Media

Taxes & Economy

Dueling Energy Subsidies are Equally Bad

• Gordon Tomb
• June 19, 2018

  Shortly after Pennsylvania lawmakers suggested subsidies for nuclear power plants, the federal government launched a new effort to subsidize not only nuclear power but other forms of energy…

Media

State Budget

How Lawmakers Can Revive Pa.’s Economy

• June 18, 2018

A look at job growth and labor force trends over the past few years reveals the Keystone State’s economy to be stagnant or, at best, overshadowed by robust growth in…

Media

Education

New Legislation Tackles the EITC and OSTC Waiting List

• Elizabeth Stelle
• June 15, 2018

The Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs have offered lifelines to hundreds of thousands of low to moderate-income Pennsylvania students. Yet many…

Media

Education

EITC In Context

• Nathan Benefield
• June 14, 2018

Pennsylvania’s Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) provide tax credit scholarships to low and moderate-income students. These scholarships are lifelines for tens of…

Media

Education

Troubling Features of Pa. Teacher Contracts

• Jessica Barnett
• June 14, 2018

Union-negotiated collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) dictate the compensation packages and workplace conditions of over 100,000 teachers in Pennsylvania's 500 school districts—regardless of their union membership. As the “exclusive representative” of all teachers…

Media

State Budget

PA Legislature Moves to Protect Taxpayers from Habitual Overspending

• June 13, 2018

Today, the Senate State Government Committee took a positive step toward putting Pennsylvania’s finances back on solid ground by passing the Taxpayer Protection Act (TPA) or House Bill 110—sponsored…

Press Release

State Budget

Time for Welfare Work Requirements

• Elizabeth Stelle
• June 13, 2018

Yesterday, welfare work requirement bills HB 2138 and HB 1659 moved out of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. This move ensures welfare reform will be a focus…

Media

Regulation

Government Job Creation is a Myth

• Nathan Benefield
• June 12, 2018

Can government create jobs? If you ask Gov. Tom Wolf, you won’t get a straight answer. On the one hand, Wolf promised Amazon millions—likely billions—in taxpayer subsidies to build a…

Media

State Budget

5 Reasons We Need the Taxpayer Protection Act Now

• June 12, 2018

Gov. Wolf has been pretty optimistic about Pennsylvania’s finances going into budget negotiations for fiscal year 2018-19. Although it’s true the state is not staring down a $2 billion…

Media

Education

Scholarship Organizations Bring Educational Freedom to Thousands

• Colleen Hroncich
• June 11, 2018

Pennsylvania’s tax credit scholarship programs are lifelines for thousands of children around the state. At best, these children would be stuck in schools that aren’t meeting their education needs. At…

Media

Education

A Choice for All Students

• Charles Mitchell
• June 10, 2018

Barbara “Annie” Jackson waitresses at Roxy's Café just a short walk away from the Capitol building in Harrisburg. Eight months pregnant, Annie serves steaming plates of eggs and mugs of hot coffee…

Media

Education

The Truth about Education Spending in PA

• June 8, 2018

Data from Pennsylvania's Department of Education refute the persistent myth that Pennsylvania public schools are underfunded. See the charts below for 2016-17 statistics on school spending, an update on where Pa.

Media

Taxes & Economy

A Career for Life: Toni’s Work Story

• Elizabeth Stelle
• June 6, 2018

DuBois resident Toni Prescott Flanders knows the value of hard work. As a teenager she worked alongside her mom, who owned a restaurant. But Toni wanted more than a job.

Media

Taxes & Economy

More Evidence Raising the Minimum Wage is Bad for Pa.

• June 4, 2018

In his 2018-19 budget proposal, Governor Wolf mandates a 65 percent increase to the state’s minimum wage, from $7.25 to $12 per hour. The governor reiterated his support for this…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Government Union Efforts to Restrict Workers’ Rights

• Jessica Barnett
• June 1, 2018

June will bring a U.S. Supreme Court decision potentially restoring First Amendment rights to millions of public sector workers. The response from government union leaders? Schemes to continue—and further restrict—public…

Media

Regulation

Save Nuclear Jobs with Less Government, Not Corporate Welfare

• Gordon Tomb
• June 1, 2018

Increased production of low-cost natural gas has reduced the price of electricity to levels below which many Pennsylvania nuclear plants can compete. With about 3,000 jobs at stake, Senator…

Media

Education

Education Choice Saves Tax Dollars

• Marc LeBlond
• May 31, 2018

Transparency in education funding and charter school reform are good ideas, yet this push for reform is being used to spread misinformation about educational opportunities. Namely, the idea that…

Media

Health Care

More than a Paycheck: Amanda’s Work Story

• Elizabeth Stelle
• May 30, 2018

A mother of four, Amanda Zernell worked odd jobs – as a certified nurse assistant at minimum wage and later at Sears – to help support her family. But after…

Media

State Budget

Securing Pa.’s Fiscal Future

• May 29, 2018

Balancing a budget may come naturally to many Pennsylvania families, but in Harrisburg, it’s an idea that has been recently overlooked. And given the latest federal court decision prohibiting…

Media

Regulation

PLCB Turns to Corporate Welfare to “Strengthen” Local Producers

• May 25, 2018

Everyone loves grant money, but for Pennsylvania wine makers and brewers, recent handouts from the PLCB are especially ironic. On May 16, Governor Wolf announced that the Pennsylvania Liquor Control…

Media

Ignore Scare Tactics; ESAs Would Benefit All Students

• Nathan Benefield
• May 24, 2018

On Tuesday, the Senate Education Committee advanced Senate Bill 2, which would create Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) for students in the lowest performing 15 percent of public schools. ESAs…

Media