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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 BenefitsEducation
Salaries for 120,000 PA teachers
Stop Teacher Strikes has the data here.
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Read More: Salaries for 120,000 PA teachersState Budget
$100 Trillion Dollars in Debt!
John Goodman analyzes the latest report of unfunded Social Security and Medicare liabilities and come up with the grand total of $102 Trillion for the “infinite horizon” (after reducing…
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Read More: $100 Trillion Dollars in Debt!Taxes & Economy
Rendell pleads for more spending
Tony Phyrillas comments on Governor Rendell’s latest plea for legislators to borrow, tax, and spend more. Rendell claims that for a few dollars more, he can fix all our…
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Read More: Rendell pleads for more spendingGovernment Accountability
Merit Selection Not so Meritorious?
Intriguing article in the Wall Street Journal on merit selection of judges, and John Grisham’s latest novel, (HT to PA Clean Sweep), that is timely given…
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Read More: Merit Selection Not so Meritorious?Taxes & Economy
Higher Fuel Taxes Won’t Help Anything
John Hood editorial in Investor’s Business Daily on fuel taxes – pointing to both the absurd earmarks that the federal gas tax funds and the need to…
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Read More: Higher Fuel Taxes Won’t Help AnythingTaxes & Economy
Tax Freedom Day for PA is April 21
The Tax Foundation released their annual report on Tax Freedom Day today. The national Tax Freedom day will be April 23 – the number of days it takes for…
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Read More: Tax Freedom Day for PA is April 21Education
Lobbying by State Universities
The blog, “Left of Centre,” has some details about lobbying by PA’s state universities, following up an article in the Daily Collegian. Of interest to those following lobbying…
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Read More: Lobbying by State UniversitiesTaxes & Economy
Book of Charts – Federal Revenue and Spending
The Heritage Foundation has released their “Book of Charts” on federal taxes and spending, and other data, for 2008.
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Read More: Book of Charts – Federal Revenue and SpendingTaxes & Economy
Trade and National Defense
Don Boudreaux has an interesting discussion over at Cafe Hayek about the controversy over foreign companies contracting with the US Department of Defense (i.e. Airbus). His dismisses most of…
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Read More: Trade and National DefenseTaxes & Economy
Which states give retirees the best deal?
MSN Money quantifies which state is the best for retirees – in terms of taxes paid. Their assumption is a couple earning $60,000 – all from retirement income/pensions –…
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Read More: Which states give retirees the best deal?State Budget
The “Ed McMahon” Syndrome
The Republican Herald discusses Rep. Tim Holden’s earmarks, which his challenger, Toni Gilhooley labels “Ed McMahon” syndrome because of his desire to hand out large cardboard checks (a phrase…
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Read More: The “Ed McMahon” SyndromeHealth Care
State Legislators’ Guide to Health Insurance
The Council for Affordable Health Insurance (CAHI) and American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) have published a 2008 version of their guide to health insurance solutions, including recommendations and a…
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Read More: State Legislators’ Guide to Health InsuranceEducation
Wisconsin’s Virtual Schools Could Close this Summer
Intriguing piece in School Reform News on how the Wisconsin teachers’ union is also working to undermine cyber schools – rather than targeting funding, they are going after cyber…
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Read More: Wisconsin’s Virtual Schools Could Close this SummerTaxes & Economy
Stimulating the Economy with Tax Cuts
Click here for a PDF version of Rep. Mike Turzai’s presentation at last week’s forum on “Stimulating the Economy: Tax Cuts vs ‘Rebates'” Here is video from the…
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Read More: Stimulating the Economy with Tax CutsTaxes & Economy
Dynamic Effects of Tax Policy
Part 3 in a series of videos on the Laffer Curve, from the Center for Freedom and Propserity, this one covering dynamic modeling of tax changes. (Click here for…
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Read More: Dynamic Effects of Tax PolicyTaxes & Economy
Neat Charts on Unemployment Claims
I read the latest coverage of the unemployment insurance claims and how this is the “worst report” since 2005 and the most payroll jobs lost since 2003. I noticed…
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Read More: Neat Charts on Unemployment ClaimsRegulation
Stimulating the Pennsylvania Economy
Here is video from yesterday’s luncheon on “Stimulating PA’s Economy: Tax Cuts v. ‘Rebates'”. Click here for more videos from the Commonwealth Foundation.
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Read More: Stimulating the Pennsylvania EconomyHealth Care
Are “Large Health Savings Accounts” the Answer?
Michael Cannon has a paper on “Large Health Savings Accounts” in the Forum for Health Economics & Policy (registration required). Also listen to his Cato Podcast on the…
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Turnpike Lease Resources
More information on many of topics I addressed in my testimony on a Turnpike Lease Free analysis of costly Turnpike study PolicyPoint: Act 44…
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Read More: Turnpike Lease ResourcesTaxes & Economy
Concerns About Turnpike Lease Misguided
Testimony before the PA House Transportation Committee Good morning. I am Nathan Benefield, Director of Policy Research for the Commonwealth Foundation. We are a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research…
Testimony
Read More: Concerns About Turnpike Lease MisguidedTaxes & Economy
Pennsylvania has 2nd highest corporate tax – in the world
A new report from the The Tax Foundation finds that Pennsylvania’s combined federal and local corporate income tax rate is higher than any other industrialized nation, and trails only…
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Read More: Pennsylvania has 2nd highest corporate tax – in the world