Media

Government Accountability

Restoring State Budget Transparency

• Jessica Barnett
• January 24, 2018

A House appropriations subcommittee hosted a hearing last week on Pennsylvania’s tax structure and fiscal policy. One of the issues highlighted – Pennsylvania’s lack of state budget transparency. Robert P.

Media

Criminal Justice Reform

Criminal Justice Reforms Continue to Benefit Pennsylvanians

• January 23, 2018

Pennsylvania’s bipartisan criminal justice efforts are continuing to pay dividends. According to statistics released by the Department of Corrections (DOC), the state’s prison population fell by 863 inmates—the…

Media

Taxes & Economy

Residents Still Moving out of PA, So Will Congressional Districts

• Nathan Benefield
• January 23, 2018

Overlooked in yesterday’s news about the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordering a new Congressional district map was the fact that—regardless of the outcome of that case—Pennsylvania will likely lose a congressional…

Media

Education

Education Savings Accounts Earn High Marks from Pa. Voters

• January 23, 2018

As parents and students celebrate National School Choice Week with events in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia, a new poll shows Pennsylvanians want to put more educational choices…

Press Release

Education

ESAs Empower Parents, Protect Public Schools

• Elizabeth Stelle
• January 22, 2018

It's National School Choice Week and this year Pennsylvania lawmakers have an incredible opportunity to help students trapped in failing schools. SB 2 holds the lowest performing schools…

Media

Education

New Board, New Opportunities in Philadelphia School District

• Colleen Hroncich
• January 19, 2018

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney recently appointed a 13-member nominating panel that will shape the district’s new school board. High on the panel’s list of requirements should be instilling a…

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Regulation

Lifting PA’s Heavy Regulatory Burdens

• Elizabeth Stelle
• January 17, 2018

Tackling one regulation at a time, House lawmakers released a regulatory overreach report aimed at responsibly lightening the commonwealth's heavy regulatory burden. It takes 18 weeks to read the Pennsylvania…

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Health Care

Poll: Voters Overwhelmingly Support Medicaid Work Requirements

• January 16, 2018

In other states, thousands of Americans previously dependent on government programs have transformed their lives and achieved independence thanks to work requirements. But Pennsylvania’s human services system still traps people…

Press Release

Health Care

States Get Green Light to Propose Medicaid Work Requirements

• Elizabeth Stelle
• January 11, 2018

It's official: The Trump administration has formally endorsed the policy of work requirements for healthy Medicaid recipients. For years states have sought this flexibility to help beneficiaries of Medicaid—government-run health insurance…

Media

Taxes & Economy

Coal and Nuclear Subsidies Rejected, Time to End All Energy Subsidies

• Gordon Tomb
• January 10, 2018

Government subsidies for so-called green energy are contributing to the closings of coal and nuclear plants that keep Pennsylvania’s electricity system reliable. In response, the U.S. Department of Energy…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Unions Send $1B of Members’ Dues to Liberal Groups

• January 9, 2018

No one should be forced to fund values they disagree with—yet that’s exactly what’s happening to union members. Dues collected from workers’ paychecks, often at taxpayer expense, are used for…

Media

Education

ESAs Heading to New England

• Colleen Hroncich
• January 9, 2018

News of a $560 million Powerball lottery ticket being sold in New Hampshire seems to have overshadowed news of the state House of Representatives passing education savings accounts (ESAs) last…

Media

Regulation

Public Employee Compensation Reaches $100k

• January 3, 2018

This post was updated to reflect a change in private sector compensation. For the first time in Pennsylvania’s history, the average cost of a state employee exceeds $100,000, according…

Media

Taxes & Economy

Lawmakers Seek to Restore Dignity of Work

• Elizabeth Stelle
• January 3, 2018

In the first press conference of 2018, House Republicans introduced a package of bills aimed at breaking generational poverty. Rep. Tobash urged reform given the desperate state of…

Media

Public Union Democracy

2017 Labor Reform Roundup

• Jessica Barnett
• December 28, 2017

Is Pennsylvania a worker-friendly state? According to our updated, comprehensive report grading each state’s public sector labor laws’, the answer is no. Pennsylvania ranks a measly “D” compared to others…

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Education

Taxpayers Notch Another Win Against Ghost Teaching

• December 22, 2017

Reading residents received an early Christmas present this week, as the city’s teachers’ union agreed to reimburse taxpayers for the costs of ghost teaching in the Reading School District.

Media

Public Union Democracy

Paycheck Protection Timeline

• Jessica Barnett
• December 22, 2017

Paycheck protection is a commonsense reform that moves Pennsylvania a significant step closer to ethical government. Though recently stalled in the House, a brief history of paycheck protection demonstrates…

Media

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act a Win for Pennsylvanians

• December 20, 2017

Commonwealth Foundation President and CEO Charles Mitchell released the following statement in reaction to Congress passing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: In the 31 years since Congress last…

Press Release

High Spending Holds Pennsylvania’s Economy Back

• December 18, 2017

Pennsylvania holds steady in Fraser Institute’s annual report on economic freedom with a middling score of 18..Pennsylvania continues to outperform its neighbors when it comes to controlling spending, limiting…

Media

State Budget

Has the Wolf Administration Cured Pennsylvania’s Budget Ills?

• December 15, 2017

Secretary of the Budget Randy Albright gave a surprisingly upbeat mid-year budget briefing yesterday. According to the state’s budget office, Pennsylvania’s structural deficit is virtually gone. Yet, reason…

Media

Health Care

Obamacare Exchanges Continue To Dissapoint

• Elizabeth Stelle
• December 14, 2017

Open enrollment for Obamacare exchange plans ends on December 15. It is convenient to blame the new administration and efforts to repeal the law for dwindling choices, disappointing enrollment, and…

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