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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
Bush’s Health Plan
NCPA policy briefs on the Bush Health Plan and answering the Critics of the Bush Plan.
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Protecting the Taxpayers
Proposals will help Gov. Rendell make government live within its means HARRISBURG, PA — The Commonwealth Foundation joined Senator Bob Regola (R-Westmoreland), Senator Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon), and other members of…
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Proposal would cap state spending
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article on the proposed Taxpayer Protection Act. Note that the union-backed Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center is already advancing the myths of spending limits. Look for…
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Milton Friedman Special
In honor of Milton Friedman Day PBS station will be airing the special The Power of Choice on Friedman’s life and influence. Unfortunately the blasphemers at WITF Harrisburg…
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Ethanol Makes Gasoline Costlier, Dirtier
Analysis of the effect of ethanol subsidies and mandates from the Cato Institute.
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Push to privatize turnpike reflects shift in thinking
Post-Gazette article on a potential turnpike lease. Geoff Segal of the Reason Foundation and adjunct scholar with Commonwealth Foundation (incorrectly identified with Reason magazine) scoffs at the fear of…
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Very, Very Big Corn
Wall Street Journal article on the mistakes of more ethanol subsidies by federal and state government.
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PHEAA’s “knockwursts” to continue…
The Patriot-News reports that the legislator-laden board of PHEAA will likely continue its junkets…but call them something else. But as reported in the story…. Matt Brouillette, president of…
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Union Membership Declines Again
BLS Annual Report on Union Membership finds that union membership in PA and in the US declined again last year. Whatever will Bill George do?…
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Liquor board did high-end traveling
Philadelphia Inquirer story on the luxury of being a public servant.
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Dissecting Rendell’s ‘Eddycare’
Jim Panyard Editorial in The Evening Bulletin.
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Ethanol-based fuel skewed by subsidies
Former CF Intern Stephen Albert in today’s Patriot News.
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Few districts make tax-hike vow
The Morning Call reports on how the overwhelming majority of school districts will likely be raising taxes above the already generous spending index included in Act 1 of 2006.
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Cost of Rendell Care
Following, yesterday’s defense of RendellCare (and attack on the Commonwealth Foundation) from the Democratic Party, I though it appropriate to examine the cost of RendellCare. As you know Rendell’s…
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Turnpike Commission may be nearing end of road
State Senator Jane Orie is calling for Pennsylvania to eliminate the Turpike Commission, whether or not the state engages in a lease of the turnpike, as it has been…
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Health and Taxes
Commentary on Bush’s health care proposal from the Wall Street Journal; from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review; and from the Heritage Foundation.
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Bush’s Split Personality
Last night’s State of the Union Address showed the two faces of President Bush. On the one hand, his health care proposal, which includes tax benefits for individual…
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Bush’s healthcare plan
Overview of President Bush’s healthcare proposals to be unveiled in the State of the Union address tonight.
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Illegal Health Care
Wall Street Journal article points out that employer health insurance mandates (which would include Governor Rendell’s proposal) are illegal under federal law. But we shouldn’t let something like the…
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Read More: Illegal Health CareHealth Care
CF Responds to Democratic Party Chairman on RendellCare
TJ RooneyDemocratic State Committee300 North 2nd Street8th FloorHarrisburg, PA 17101 Dear TJ: I am writing in response to your personal letter to me (which I have…
Press Release
Read More: CF Responds to Democratic Party Chairman on RendellCare
Cutting the Legislature
Brian O’Neill of the Post-Gazette attempts to make the case that Pennsylvania should reduce the number of state legislators. His reasoning – we should be like the other big…
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