Media

State Budget

Pa.’s Economy Continues to Underwhelm

• April 25, 2018

Just how burdensome have Pennsylvania taxes and regulations become? According to the latest edition of Rich States, Poor States (RSPS), the commonwealth ranks 35th in the nation for economic performance…

Media

Regulation

Seize Opportunities to Transform Pennsylvania

• April 24, 2018

Maximizing our state’s potential requires a willingness to break from the status quo and find better ways to govern. Several improvements indicate Pennsylvania is moving in this direction, such…

Media

Education

Students Harmed when Scholarships are Politicized

• Colleen Hroncich
• April 23, 2018

Bill Blum, Director of Finance at Kennedy Catholic High School (KCHS) in Hermitage, witnesses the power of education choice every day. But he’s also seen the suffering caused when these…

Media

Education

Teacher Strike Capitol of America

• April 23, 2018

Pennsylvania is the teacher strike capital of America. Since 1999, Pennsylvania families have suffered through 131 strikes, affecting 300,000 students and causing 1,383 missed school days. This research, including county,…

Press Release

Health Care

Welfare Reform is Sweeping the Nation

• Elizabeth Stelle
• April 20, 2018

“Right now, America combines near-record-low unemployment with near-record-high welfare dependency — the result of state-level eligibility exemptions, federal loopholes and policies that put work on the back burner.” Those are…

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Education

Answering Questions About ESAs

• April 20, 2018

Education Savings Accounts (ESA) allow parents to customize and personalize their child's education. With an ESA, parents withdraw their child from the local public school and instead receive money from…

Media

Taxes & Economy

The Dignity of Work in Rural Pennsylvania

• Elizabeth Stelle
• April 19, 2018

The Brockway Center for Arts and Technology (BCAT) is only five years old, but it has helped over 100 unemployed and underemployed Pennsylvanians find fulfilling and family-sustaining healthcare careers.

Media

Regulation

Solving Pa.’s Corporate Welfare Problem is Key to Tax Reform

• April 19, 2018

Gov. Wolf’s budget proposal projects a small reduction in corporate welfare spending. When compared to the current budget, spending would decline by more than $26 million.   However,…

Media

Taxes & Economy

House Passes Work-Promoting Medicaid Reform

• April 17, 2018

Today, the state House passed legislation, HB 2138, promoting independence among healthy, adult Medicaid recipients by requiring them to find part-time work or engage in job training to continue receiving…

Press Release

Public Union Democracy

4 Facts on Pennsylvania Teacher Strikes

• Priya Brannick
• April 13, 2018

Between the nearly averted strike in Pittsburgh and statewide strikes in West Virginia and Oklahoma, the validity of teacher strikes is once again up for debate. Here are four facts…

Media

Regulation

Pull the Reins on Horse Racing Subsidies

• April 13, 2018

A horse is a horse, of course, of course, unless it's a Pennsylvania racehorse—then it's the symbol of government waste and an industry in decline. (Is that how this…

Media

State Budget

People Everywhere Just Want to Be Free (Of Taxes)

• April 12, 2018

Pennsylvanians work nearly four months a year just to pay the taxes imposed at the various levels of government. This is just one of the many findings in the Tax…

Media

Health Care

House Takes Step Towards Transformative Welfare Reform

• Elizabeth Stelle
• April 10, 2018

Lawmakers took a significant step towards strengthening human service programs today. The House Health Committee passed HB 2138 with bipartisan support to restore the dignity of work for people…

Media

Education

Empowering Parents of Students with Special Needs

• Colleen Hroncich
• April 10, 2018

Friends thought Dorothy Famiano was nuts when she decided to adopt two toddlers with special needs. She didn’t listen to the naysayers. Today Nicholas, who is confined to a…

Media

Education

Taxpayer Funds Used to Lobby Against Educational Choice

• Jessica Barnett
• April 9, 2018

All Pennsylvania students deserve quality educations. For kids with unmet educational needs, Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) provide access to the opportunities many of their peers already enjoy. Yet, instead…

Media

State Budget

How to Craft a Responsible Budget

• April 9, 2018

Under Gov. Wolf, total state spending has risen by nearly $5.3 billion. This includes more than $2.9 billion in new General Fund spending—a sum exceeding the combined spending increases of…

Media

welfare infographic

• April 9, 2018

Bipartisan federal welfare reform in 1996 promoted independence by keeping people engaged in the workforce. Healthy adults were limited to 3 months of cash assistance benefits unless they worked 20…

Media

Health Care

What’s the Goal of Welfare Reform?

• Elizabeth Stelle
• April 6, 2018

Pennsylvania's welfare system focuses on how much one needs to “get by” or how many different services and programs one can qualify for. These are well-intentioned attitudes that stem from…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Gov. Wolf Receives $8 Million from Government Union PACs

• Jessica Barnett
• April 6, 2018

As the 2018 election season gains momentum, Governor Wolf’s campaign friends are ramping up their financial support–and Pennsylvania taxpayers have helped them. Since his first campaign in 2013, Governor Wolf…

Media

Government Accountability

The Call for Contract Transparency Continues

• Jessica Barnett
• March 30, 2018

An ABC27 special investigation asks a simple question: “Would you pay a bill before you saw it?” Most people would answer with a resounding no. Yet, as the report highlights, that’s exactly…

Media

Education

Philly Exodus Spells the Need for School Choice

• Marc LeBlond
• March 29, 2018

Philadelphia’s population is growing. In fact, Philly’s population has grown for 11 consecutive years according to the U.S. Census Bureau and highlighted recently in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Population growth…

Media