Media

State Budget

More Budget Scare Tactics

• Nathan Benefield
• September 18, 2017

Gov. Wolf announced on Friday that he will delay $1.7 billion in payments to Medicaid providers (for a week) and to the public school employees' pension fund. The governor cited the General…

Media

State Budget

House Lawmakers Vote to Protect Taxpayers

• Elizabeth Stelle
• September 14, 2017

Last night, 103 House lawmakers voted for a no-tax, no-borrowing plan that will balance the state budget once fully implemented. Please take a moment to thank those lawmakers.

Media

State Budget

Lawmakers’ Choice: Take from Taxpayers or Rein in Reserves

• September 11, 2017

The path to ending the state budget impasse is becoming increasingly clear. Two plans with competing visions are at the forefront of debate in Harrisburg. The first option is a…

Media

State Budget

Inquirer Hurls Insults While Lawmakers Embrace Budget Solutions

• September 7, 2017

Yesterday, The Philadelphia Inquirer published an editorial (paywall) attacking House Republicans for defending Pennsylvanians against tax increases and working to avoid driving the state deeper into debt. The editorial…

Media

State Budget

Debunking the Claims of Gov. Wolf and His Special Interest Allies

• Nathan Benefield
• September 7, 2017

A few misconceptions surrounding the House Republicans’ plan to balance the budget need to be corrected. First, the plan would redirect just 14 percent of the $9.3 billion…

Media

State Budget

The Numbers behind the Shadow Budget

• Nathan Benefield
• September 6, 2017

Yesterday, a group of House Republicans unveiled a proposal to balance the state budget without borrowing or major tax increases. The crux of the plan relies on the use of $1.3…

Media

State Budget

House Lawmakers Unveil New Revenue Proposal

• September 5, 2017

Today, a contingent of House Republicans—with the support of House leadership—released a plan to balance the state budget without borrowing or imposing broad-based tax increases. This is a positive development…

Media

State Budget

House Plan Taps Shadow Budget Stash to Pay State’s Bills

• September 5, 2017

In a potential breakthrough in the state’s two-month budget stalemate, House Republicans today unveiled a plan to use state government fund surpluses to help balance the budget. The funds in…

Press Release

Here’s How to Pay Last Year’s Bills without Tax Hikes

• September 1, 2017

On Tuesday, House Republicans will unveil their plan to balance the budget without hiking taxes on families and job creators and without costly borrowing. How will they do it? Transferring…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Major Win for Taxpayers in Allentown Ghost Teaching Fight

• September 1, 2017

The free ride is over for one local teachers' union. This week, The Morning Call reported on a major change to ghost teaching in the Allentown School District. The…

Media

Regulation

Higher Prices Coming to a State Store Near You

• September 1, 2017

Years of boondoogles and blunders at the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) make for a compelling list of reasons for complete privatization. Now there's another item to add to the…

Media

State Budget

Pennsylvania’s Fiscal Irresponsibility Bears Repeating

• Nathan Benefield
• August 31, 2017

A critic, responding to my op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer, opines that I am repeating the “mantra” that lawmakers should control the growth of spending and avoid job-killing tax…

Media

Education

Diverse Students Need Diverse Choices

• August 31, 2017

Were a doctor to give every patient an aspirin regardless of their diagnosis, most would consider the doctor unqualified. Sure, the patients with a fever or a headache might be satisfied, but…

Media

State Budget

Treasurer Playing Chicken with State Budget

• Nathan Benefield
• August 30, 2017

In a news interview yesterday, State Treasurer Joe Torsella threatened that he won’t allow the state to borrow any more money to pay bills, unless the budget is balanced.

Media

Taxes & Economy

Severance Tax Talk is Stunting Investment in Pa.

• Elizabeth Stelle
• August 30, 2017

One tax is emblematic of Pennsylvania’s failure to grow the economy with more government spending: the natural gas severance tax. Special interest groups have worked for a decade to enact a…

Media

Why Pa.’s Department of Corrections is a Model to Follow

• August 29, 2017

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) recently released the results of SIP-HOPE—a promising new pilot program aimed at reducing recidivism. According to DOC, the program led to a 13…

Media

Public Union Democracy

UFCW Fined for Misreporting Terrible Anti-Privatization TV Ads

• Jessica Barnett
• August 25, 2017

Pennsylvania’s Liquor Control Board (PLCB) has persistently generated corruption scandals as it manages the state-run liquor system. Now, the loudest advocate for retaining this inefficient and unpopular…

Media

State Budget

Pennsylvania’s Small Towns Need Harrisburg to Think Big

• August 25, 2017

The stories are all too familiar. In towns hollowed out by economic downturns, Pennsylvanians are struggling to get by. Many are wondering when, or if, things will get better. Small…

Media

State Government Continues to Grow

• Nathan Benefield
• August 25, 2017

As I pointed out last week, the total operating budget for Pennsylvania exceeds $80 billion. In addition to the $32 billion General Fund, the $49 billion “shadow budget” includes $28.7 billion…

Media

Regulation

Reducing the State’s Cash Stockpile Can Help Balance the Budget

• August 24, 2017

Lawmakers considering balancing the budget with borrowing and higher taxes could opt for a responsible alternative: drawing down funds from the shadow budget's “banking accounts.” But first, let’s take a…

Media

Public Union Democracy

News Release: Majority of Union Employees Want Worker Voting Rights

• August 23, 2017

Regular elections are foundational to representative democracy. Yet thousands of Pennsylvanians who work in the public sector are bound by a single vote held more than four decades ago to…

Press Release