State Budget

Lawmakers Move to Protect Posterity

  • October 23, 2015

The State House recently passed two bills designed to chip away at the commonwealth’s mountain of debt—12th highest among states as recently as 2012, and only growing since. The…

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Regulation

Pennsylvania’s Public Pension Crisis Grows

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • October 8, 2015

When you assume an investment return rate of 7.5 percent and your actual returns are 3.04 percent you have a problem. If you are the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System you…

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Regulation

Audio: Getting Government Out of the Booze Business

  • Jonathan Reginella
  • September 16, 2015

A majority of Pennsylvanians support a privatized liquor industry, but government unions use their financial clout to ensure the state government maintains a monopoly over wine and spirits. WILK’s…

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Government Accountability

New Contract, Still no Transparency

  • Nathan Benefield
  • August 14, 2015

The newest state contract with AFSCME—the union representing more than 30,000 state workers—was signed earlier this week. The contract was agreed to in April, then ratified by…

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Government Accountability

Transparency 10 Years after the Pay Raise

  • Elizabeth Stelle, James Paul
  • July 7, 2015

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the midnight pay raise. Although it was ultimately repealed, the pay raise was a dark hour in Pennsylvania political history. Over the…

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Government Accountability

Contract Transparency Still Critical

  • June 29, 2015

Harrisburg is abuzz as the budget battle continues. With high profile legislation on liquor privatization, pension and education reform receiving much attention, it’s easy to lose sight of a fundamental…

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Government Accountability

An Update on Union Contracts

  • Nathan Benefield
  • June 25, 2015

Earlier this week, the House State Government Committee moved SB 644 and SB 645—bills which would provide taxpayers greater information about contracts with government unions—to the House floor.

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Health Care

Judge Halts Stealth Unionization Scheme

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • April 23, 2015

A Commonwealth Court judge has issued a preliminary injunction to stop full enforcement of Gov. Tom Wolf's executive order to stealthily unionize home healthcare workers. For folks like…

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State Budget

Alternative Energy: The Promise That Never Pans Out

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • March 13, 2015

One third of the $675 million in new corporate welfare under Governor's Wolf budget proposal is reserved for alternative energy programs. In this week's House budget hearings Community & Economic…

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