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Cost of Calendars

  • Nathan Benefield
  • January 4, 2008

The Chief Clerks offices for both the PA House and Senate have graciously provided the cost of printing those lovely Capitol Calendars. Here is the breakdown: House:Calendars Printed:…

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I Am Lawsuit Abuse

  • Nathan Benefield
  • January 2, 2008

New website highlights of the worst cases of lawsuit abuse, including the infamous case of a judge suing a dry cleaner for losing his pants – for $67 million.

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Lawmakers have priorities confused

  • January 2, 2008

This Letter to the Editor at The REPUBLICAN & Herald succinctly nails what’s wrong with Harrisburg. We need more such letters in newspapers across Pennsylvania. Actually, we need more…

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Taxpayer Protection Limit equal to 3.29%

  • Nathan Benefield
  • January 2, 2008

With the latest population estimate from the Census Bureau (which shows continued anemic growth in PA), we can now estimate what the spending limit under the proposed…

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Politics and ideology stall health-care initiatives

  • Nathan Benefield
  • January 2, 2008

I thought I’d comment on this Beaver County Times Editorial that decries “politics and ideology” for stopping health care initiatives like RendellCare. They are right, you know, ideology –…

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Why the “Year of Reform” Wasn’t

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 31, 2007

Russ Diamond on “Why the “Year of Reform” Wasn’t”: Nothing else has been accomplished on the reform front, though. Newspaper editors, pundits, journalists and citizens are asking: Why?…

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The New Deal Jobs Myth

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 31, 2007

Amity Shlaes in the Wall Street Journal looks at how the New Deal era programs didn’t “create jobs”, but rather stifled growth. This is an important lesson for those…

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Are they all “selfish”?

  • December 28, 2007

Nate Benefield’s commentary on our website today, elicited a response from inside the Capitol. We thought we’d share it with you…because the writer makes a very good point!…

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Schools get no relief on pension contributions

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 26, 2007

That’s a horrible headline for the AP story in the Morning Call. Who are the “schools” anyway? It’s the taxpayers who get no relief. While the pension contribution…

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Where will projected I-80 revenue go?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 21, 2007

In light of the FHWA questions to the Turnpike Commission – specifically about whether I-80 revenue will be used for debt services for non-I-80 expenses, and how payments to…

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Creating a Free, Searchable Website of State Spending

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 21, 2007

Policy Note by our colleagues at theWashington Policy Center on creating a state-level, searchable online database of spending. Examples of online budget databases include Georgia, Texas, and…

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A Brief History of Christmas

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 21, 2007

This Wall Street Journal article on the History of Christmas has little to do with policy (unless there is some debate over ending Christmas as a federal holiday), but…

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‘It’s been a very difficult lesson’

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 20, 2007

Interview with Bill DeWeese in the Patriot News on his role in Bonusgate. His answers: 1) Didn’t know about bonuses ($1.9 million), 2) Will consider reforming legislative spending, 3)…

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Pew Trusts on State Pension Crunch

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 19, 2007

Pew Trusts analsysis of the looming state pension and retiree health care crisis in Pennsylvania. Index to 50-state analysis here.

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Another Poor State Economy Ranking for PA

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 19, 2007

The Beacon Hill Institute has released their State Competitiveness Report 2007. Pennsylvania ranks 34th out of 50, based on Government and Fiscal Policy, Security, Infrastructure, Human Resources, Technology,…

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Superintendent Contracts

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 18, 2007

The Altoona Mirror has put together an extensive list of information on superintendent pay and contracts for all 501 school districts (at least the 447 they obtained information from).

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