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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
Yes, Profits Matter
Investor’s Business Daily editorial on oil profits: Profits drive discovery and productivity in every industry, but particularly in the capital-intensive energy sector. The seismic and satellite technologies now…
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Swearing-in Parties
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review articles reviews legislator expenses for their swearing-in day parties, including who charged the meals to taxpayers, and who didn’t: “Rep. Jim Marshall, R-Beaver County, said he bought…
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PHEAA ‘housecleaning’ urged
Governor Rendell is now agreeing that PHEAA needs to “clean house”, as the Patriot News Reports. It will be interesting to see what he proposes, and whether he thinks…
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Lawmakers doubt Rendellconomics
Apparently, neither state Senators (see coverage by KYW NewsRadio) nor state Representatives (story in the Post-Gazette) believe Gov. Rendell has found a magic tax which will only tax…
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Oil companies already provide ‘windfall’
Jonathan Williams of the Tax Foundation on Governor Rendell’s “Oil Profits Tax” in Sunday’s Patriot News.
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GOP Protectionists
Jack Kemp on free trade and the so-called “conservative protectionists” in today’s Wall Street Journal.
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Financing and Managing Transportation in PA
Commonwealth Foundation report recommends Public-Private Partnerships Harrisburg, PA — Today, the Commonwealth Foundation released a new report, The Emerging Paradigm: Financing and Managing Pennsylvania’s Transportation Infrastructure and Mass Transit, which…
Press Release
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PHEAA’s use of state plane saves money, CEO claims
Dick Willey argued to the Patriot News that using the state plane to fly PHEAA board members (almost all of whom are state legislators) to retreats across the US…
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Socialized pensions
Richard Rowland of the Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees illustrates just how wrong-headed Governor Rendell’s “Cover All Pennsylvanians” is, in a Patriot News Editorial. Rowland argues that not only…
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Mandating Health Care?
A debate on making health insurance mandatory, from the Des Moines Register. Jack Hatch, a state senator from Iowa, takes the “pro” position, Michael Tanner of Cato the “con”,…
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Legislative Spending
Tribune Review article looks at the overall growth in the PA General Assembly’s budget, and the improvement of amenities for lawmakers. The Herald Standard points out that many…
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Turnpike Politics
Post-Gazette article examines some of the patronage jobs handed out under the Turnpike Commission.
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No more lawmaker graft?
Speaker O’Brien wants to end funding of members’ non-profits, the Post-Gazette reports. The opening line says it all: Legislators would no longer be able to quietly steer tax dollars…
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Selective School Choice
Clint Bolick Commentary in today’s WSJ on how the leading Democrat contenders think school choice should be limited to the rich (i.e. themselves).
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Spending Limits & the Budget
Budget Secretary Michael Masch had some interesting comments about government spending and the proposed Taxpayer Protection Act during yesterday’s Appropriation Committee hearing, courtesy of PLS Committee Summary (subscription):…
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PHEAA reveals spending records
After a lengthy legal battle, the Patriot News finally got some financial records from PHEAA, a state agency which had claimed to be exempt from open records laws. Though…
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Payoff to Big Labor
Rep. John Boehner on the union-led efforts to pass legislation that eliminate secret-ballot elections to unionize. Boehner misses the point when he compares union leaders to Hugo Chavez and…
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House Reform Group Issues Recommendations
Tracie Mauriello reports in the Post-Gazette on the reforms recommended by the PA House Reform Commission. Of course, since any recommendation had to be supported by 3/4ths of both…
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Army of Accountants?
When Governor Rendell proposed a new tax on oil profits, he claimed the cost “would not be passed on to consumers,” and that the Attorney General would have the power…
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Jackpot for Gambling Staff
WGAL’s Ben Simmoneau is reporting that Gaming Control Board Staff make hefty salaries, higher than most make in other state jobs. The Gaming Board tries to justify its higher…
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Read More: Jackpot for Gambling Staff