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Fairness
New Analysis Reveals Striking Partisanship of Government Union Spending
Government unions spent more than $33 million on political causes and only 5.2 percent of PAC contributions went to non-Democratic candidates. Harrisburg, Pa., April 16, 2025 — Government unions…
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Prosperity
Independent Fiscal Office Exposes Shapiro’s Overinflated Revenue Projections
Read More: Independent Fiscal Office Exposes Shapiro’s Overinflated Revenue Projections
Education
Senate Republicans School Shapiro Administration, Stand up for Students and Taxpayers
Read More: Senate Republicans School Shapiro Administration, Stand up for Students and Taxpayers
Commonwealth Foundation Announces Promotion of Elizabeth Stelle to Vice President of Policy
Read More: Commonwealth Foundation Announces Promotion of Elizabeth Stelle to Vice President of Policy
S-CHIP expansion is not about ‘the children’
Heritage Foundation argues that S-CHIP is not about ‘the children’ but about moving towards socialized medicine.
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Calls for heads to roll at PHEAA
The Patriot News says PHEAA employees who think they would earn more in the private sector should go earn more in the private sector (by which they mean not…
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Transit proposal fails to add up
PennDOT Secretary Allen Biehler says what we said long ago, that light rail in Central PA would create a giant sucking sound of taxpayer money. We hate to…
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Beaver nonprofit pays top dollar to senator’s wife
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Sen. Gerald LaValle’s wife’s compensation ($102,076, plus a $9,695 pension benefit) to run a non-profit charity that has been funded primarily with taxpayer money through…
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The Strange Career of Affirmative Action
Hillsdale College professor Paul Moreno writes in The Wall Street Journal that “This 125th Labor Day, Americans ought to consider one of organized labor’slesser-known contributions to American politics:…
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Turnpike Commission Loves P3s
They Mon-Fayette Expressway, which the Turnpike Commission promised to complete in order to get their sweetheart deal passed, will like be built using a public-private partnership. Chris Buckley has…
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Campaign Finance Reform Gone Haywire
This story from the Wall Street Journal (hat tip to Tony Phyrillas) illustrates exactly why campaign donation limits are a meaningless reform. Unfortunately, this is the same type…
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What is the worst part of transportation funding scheme?
As both Congressman Peterson and John Micek have pointed out, the PA Turnpike Commission has a new website touting I-80 tolls, with a silly push-poll asking –…
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Investigation into Bonus-Gate heats up
Post-Gazette reports the the AG’s office has seized records on House Democratic staffers to see if bonuses were tied to campaign work. They are apparently also investigating Mike Veon…
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Public vs. Private: Rebuilding New Orleans
USA Today article on the rebuilding in New Orleans – noting that rebuilding efforts funding by private entrepreneurs and philanthropists are done faster and better than anything funded by…
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Ripping Off Taxpayers, Pennsylvania Style
Richard Vedder of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity weighs in on the PHEAA bonuses. Vedder’s book Going Broke by Degree: Why College Costs Too Much is…
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PHEAA’s solution to bonus furor: pay raises
PHEAA’s solution to bonus furor: pay raises – from the Post-Gazette.
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What Americans Think about Their Schools
Results of a survey on public education and school choice is featured in the latest Education Next. Some of the findings I found interesting: School vouchers are generally viewed…
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The SCHIP Open
AEI paper on the many flaws of proposed SCHIP expansion, primarily that it provides “Hidden Incentives for States to Spend Federal Funds,” driving up the costs to taxpayers by…
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Do the latest welfare numbers stack up?
An AP Story covers the latest news release from the PA Department of Public Welfare claiming lowest number of welfare recipients in nearly 50 years. This rosy analysis…
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Rendell targets PHEAA
Rendell is calling for an “overhaul” of PHEAA. in today’s Tribune-Review. Our guess is that it will just be a shakedown rather than a true effort to reform that…
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Road Work
On the two year anniversary of Hurrican Katrina, Joel Kotkin in today’s Wall Street Journal notes how politicians push aside the more mundane aspects of “governing” for “the ephemeral…
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A Maverick Mogul, Proudly Politically Incorrect
The New York Times profiled Commonwealth Foundation First Amendment Scholar Thor Halvorssen’s most recent endeavors at the Moving Picture Institute to use the documentaries to spread the freedom…
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Pennsylvania Political War Over Planned Tolls on I-80
New York Times on the debate over tolling I-80. The Times points out, as this blog has, that the plan still requires federal approval, the program the Turnpike…
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Occupational Licensing in the States
Reason Foundation report on occupational icensing in the 50 states and how these requirements prevent many individuals from entering into their chosen profession. While Pennsylvania ranks somewhat low among…
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Lessons from Massachusetts
Sally Pipes on the lessons of Massachusetts’ Health Care Reform. Not to be confused with RomneyCare 2.0 (or as Michael Tanner puts it, Romney abandons RomneyCare)…
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