PA Ranks 27th in FY 2008 Business Climate Index

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 11, 2007

The Tax Foundation’s latest State Business Tax Climate Index is now available. (Click here for the summary and here for the full report.) Pennsylvania ranks 27th (i.e.

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Idea Factories

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 11, 2007

Christopher DeMuth , retiring as head of AEI, has a column in the Wall Street Journal on the role think tanks play in using reseach to advance ideas…

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SCHIP: The Mad Hatter Matter

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 11, 2007

Ken Blackwell compares those pushing SCHIP expansion to the Mad Hatter of Alice in Wonderland. I, however, think their push to claim anyone who opposes higher taxes on the…

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Turnpike Chief says FHWA has approved I-80 tolling

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 10, 2007

Toll Roads News reports that PA Turnpike CEO Joe Brimmeier has been saying, while at a conference in Vienna, that the FHWA has approved I-80 tolling. We find that…

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Medical Competition Works for Patients

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 10, 2007

John Stossel’s latest commentary on health care reform. Stossel will be the keynote speaker at our Speaker Franklin Awards Dinner, honoring Richard Scaife, Nov. 14, in Pittsburgh. I…

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$9.6 million of EITC tax credits still available

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 9, 2007

From the REACH Foundation: Tuesday, October 09, 2007 $9.6 MILLION WORTH OF OPPORTUNITIES STILL AVAILABLE!Not too late for PA Businesses to participate in Tax Credit Program…

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Turnpike Commission’s “Fuzzy Math”

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 9, 2007

The latest talking points put out by the PA Turnpike Commission claim that the plan will generate $1.67 billion per year to PennDOT for transportation funding. This is substantially…

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A mad dash to influence Pa. energy plans

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 9, 2007

Philadelphia Inquirer reports that a number of special interests are busy lobbying regarding energy policy. If you are surprised that special interests want to get a piece of the…

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Data on Jobs and Taxes

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 5, 2007

Here are a couple of interesting compilations of data: Tax Foundation analysis of IRS data – Income and Taxes by income percentileSkeptical Optimist on Job Data –…

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DeWeese proposes “ethics training”

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 5, 2007

Philadelphia Inquirer on how Bill DeWeese plans to “clean up” Harrisburg in the wake of the Attorney General’s investigation of his office in the Bonus-Gate scandal (among other things):…

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PHEAA chief asked to step down

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 5, 2007

Jan Murphy in the Patriot News on the more abrupt forced resignation of Dick Willey from PHEAA, follwing the Auditor General’s preliminary report. Apparently even board members like…

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Audit Rips PHEAA For Hersheypark Day, Huge Bonuses

  • October 4, 2007

WTAE Pittsburgh’s Jim Parsons on PHEAA. Pennsylvania’s student loan agency, PHEAA, has paid hundreds of employees more than $7.5 million in bonuses over the last three years, according…

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When the Story’s Got Children, Who Needs Facts?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 4, 2007

Amy Menefee of the Business & Media Institute on what the SCHIP expansion would really do, and the “but its for the kids” media onslaught. (Balanced coverage from…

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$7.5M bonus bonanza at PHEAA

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 4, 2007

Brett Lieberman on the latest embarrasing revelation of PHEAA’s extravagances, from the state audit of the agency. Here is the Auditor General’s news release on the interim audit…

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I-80 tolls for Transit?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 4, 2007

Philadelphia Inquirer article repeat a claim from PA Turnpike head Joe Brimmeier that none of the tolls from I-80 would be used to fund mass transit. Of course this…

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Jesus: Roman Empire Should Provide Universal Health Care

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 3, 2007

Remember the passage in the Bible where Jesus called upon the Roman Empire to provide universal, government-run health insurance? Well, Governor Rendell says it is there: Rendell…

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SCHIP Articles

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 3, 2007

MSNBC.com article on how richer states are pushing for the SCHIP Expansion. Also Greg Mankiw posts a explanation of Bush’s position on SCHIP – a good overview, but…

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Preschool for All!

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 3, 2007

National Review article (from Free Library) on the push for government-run “universal preschool”: The irony is that early education is already an American strength. The National Center for…

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