Media

Education

Wolf Misleads About Education “Cuts”

• Nathan Benefield
• December 29, 2015

On Christmas Eve, Gov. Tom Wolf posted a blog attacking Republicans and the “extremist” budget now sitting on his desk—which passed the Senate on a bipartisan 33-17 vote. Wolf…

Media

State Budget

End of Budget Gridlock in Wolf’s Hands

• December 23, 2015

End of Budget Gridlock in Wolf’s Hands Legislature Sends State Budget to Governor’s Desk December 23, 2015, HARRISBURG, Pa.—Today, the state legislature, with bi-partisan support, sent a $30.26…

Press Release

State Budget

Senate Passes Budget, Sends to Governor

• Nathan Benefield
• December 23, 2015

Things have changed quickly in the Capitol this week. On Monday, we wrote about a potential House vote on an emergency funding bill. That plan was scrapped. Yesterday, we talked…

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State Budget

A Christmas Spending Spree is in the Works

• December 23, 2015

In an unexpected move, the House voted to revive the Senate’s $30.8 billion budget yesterday, which many thought was dead after a pension reform bill went down in defeat…

Media

Education

Students Need Scholarships, Not Sympathy

• James Paul
• December 22, 2015

Gov. Tom Wolf’s insistence on higher taxes blocks state funding from school districts and jeopardizes private school scholarships for thousands of low- and middle-income students.

Media

State Budget

Moving on From Budget Gridlock

• December 22, 2015

Editor's note: Recent legislative developments have made an emergency funding plan unlikely. For the latest on the budget impasse, read this blog.   Yesterday the House Appropriations Committee voted…

Media

State Budget

Framework Dead, Time for a No-Tax Hike Spending Plan

• Nathan Benefield
• December 21, 2015

Despite legislative action this past weekend, a “framework budget” and a looming vote to raise taxes now appear to be off the table. The next step must be to pass…

Media

Regulation

Government Liquor is a Liability

• Elizabeth Stelle
• December 18, 2015

Liquor privatization came dangerously close to reality this year with a true privatization plan passing both houses of the legislature in June only to be stonewalled by the governor. So…

Media

Taxes & Economy

Latest Wolf Tax Plan Eliminates 6,500 Jobs

• James Paul
• December 18, 2015

If Gov. Wolf succeeds in raising Pennsylvania’s personal income tax from 3.07 percent to 3.30 percent (an increase of 7.5 percent in the rate), what will be the impact on…

Media

State Budget

Lawmakers Must Reject Tax Hike of Christmas Past

• December 18, 2015

Lawmakers Must Reject Tax Hike of Christmas Past New Tax Plan Would Hit Working Families of all Income Groups December 18, 2015, HARRISBURG, Pa.—Nearly six months into…

Press Release

Public Union Democracy

Tax Hike of Christmas Past?

• Matthew Brouillette
• December 17, 2015

Given the rumblings of an imminent vote on higher income taxes, it's important to remember what happened 12 years ago (nearly to the day!) with our state budget. Ed Rendell was…

Media

One Idea that’s Changing the World

• December 17, 2015

The world has made astounding progress in the last few decades, with world poverty dropping by more than 80 percent in just 36 years. While the dramatic reduction is…

Media

What’s in the Latest Tax Hike Plan?

• December 17, 2015

Editors Note: updated (12/18) to reflect recent developments As reported by ABC 27 and others, Pennsylvania House leaders will hold a vote on an estimated $1.8 billion tax…

Media

Education

Wolf’s School Funding Cuts

• James Paul
• December 16, 2015

In a nutshell, Gov. Tom Wolf’s guiding philosophy on education reform is to spend more money on public schools. Embracing the repeatedly-debunked myth of education cuts under the previous…

Media

Government Accountability

State Budget Should Consider Pa. Freedom Index

• December 16, 2015

State Budget Should Consider Pa. Freedom Index Commonwealth Ranks Mediocre 21st in Economic Freedom  December 16, 2015, HARRISBURG, Pa.—Pennsylvania may be home to the cradle of liberty, but…

Press Release

Health Care

Celebrating Crummy Care

• Elizabeth Stelle
• December 15, 2015

Midnight is the enrollment deadline for the hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who want to remained insured through healthcare.gov. To no one's surprise, the rush to enroll has led to another…

Media

Regulation

House Pension Compromise Is Step in Right Direction

• Elizabeth Stelle
• December 15, 2015

The pension reform bill is quickly making its way through the Pa. House. The latest iteration, SB 1071, mirrors the Senate's version (SB 1082; read our summary here),…

Media

State Budget

Spending Increases in the “Framework Budget”

• Nathan Benefield
• December 15, 2015

As pointed out yesterday, one of the six sticky items in the Pennsylvania budget negotiations is how much taxpayer money to spend. The $30.788 billion “framework budget” passed by…

Media

Is Pennsylvania’s Income Tax Too Low?

• December 14, 2015

Is an income tax hike in Pennsylvania’s future? Over the weekend, Charles Thompson of PennLive reported on the possibility, citing multiple sources who would not rule out a personal…

Media

State Budget

Six Unresolved Issues in PA Budget

• Nathan Benefield
• December 14, 2015

The PA House is back in session this week, “sorting through hundreds of pages of legislation” related to the state budget. As Bob points out, while passing a…

Media

State Budget

Crisis Budgeting Isn’t Governing

• December 13, 2015

By vetoing budget after budget, denying funds to schools and nonprofits, and even holding up scholarships for low-income students to attend schools of their choice, Gov. Wolf has done…

Media