Media

Education

Senate Nixes Tax Credit Scholarship Expansion

• James Paul
• July 27, 2017

Late last night the Senate Appropriations Committee amended the Education Code, HB 178, without including an increase for Pennsylvania's popular tax credit scholarship programs. An earlier version of the…

Media

Tax Hikes Won’t Fix Deficit, Reforms Will

• Nathan Benefield
• July 26, 2017

Tax hikes won’t fix the structural deficit. We just raised taxes last year, having a devastating impact on vape shops, and have raised taxes four times in the last…

Media

State Budget

More Bad Budget Ideas: Resurrecting the Home Heating Tax

• Elizabeth Stelle
• July 26, 2017

With no clear path to a balanced budget, lawmakers have suggested resurrecting the long-dead natural gas receipts tax in order to pay for this year's $32 billion budget. Sound familiar?…

Media

Education

News Release: Wolf Rewards Ghost Teacher, Union Campaign Contributor with Cabinet Nomination

• July 26, 2017

Failing to show up for work is usually grounds for dismissal, but for Gov. Wolf, it’s reason for promotion. In nominating Jerry Oleksiak as the next Secretary of Labor &…

Press Release

Health Care

Obamacare Continues to Destabilize Health Insurance

• Elizabeth Stelle
• July 25, 2017

Obamacare repeal efforts have included transformative Medicaid reform, but retained many of the regulations responsible for collapsing individual markets. On Friday, the Pennsylvania Insurance Department released shocking individual insurance rate requests…

Media

Public Union Democracy

New Home Healthcare Scheme from Wolf Administration

• July 24, 2017

Despite having his home health care executive order struck down by the Commonwealth Court last year, Gov. Wolf seems intent on funneling state money to his pals at the Service…

Media

Education

Education Code Boosts Private Scholarships, Protects Excellent Teachers

• James Paul
• July 23, 2017

The state House recently passed SB 227, which serves as the education code for the 2017-18 fiscal year. Chris Comisac of Capitolwire.com (paywall) has details on the substance…

Media

State Budget

The Tax Hike Non-Solution

• July 20, 2017

Contrary to the prevailing media narrative, it appears budget negotiations have taken a positive turn. According to Jason Gottesman of The PLS Reporter (paywall), House Republicans—led by Speaker Mike Turzai—have offered…

Media

Taxes & Economy

Pennsylvania’s Poor Showings Aren’t Permanent

• July 20, 2017

The commonwealth continues to score poorly in 24/7 Wall St.’s list of the nation’s best-and worst-run states, ranking 42nd right between neighbors West Virginia and New Jersey. Put differently, Pennsylvania is…

Media

Regulation

Rescuing Pennsylvania from Fiscal Shipwreck

• July 18, 2017

The state’s shaky fiscal position is no secret. Lawmakers continue to negotiate behind closed doors to eliminate the current deficit and pay for new spending in the $32…

Media

Education

Wolf Cost Pa. Kids 8,000+ Scholarships

• James Paul
• July 17, 2017

Scholarships awarded by Pennsylvania's tax credit programs plummeted by 8,404 in 2016, compared to the previous year. To put that number in context: 8,400 students would comprise the…

Media

Regulation

Wolf Targets Job Creators for Tax Hikes

• Elizabeth Stelle
• July 17, 2017

At the top of Governor Wolf’s revenue wish list sits an even higher severance tax on natural gas. Yet, this tax would fail to balance the budget and cause further economic stagnation by suppressing existing revenue streams…

Media

Here’s How a Tax-Increasing Budget Destroys Jobs

• Nathan Benefield
• July 14, 2017

Gov. Tom Wolf, some Harrisburg lawmakers, and government union leaders and lobbyists continue to demand higher taxes on working families. These include potential taxes on families' cable bills, homeowners' heat bills, restaurant patrons' bar tabs,…

Media

Education

Can School Choice Reduce Crime?

• July 14, 2017

We know different parents have different preferences regarding how their children are educated. Some may place an emphasis on standardized test scores, while others want certain moral or religious values.

Media

Regulation

Economy Stalls While Government Grows

• July 13, 2017

This week, lawmakers and the Wolf Administration were unable to agree on a revenue package to pay for a $32 billion budget proposal. Once again, state government is…

Media

Regulation

A Double Whammy for PA Job Creators

• Gordon Tomb
• July 12, 2017

The governor continues to insist on hiking natural gas taxes to balance the budget, while bureaucrats are heaping regulatory burdens on Pennsylvania’s most dynamic industry of the past decade.

Media

State Budget

News Release: State House Promotes Pathway to Independence in Welfare Code

• July 12, 2017

House lawmakers yesterday passed significant welfare reforms to reinforce the safety net for those most in need while helping more Pennsylvanians escape the cycle of poverty and move from dependency…

Press Release

Health Care

Four Game Changing Welfare Reforms

• Elizabeth Stelle
• July 11, 2017

The 2017-18 spending plan is now law, but officials still must find a way to pay for it. The latest version of the human services code bill includes a host…

Media

Overspending, Not Undertaxing, Created PA Budget Deficit

• Nathan Benefield
• July 11, 2017

Why does Pennsylvania have a state budget deficit? Simple: Overspending. If the state had grown spending by the rate of inflation and population growth over the last three years, the…

Media

Regulation

The Unrelenting Demand for Tax Increases Illustrates Lessons Unlearned

• July 10, 2017

For Gov. Wolf, the more things change, the more they stay the same.  Despite the harm caused by last year’s tax increases, Gov. Wolf appears to be holding out—yet…

Media

News Release: Don’t Hike Taxes—Examine Priorities in $3 Billion Off-Budget Spending

• July 7, 2017

State lawmakers scrambling for revenue sources to balance their $32 billion spending plan are faced with a choice: higher taxes or real reform. The decision should be easy. Pennsylvanians…

Press Release