Charles Mitchell
Senior Fellow
Charles Mitchell is a Senior Fellow with the Commonwealth Foundation.
Charles first became associated with the Commonwealth Foundation when he was a college newspaper editor under attack for defending free speech. He became a Commonwealth Foundation donor in 2006, joined the staff in 2010, and was President and CEO from 2016 to 2024. Charles is the only person to receive the State Policy Network’s Overton Award and Roe Award for his work building out Pennsylvania’s freedom movement.
Public Union Democracy
Government Workers’ Rights Restored
In Janus v. AFSCME, the Supreme Court righted a decades-old wrong, striking down a coercive system and clearing a pathway for 330,000 Pennsylvania government workers to regain their long-denied First…
Commentary
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A Choice for All Students
Barbara “Annie” Jackson waitresses at Roxy's Café just a short walk away from the Capitol building in Harrisburg. Eight months pregnant, Annie serves steaming plates of eggs and mugs of hot coffee…
Media
Read More: A Choice for All StudentsTaxes & Economy
Federal Tax Reform Helps Middle-Class Families
Hardworking families in Pennsylvania are burdened by an onerous federal tax structure that hinders rather than promotes economic growth and prosperity. That’s why Congress is working to overhaul the broken…
Commentary
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Investor Profile: Chet Beiler
Chet Beiler runs the nation’s leading gazebo retailer and, along with his wife, Sharon, is a longtime supporter of the Commonwealth Foundation. Recently, Charles Mitchell sat down with Chet at…
Commentary
Read More: Investor Profile: Chet BeilerCriminal Justice Reform
Keystone Criminal Justice
As lifelong conservatives, we’re proud to call ourselves tough on crime and to support lengthy prison terms for dangerous felons. But after a long, taxpayer-funded era of mass incarceration, it’s…
Commentary
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Tom Smith: A Patriot and Friend
Tom Smith’s tenacity, courage, and leadership have encouraged our entire team to keep at it on the days when we are tempted to give up. Tom put countless miles on his cowboy…
Commentary
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They’re Complaining Because We’re Convincing
This morning’s Harrisburg Patriot-News includes an item that gives unfortunate credence to tired and lame allegations made by critics who are upset with CF’s effectiveness about our research…
Media
Read More: They’re Complaining Because We’re ConvincingPublic Union Democracy
Who’s Strangling Whom?
Jodi Hirsh wants you to believe that a shadowy, deep-pocketed, Washington-based organization called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has a “stranglehold on our statehouse.” That’s the claim Ms. Hirsh,…
Media
Read More: Who’s Strangling Whom?Education
Handouts Hurting Poor, Help Up a Better Way
The holidays are a great time to be grateful for the gifts we've received. And, as we remember well, fallen Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney claimed that some Americans have…
Commentary
Read More: Handouts Hurting Poor, Help Up a Better WayPublic Union Democracy
New York? Fuhgeddaboudit. Lansing!
As I write this, most of Pennsylvania’s political glitterati has its mind on New York City, where the annual Pennsylvania Society gathering is underway. But my mind is on…
Media
Read More: New York? Fuhgeddaboudit. Lansing!State Budget
Lowe’s Shows Dignity of Work, Helps Disabled
The Union Party never minces words: They believe the best way to help people is to grow government. That’s the message they’ve brought to bear throughout the Corbett Administration,…
Media
Read More: Lowe’s Shows Dignity of Work, Helps DisabledPublic Union Democracy
Taxpayer Tornado Sweeps Through Kansas, Union Party Swept Away
What’s one of the few things stranger than a CF staffer reading the Huffington Post? Easy. A CF staffer reading on the Huffington Post about a great victory for the…
Media
Read More: Taxpayer Tornado Sweeps Through Kansas, Union Party Swept AwayTaxes & Economy
This Independence Day, You and I Have No Right
This morning, spurred by a blog post by Bill Kristol, I’ve been reading an Independence Day oration given by the famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass in 1852, during the run-up to…
Media
Read More: This Independence Day, You and I Have No RightEducation
Temple Tuition Tamp-Down Shows Wake-Up Calls Work
During last year’s budget season, I was pretty critical of Temple University for raising tuition by ten percent while its administrators joined in the Chicken Little routine (“The sky…
Media
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Would You Rather Kids Share Books, or Get Booked?
I’m writing right now from the road, specifically from the poorest city in America: Reading, Pennsylvania. Reading is one of the cities mentioned in today’s CF news release pointing…
Media
Read More: Would You Rather Kids Share Books, or Get Booked?Education
The Patriot Can Do Better Than This…
Our friends at The Patriot-News here in Harrisburg just posted an online poll that asks the following question: The state Senate has passed a school voucher bill that…
Media
Read More: The Patriot Can Do Better Than This…Taxes & Economy
What Does the Primary Earthquake Mean?
I’m writing to you from Pittsburgh, which was, in a certain sense, ground zero of last night’s primary earthquake. Last night, I watched Tom Smith—who has made it a matter…
Media
Read More: What Does the Primary Earthquake Mean?Education
I’m Bringing Some Gumbo to the State Capitol
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal refused to let government unions push him around. His reward? A sweet victory not just for himself, but for the taxpayers, parents, and students of…
Media
Read More: I’m Bringing Some Gumbo to the State CapitolHealth Care
Not Why I’m Here
“Why am I here?” That’s an excellent question to ask yourself if you work in Harrisburg. This week, as I read a piece by Karen Langley in the Pittsburgh…
Media
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Violent, Failing Schools Will Lead to Unsafe, Ailing America
That’s the upshot of a story in this morning’s Wall Street Journal. It begins: Flaws in U.S. schools are increasingly causing a national-security risk, producing adults without the…
Media
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Principled, Punchy Pols Are Popular Pols
I’ve written previously in this space about Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who has garnered enormous popularity while governing courageously. Today, with a new Quinnipiac poll about Gov.
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