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Government Accountability

Democracy vs incumbency

• Nathan Benefield
• May 11, 2006

John Baer on the power of incubmency in the Philadelphia Daily News (citing Commonwealth Foundation data).

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Peggy Noonan on the problem in DC

• May 11, 2006

Peggy Noonan in today’s Wall Street Journal: “Baseless Confidence“ “Power is distancing. “When you’ve been in Congress for a while, or the White House for a while,…

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Education

New York Times Editorial Uses Faulty Data To Slam Charter Schools

• May 10, 2006

News release from the Center for Education Reform… New York Times Editorial Uses Faulty Data To Slam Charter Schools Washington, D.C., May 10, 2006 – The New York Times in…

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Taxes & Economy

Gov. Rendell’s Plan to raise gas prices and subsidize Big Ethanol

• Nathan Benefield
• May 10, 2006

Gas prices are high. As previously noted in this blog, part of the reason for high prices is the mandated use of ethanol fuels – forcing refineries to retool.

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State Budget

Should American troops die for pork?

• Nathan Benefield
• May 9, 2006

A look at the $17 billion in Pork Spending added to the President’s request for funding of troops and Hurricane Katrina Relief from the Heritage Foundation.

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Education

Substitute teaching goes private

• May 9, 2006

In Michigan, the Grand Rapids Public Schools have figured out a way to save the taxpayers money–contract out for substitute teachers. It saves $$$ from having to be socked…

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Taxes & Economy

State Quashes Economic Freedom

• Nathan Benefield
• May 9, 2006

The Pennsylvania State Department’s Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs release their list of disciplinary actions yesterday. Among the egregious violations were: auctioning without an auctioneers license, cutting hair…

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Education

Lawmakers must cure loan agency’s identity crisis

• May 7, 2006

My PHEAA commentary in the Harrisburg Patriot-News.

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Taxes & Economy

The Gas-Tax Hustle

• May 6, 2006

by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. I’ll have my own take on “The Government’s Gas Problem” on Monday. Check out the main article at www.CommonwealthFoundation.org then!…

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Education

65% Solution? Reduce School District Size

• Nathan Benefield
• May 5, 2006

Analysis of school district spending by size by in the EIA Communique. The finding is that larger districts spend a lower percentage on classroom instruction (and more in adminstrative…

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Education

Philly Schools Need Improvement

• Nathan Benefield
• May 4, 2006

Jay Greene in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer.

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Taxes & Economy

How to Soak the Rich (the George Bush Way)

• Nathan Benefield
• May 4, 2006

Good piece in the Wall Street Journal on the effects of tax cuts.

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Galbraith’s follies

• May 3, 2006

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review editorial on “one of the anointed liberals of the last century.” “The Canadian-born adviser to presidents and Harvard economist had a generous spirit, generous with money not…

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Taxes & Economy

Property tax proposal has lots of loopholes

• May 3, 2006

Good coverage by Christina Gostomski (and John Micek) of the Allentown Morning Call on the faux taxpayer protections in the bill moving to the House today.

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Taxes & Economy

State’s tax-reduction debate is about the wrong thing

• May 3, 2006

Good timing for the Allentown Morning Call to run my op-ed on our property tax relief scholarship act. As the counter to yesterday’s passage of Act 72 warmed…

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Expert: Property tax plan won’t help for long

• May 2, 2006

Rick Dreyfuss in the Allentown Morning Call: ”I would fully expect that any reduction the average homeowner sees in property taxes would be offset by increases … It’s just…

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State Budget

Line-Item Veto Draws Sen. Byrd’s Scorn – Yahoo! News

• Nathan Benefield
• May 2, 2006

Shockingly, the man responsible for more pork-barrel spending than anyone opposes limiting pork-barrel spending. From Yahoo! News…

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Education

Scholarships as tax relief

• Nathan Benefield
• May 2, 2006

Read Matt Brouillette’s commentary in today’s York Dispatch.

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Public Union Democracy

Thanks Union Bosses!

• May 2, 2006

Watch this Center for Union Facts commercial that will be running nationally this week. Learn more at UnionFacts.com.

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Taxes & Economy

Taxing Oil

• Nathan Benefield
• May 1, 2006

A “windfall” tax on “big oil” will only reduce the supply of oil and increase the cost of gasoline, writes Pittsburgh Tribune-Review columnist Colin McKnickle. It is a shame,…

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Regulation

State jobs: Pay, perks make for popular work

• April 30, 2006

Reading Eagle story on government jobs.

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