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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
Hearing may be major step toward state constitutional convention
The push for a Constitutional Convention in PA may be heating up, the Post-Gazette reports.
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Spirits of privatization are likely to stay bottled up
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette considers the prospects of privatizing the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
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Uninsured And Overinflated
Investor’s Business Daily editorial breaks down the “46 million” without health insurance: most are without insurance short-term, immigrants, eligible for current government programs, or young and choosing not to…
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Adding Up the Reasons For Expensive Health Care
Washington Post article details why healthcare is so expensive in the US. Doctor’s pay, unnecessary testing, and hospital amenities play a major role (and the third-party payer model falls…
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The Stubborn Welfare State
Robert Samuelson looks at where tax dollars really go. The charts tell it all.
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A Portrait of the Economy
Wall Street Journal editorial on why growth of Big Government always undermines economic growth.
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The Tax Foundation on Windfall Profits Tax
Tax Foundation Audio on Governor Rendell’s proposed oil profits tax (from KDKA, Pittsburgh).
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Should Uncle Sam Take Oil Company Profits?
US News and World Report answers: No: “Today’s earnings are tomorrow’s investments, both in exploiting hard-to-reach oil reserves and in alternative fuels.” Of course, Governor Rendell believes those investments…
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Critics claim property tax savings offset by other taxes
Governor Rendell’s ideas of tax relief by raising taxes. But it is “ahead of schedule”.
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Utah enacts school vouchers
Utah Governor Huntsman signed into law the first statewide school voucher program open to virtually all students. Scholarship value would vary based on family income.
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Top bonus recipients aided top Dems
Post-Gazette expose linking legislative bonus recipients to campaign work and contributions.
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Gov. Ed Rendell: Raising taxes with a purpose
Governor Rendell in a letter to the editor explains why his taxes are little but the benefits are big.
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Electric customers face double hit
The Morning Call explains why electricity prices will be going up to pay for a program to tell consumers that electricity prices are going up.
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9.8% Spending Increase
Because of plans to create new state funds and shifting spending from the General Fund to other funds, the Governor’s budget proposal really implies a 9.8% increase in spending from…
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The hidden $866 million tax
The Morning Call reports that the state (suprise, suprise!) ALWAYS comes out the winner with sales tax rounding. The 6% state sales tax can actually be as high as…
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Eliminating government mandates would lower cost of health insurance
Good editorial pointing out how mandates drive up the cost of health insurance, and that fewer mandates would lower costs. Let me repeat (specifically for the Rendell administration): fewer…
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Pennsylvania’s Windfall Profits Tax?
The Tax Foundation’s blog on Rendell’s proposed windfall profits tax.
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Taxing Teachers
When Governor Rendell intoduced his proposed “Oil Company Gross Profits Tax”, he bashed Exxon-Mobil and their profits. The Governor apparently forgot that Exxon’s profits are owned by people, including being…
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State can’t fix health insurance problems it created
A small businessman says “Thanks, but No Thanks!” to Gov. Rendell’s healthcare proposal that is suppose to HELP small businesses. Read John Brinson’s commentary in the Morning Call.
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Newly Retired Lawmakers Cash In on Pensions
The Associated Press reports on the pension payouts of newly retired lawmakers. ABC27 reports on the lucrative “public servant” benefits our lawmakers have provided themselves.
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Do Markets Work in Healthcare?
From Dr. John Goodman of the National Center for Policy Analysis… Perhaps you have heard that health markets work reasonably well whenpatients pay with their own money. LAZIK surgery…
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