Research

Regulation

Pennsylvania’s Pension Crisis: Myths and Facts

• April 25, 2013

Pennsylvania’s two main government worker pension systems, the Public School Employee Retirement System (PSERS) and the State Employee Retirement System (SERS), are dramatically underfunded. Together these funds owe more than…

Fact Sheet

State Budget

Budget Facts 2013: Spending Increases By Department

• April 17, 2013

Governor Corbett's proposed budget of $28.4 billion in general fund spending and $67.6 billion in spending from all funds represents our highest spending levels ever—exceeding years when federal stimulus dollars…

Fact Sheet

Health Care

Medicaid Expansion Myths and Facts

• April 2, 2013

For our fiscal health, and the health of families, we desperately need the flexibility to allow state officials to design a solution that fits the needs of Pennsylvanians-not an…

Fact Sheet

Regulation

Summary of House Bill 790 as Passed by State House

• March 26, 2013

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed HB 790 on March 21, 2013.  This legislation would allow private retailers to sell wine and spirits and end the state government monopoly over…

Memo

Regulation

Pennsylvania State Budget 2013

• March 26, 2013

Governor Corbett's proposed budget of $28.4 billion in general fund spending and $67.6 billion in spending from all funds represents our highest spending levels ever—exceeding years when federal stimulus dollars…

Fact Sheet

Liquor Privatization: Social Impacts

• Nathan Benefield
• March 25, 2013

The PLCB has a conflict of interest-on the one hand controlling and monitoring alcohol, and on the other, advertising and marketing the sale of alcohol. Government control has not made…

Memo

Regulation

Principles of Liquor Privatization

• March 1, 2013

While the Governor's proposal will likely change throughout the legislative process, privatization efforts should not be diluted into "modernization," which preserves the inefficient and wasteful Prohibition-era liquor system.  Here are…

Fact Sheet

Regulation

Public Opinion of Liquor Privatization

• February 25, 2013

A strong majority of Pennsylvanians favor ending the government sale of wine and spirits according to a comprehensive poll conducted by nationally-renown pollster Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3).

Fact Sheet

Regulation

Liquor Privatization Myths & Facts

• February 21, 2013

More than 60 percent of Pennsylvania residents support getting government out of the booze business.  This is broad-based, bi­partisan support that finds even the majority of union house­holds want Liquor…

Fact Sheet

Energy

Bleeding Green

• February 20, 2013

A new study from the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University finds that Pennsylvania's Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards will costs Pennsylvanians millions in higher energy costs.

Poll

Public Union Democracy

Unsinkable: The True Story of Pennsylvania’s Sinking Pension System

• February 13, 2013

The politics of pensions encourage lawmakers to "grant lavish benefts in good yearsand [decide] not to pay in bad years - precisely what created the current crisis."…

Poll

Health Care

Affordable Care Act: Costs to Pennsylvanians

• February 4, 2013

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—often dubbed "Obamacare"—will cost Americans $1.2 trillion from 2012 to 2022 according to the Congressional Budget Office. These projections do not account for the…

Fact Sheet

Public Union Democracy

Protecting Seniors and Taxpayers from the Lottery Cliff

• Elizabeth Stelle
• January 3, 2013

From the greatest generation to the latest generation, our senior citizens have sacrificed to make Pennsylvania safe and prosperous. Our seniors deserve world-class care and assurance that their growing needs…

Memo

Public Union Democracy

Private Lottery Management FAQ

• December 21, 2012

To protect seniors from future service cuts, the Corbett administration is seeking a private management agreement (PMA) to ensure Lottery profits will meet seniors' needs. Lottery services company Camelot submitted…

Fact Sheet

Taxes & Economy

Principles for Transportation Funding

• December 20, 2012

Pennsylvania's roads and bridges need repair.  But before taking one more dollar from working men and women through higher prices at the gas pump, lawmakers must work to ensure every…

Fact Sheet

Health Care

Why Repeal? The Affordable Care Act’s Costs to Pennsylvanians

• October 23, 2012

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—or "Obamacare"—will take more than $500 billion from American taxpayers by 2022, raise costs to state governments and increase the cost of private health…

Poll

Taxes & Economy

Truth, Lies & Answers on Natural Gas Drilling

• October 15, 2012

Hydraulic fracturing has been closely studied since its development in the 1940s. Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the former head of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection have…

Poll

Health Care

Principles for Health Care Reform

• October 11, 2012

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) expands Medicaid, subsidizes health insurance for middle class families, and creates new federal health insurance regulations. To pay for this additional spending, the ACA makes…

Fact Sheet

Education

5 Facts on the Parent Trigger in Pennsylvania

• September 27, 2012

Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering legislation to reform the state charter school law.  This legislation may include a "parent trigger" to convert failing schools into charter schools.  …

Fact Sheet

Education

Pennsylvania’s Academic Performance and Implications for Charter School Reform

• Nathan Benefield
• September 27, 2012

The 2011-12 state PSSA results show declines across the board, and fewer districts and schools making Adequate Year Progress.  Here are some key facts concerning this latest development, and what…

Memo

Health Care

Pennsylvania Medicaid Spending and the Affordable Care Act

• Elizabeth Stelle
• September 17, 2012

Current Medicaid spending trends are unsustainable.  Medicaid spending (Medical Assistance and Long Term Care) consumes about 30 percent of Pennsylvania's total state operating budget.  In the past decade, Medicaid spending…

Memo