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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…
Read More: Public Schools Increased Spending to $23,000 Per Student, Ballooned Reserves While Enrollment Declined
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
Pennsylvania Turnpike corruption alleged in federal indictment of senator, wife of Pike chairman
Tollroads News looks at federally indicted state Senator Vince Fumo’s connection to the PA Turnpike.
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Read More: Pennsylvania Turnpike corruption alleged in federal indictment of senator, wife of Pike chairman
Record Taxes
Much has been made about Exxon’s “record profits”, but no media focused on their “record taxes“–Exxon paid three times in taxes what they earned in profits. Why is this…
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Rendell To Seek Increase in Sales Tax
ABC 27 previews the Governor’s budget proposals.
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Fiscal Revelation
Wall Street Journal crunches numbers in the federal budget and national debt.
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Bonus recipients gave heavily to campaigns
More gasoline on the legislative bonuses fire, from Public Radio Capitol News.
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Read More: Bonus recipients gave heavily to campaigns
A heaping helping of handouts
Post-Gazette piece on a whole host of corporate welfare grants.
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Significant Tax Increase for Pennsylvania
The Tax Foundation assesses Governor Rendell’s plans to raise a host of taxes in Pennylvania.
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State judge pay system worse than legislative bonuses.
From Capitolwire.com (subscription): Ditzen also wrote: “For all the controversy surrounding Act 44, I have not heard anyone argue that the salary linkage for state judges to the federal…
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Taxpayers could bear cost of pension plans’ ‘noncrisis’
Rick Dreyfuss’s latest commentary in Sunday’s Patriot-News.
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Read More: Taxpayers could bear cost of pension plans’ ‘noncrisis’
Saying No To Teacher Strikes
The Evening Bulletin covers efforts to stop teacher strikes in PA, focusing on the efforts of Simon Campbell at Stop Teacher Strikes, Inc.
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The Case Against Smoking Bans
Thomas A Lambert in Regulation Magazine on the Case Against Smoking Bans in “public places.”…
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Read More: The Case Against Smoking Bans
Rendell pushes health plan
Lancaster Intelligencer Journal article on RendellCare. After quoting my commentary on Rendell’s misdiagnosis of the problem, the article then quotes Rendell saying: “‘It’s important for the Legislature to…
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Rendell’s Energy Plan
From Capitolwire.com: By Christopher LilienthalStaff ReporterCapitolwire HARRISBURG (Feb. 1) – Gov. Ed Rendell outlined an energy independence strategy Thursday that calls for the creation of an $850…
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More on Legislative Bonuses
The Patriot News adds up the total legislative bonuses to $3.6 million over the last 2 years ($1.8 million from the Democratic caucus in 2006). Meanwhile, Bob Jubelirer defends…
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Time for another Rendell tax proposal
From the bad idea factory in Harrisburg comes another proposal for a tax increase to fund another misguided government program. This time, Governor Rendell proposes increasing electricity taxes by $850…
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Read More: Time for another Rendell tax proposal
Justice on Trial
The Commonwealth Foundation is co-sponsoring with Democracy Rising Pennsylvania and several other reform groups a survey of judicial candidates.
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Jubelirer’s ex-chief got $95,000 settlement package
More on the bonuses (and severance pay) paid to top legislator staffers from Brad Bumsted of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. It seems that looking through Jubelirer’s financial reports is like…
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Read More: Jubelirer’s ex-chief got $95,000 settlement packageTaxes & Economy
Act 1: Who Wins, Who Loses?
Commonwealth Foundation provides guide to Gov. Rendell’s Property Tax Relief Act Harrisburg, PA — Today, the Commonwealth Foundation released an analysis of the impact Act 1 of the 2006 Special…
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Senate leaders disclosed over $363K in bonuses
After last weeks disclosure that several unnamed PA Democratic House staffers were getting taxpayer-paid bonuses for undisclosed activities, the Senate GOP had decided to end their practice of bonuses…
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How Much Are Public School Teachers Paid?
A report from the Manhattan Institute examines teacher pay across the nation, taking on the common claim that teachers are underpaid. Generally, author Jay Greene finds that teachers earn…
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Read More: How Much Are Public School Teachers Paid?
Patriot News on Taxpayer Protection Act
The Patriot News has a short story on the Taxpayer Protection Act in their Inside the Capitol segment, unfortunately leading with “A proposed cap on state spending didn’t…
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Read More: Patriot News on Taxpayer Protection Act