots PA). Smerconish dismisses the idea that residents are fleeing Philadelphia for the suburbs, noting that…

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Health Care

“Stupid Hicks” Oppose Big Government

• Nathan Benefield
• April 15, 2008

I wasn’t going to post anything on Barack Obama’s comments about people “clinging” to guns and religion, until Philadelphia Daily News columnist John Baer offered his Obama can…

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Taxes & Economy

‘Government cannot spend its way out of a recession’

• Nathan Benefield
• April 14, 2008

Tony Phyrillas summarizes the House Republicans’ tax reduction package unveiled today. The legislation includes:· Implementing Compete PA business tax relief, which includes removing the cap on net…

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Penn Pike may require larger toll increases

• Nathan Benefield
• April 14, 2008

More bad news on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission – Toll Roads News reports that Fitch Ratings has downgraded the PTC’s bond rating, saying that the Act 44 promises may…

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State Budget

Bringing home the bacon gets a slap in the face

• Nathan Benefield
• April 13, 2008

The York Daily Record has an article on state lawmakers and administration officials’ penchant for posing with cardboard checks – i.e. “Ed McMahon syndrome” – prompted by Senator…

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Taxes & Economy

10 Businesses Facing Extinction in 10 Years

• Nathan Benefield
• April 12, 2008

Entrepreneur.com has an intriguing article on businesses facing extinction (HT Carpe Diem). Some of the selections are obvious, and have already seen major declines (pay phones, camera film…

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Why are taxpayers still subsidizing the Turnpike?

• Nathan Benefield
• April 12, 2008

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is objecting vigorously to the notion that they are among the least efficient toll roads, along with touting their subsidies to the state (which are…

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Education

Edifice Complex at Work

• Nathan Benefield
• April 11, 2008

In our report, Edifice Complex: Where has all the Money Gone we looked at the fastest growing cost for school districts, and what is driving property taxes…

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PA Turnpike’s Operating Costs

• Nathan Benefield
• April 11, 2008

In the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article on Reason’s report that the PA Turnpike is one of the least efficient toll roads in the nation (see here), the Turnpike Commission…

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