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Education
Public Schools Increased Spending to $23,000 Per Student, Ballooned Reserves While Enrollment Declined
Harrisburg, Pa., May 15, 2025 — Pennsylvania school districts increased overall revenue collected in 2023–24 to $23,000 per student, while expanding general fund reserves to $7.4 billion, according to new…
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Energy
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on RGGI
Read More: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on RGGI
Education
Senate Education Committee Approves Bipartisan PASS Scholarships, Offering Lifeline to Students in Need
Read More: Senate Education Committee Approves Bipartisan PASS Scholarships, Offering Lifeline to Students in Need
Prosperity
New Report: Gig-Workers Prefer Flexibility of Portable Benefits
Read More: New Report: Gig-Workers Prefer Flexibility of Portable Benefits
Rendell revives idea of leasing turnpike
The Patriot-News reports that “Rendell has said that if the process promised annual returns approaching $1.5 billion or more, he likely would ask the General Assembly to reconsider the…
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Turnpike Open for Bidding
Governor Rendell has issued a request for qualifications for bidders on a Turnpike Lease. I’m not clear how a “request for qualifications” differs from “expression of interest” or an…
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High school graduates not proficient
Report from PA Partnerships for Children reveals that 45% of Pennsylvania high school graduates last year did not pass the 11th grade PSSA (on the first or 2nd try).
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The Ten Cannots
THE TEN CANNOTSBy Reverend William J.H. Boetcker (1916) You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot help small men by tearing down big…
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Tolling I-80: What a crock
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Harrisburg’s transportation boondoggle: “It was hatched behind closed doors without debate or public input.” Read today’s commentary from Matt Brouillette too.
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Fix health care by making Americans care about costs
Michael Cannon in USATODAY.com on fixing the real problems in health care.
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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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Read More: Do the latest welfare numbers stack up?