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Education
Expanding Educational Opportunities for Every Child
Testimony of Kevin Kane, Director of Legislative Strategy and Government AffairsCommonwealth FoundationHouse Republican Policy Committee“Expanding Educational Opportunities for Every Child”October 22, 2026 Chairman Rowe and members of the committee:…
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Education
U.S. Department of the Treasury Rules for Federal Scholarship Tax Credit
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Education
School District Reserve Funds Remain Bloated
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Energy
Assessing Gov. Shapiro’s GRID Requirements
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Referendum: School Taxes
Pennsylvania homeowners lack the right to vote on school property tax increases, while citizens in 44 other states enjoy some form of taxpayer protection. As Pennsylvania legislators debate whether or…
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The Rendell Strategic Sourcing Initiative: An Analysis
Executive Summary …
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Great Rail Disasters: The Impact of Rail Transit on Urban Livability
Abstract This paper grades rail transit in twenty-three urban areas on thirteen different criteria:…
Report
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Racial Bias in Pennsylvania Special Education
Executive Summary…
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Reinventing Education in Pennsylvania: Fulfilling the Promise of Public Schooling
For more than 250 years, Pennsylvanians have striven to bring academic excellence within reach of their children. In the mid 1700s, when Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and William & Mary colleges…
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Pennsylvanias Education Funding Gap
Executive Summary…
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The Estimated Impact of Gov. Rendells 34 Percent Personal Income Tax Increase Proposal
Executive Summary A major funding stream for Gov. Ed Rendell’s “Plan for a New Pennsylvania” would come from a 34 percent increase in the Commonwealth’s personal income tax (PIT), from…
Fact Sheet
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The Case for a Pennsylvania Tax and Expenditure Limitation
Executive Summary In recent years, states across the United States with both limits on how much their governments can tax and/or spend and “super-majority” provisions that make it more difficult…
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Read More: The Case for a Pennsylvania Tax and Expenditure LimitationRegulation
Pennsylvanias $2 Billion Corporate Giveaway
Executive Summary Current proposals under consideration in the Pennsylvania General Assembly would grant limited gambling licenses to horse racetracks across the Commonwealth in an attempt to bolster the struggling industry.
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Betting On Gambling: Potential Costs and Consequences for Pennsylvania
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Getting More, Paying Less: Children, Taxpayers, and Public Schools Benefit from the Educational Improvement Tax Credit
Executive Summary The public school system is one of the most expansive and expensive government monopolies in America. Yet both real-world experience and economic research suggest that this monopoly of…
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Read More: Getting More, Paying Less: Children, Taxpayers, and Public Schools Benefit from the Educational Improvement Tax CreditTaxes & Economy
Economic Development
Across the United States, state and local governments are locked in a constant competition to attract and retain businesses. Public subsidies, in the form of grants, loans, tax incentives, and…
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The Economic Impacts of Introducing Slot Machines at Racetracks in Pennsylvania: A Review of the Penn State Harrisburg Study
Purpose …
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Read More: The Economic Impacts of Introducing Slot Machines at Racetracks in Pennsylvania: A Review of the Penn State Harrisburg StudyState Budget
Rightsizing State Government: Solutions to Pennsylvanias Fiscal and Economic Challenges
Executive Summary “[W]e must find a way to make government live within its means. That is my first priority as governor. We must act now, and we cannot fail. We…
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Read More: Rightsizing State Government: Solutions to Pennsylvanias Fiscal and Economic ChallengesPublic Union Democracy
The Impact of Compulsory Unionism on Economic Development
Executive Summary With increasing global competition taking a toll on U.S. manufacturing jobs, and state governments and municipalities struggling to achieve greater operating efficiencies in the face of declining revenues…
Report
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Property Tax & School Funding Reform: The Michigan Experience and Principles for Pennsylvania
Executive Summary After decades of relative inaction, Pennsylvania policymakers may finally tackle the issue of property-tax and school-funding reform. While states such as Michigan have already substantively addressed the problem…
Fact Sheet
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The Pennsylvania State Education Association: Compelling Teachers, Lobbying Politicians, and Increasing Taxes
Executive Summary Originally founded as the Pennsylvania State Teachers Association in 1852, the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) has transformed itself from a professional development organization for educators into one…
Fact Sheet
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R. A. D. is Bad for Pennsylvania
Executive Summary A quiet campaign is currently underway to increase taxes on consumers in four central Pennsylvania counties. By granting elected officials in those counties the power to create a…
Fact Sheet
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The Myth of the Special Education Burden
Executive Summary Over the past thirty years, school property taxes in Pennsylvania have increased at a rate more than twice the concurrent rate of inflation. Local school boards—those elected officials…
Fact Sheet
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Dispelling the Myth of Pennsylvanias Under-Funded Public Schools
Executive Summary The perennial debate over education funding in Pennsylvania—when it is not about how much more schools should get—is about how the taxpayers should fund the schools. Current discussions…
Fact Sheet
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Budget Basic: Pennsylvanias Economy Loses When Policymakers Try to Pick Winners
Executive Summary For too long, Pennsylvania has relied too heavily on generously funded but ultimately ineffectual taxpayer-funded government subsidy programs in an attempt to stimulate economic growth. The strategy of…
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