Elizabeth Stelle
Vice President of Policy
Elizabeth has researched and written on government reform, health care, welfare, energy, and government transparency. Her work has been featured in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Patriot-News, Philadelphia Inquirer, and a variety of radio and television programs throughout the commonwealth. Elizabeth is a graduate of Grove City College where she earned a bachelor’s degree in history.
A native of Ohio, Elizabeth makes her home in the Pittsburgh area with her husband and four children. She enjoys swimming, traveling to historic landmarks and exploring the moral foundations of capitalism.
Welfare
DPW: No More Tax $ for Limo Rides
In 2007, Western Pennsylvania Child Care (WPCC) spent taxpayer dollars meant to house and counsel juvenile delinquents on limo rides to an NCAA basketball tournament game and the King of…
Media
Read More: DPW: No More Tax $ for Limo RidesState Budget
Block Grants for Human Services a “Godsend”
State funding for county services may soon be streamlined, wasting fewer dollars on bureaucratic largesse and focusing aid on programs that are most effective at helping the needy. Yesterday,…
Media
Read More: Block Grants for Human Services a “Godsend”Welfare
Taking the Road Less Traveled: Fostering Private Charity Care
Our current welfare system is failing our most vulnerable citizens and bankrupting our commonwealth. Despite skyrocketing welfare spending, 15,420 individuals with intellectual disabilities…
Media
Read More: Taking the Road Less Traveled: Fostering Private Charity CareTaxes & Economy
Nearly One Million Found in Out-of-State Welfare Fraud!
The facts are starting to get in the way for critics of welfare reform. By reviewing just three months of non-contiguous out-of-state EBT card transactions (November 2011 to January…
Media
Read More: Nearly One Million Found in Out-of-State Welfare Fraud!Education
Cal U Waste Begs for Higher Ed Reform
The Senate’s budget included more funding for state universities than Governor Corbett proposed, but new discoveries of wasteful spending should give lawmakers pause. Gov. Corbett proposed a 30 percent cut…
Media
Read More: Cal U Waste Begs for Higher Ed ReformRegulation
Who Should Need the Government’s Permission to Work?
What's more dangerous, an incompetent barber or incompetent emergency medical worker? Most people would say and EMT, but a barber has to undergo almost nine times the hours of training…
Media
Read More: Who Should Need the Government’s Permission to Work?Health Care
New Healthcare Regs Would Cost PA Taxpayers $50 Million
A bill on the floor of the state House would circumvent consumer freedom when it comes to prescription drugs. Many employers, including the state, encourage employees to buy less costly…
Media
Read More: New Healthcare Regs Would Cost PA Taxpayers $50 MillionRegulation
Reform Bills Would Begin to Reduce Fiscal Fire
While the fiscal fire is raging across Pennsylvania, Rep. Eli Evankovich’s pension reform proposal begins to extinguish the flames that threaten to consume the commonwealth. We’ve been on record…
Media
Read More: Reform Bills Would Begin to Reduce Fiscal FireWelfare
Fighting Fraud is the Beginning of True Welfare Reform
Monday the Pennsylvania House continued its efforts to reform the state’s welfare system by passing HB 1948 out of committee. The legislation, sponsored by Tim Krieger, would establish the…
Media
Read More: Fighting Fraud is the Beginning of True Welfare ReformEducation
Big Government and the Higher Education Bubble
This past weekend I participated with some middleschoolers in a 30 hour famine to raise money for starving families. As we discussed poverty and debt the leader motioned to me…
Media
Read More: Big Government and the Higher Education BubbleRegulation
States Tap Public-Private Partnerships in 2011
Public-private partnerships aren’t just for roads anymore. Reason’s Annual Privatization Report, released this week, is packed with diverse examples of states leveraging the private sector to stretch tax dollars. In California,…
Media
Read More: States Tap Public-Private Partnerships in 2011Taxes & Economy
Feds Tackling Long-Term Unemployment Georgia Style
The Federal Government is taking a page from the Peach State and looking for 10 states to participate in a new unemployment program modeled off of “Georgia Works.” The program…
Media
Read More: Feds Tackling Long-Term Unemployment Georgia StyleWelfare
Why We Are Losing the War on Poverty
Michael Tanner, Director of Health and Welfare Studies at the Cato Institute, published a study that cuts to the heart of the poverty problem in the U.S. Tanner writes…
Media
Read More: Why We Are Losing the War on PovertyEducation
Who are Teacher Unions Protecting?
The Patriot-News published my letter that questions whether teacher unions protect teachers. Union lobbying to create an unsustainable pension program is directly connected to the Central Dauphin School Board’s…
Media
Read More: Who are Teacher Unions Protecting?Health Care
Medicaid Flexibility: The Key to a Sustainable Safety Net
As we inch towards the state budget deadline, welfare spending reductions in Pennsylvania continue to be contentious. The reductions that are proposed concentrate on 20 percent of spending, since…
Media
Read More: Medicaid Flexibility: The Key to a Sustainable Safety NetHealth Care
Medicaid Waivers & the Looming Fiscal Crisis
In the waning days of 2008, the state of Rhode Island secured a global waiver for its Medicaid program. The waiver exempted the state from many federal rules and mandates in exchange for a…
Media
Read More: Medicaid Waivers & the Looming Fiscal CrisisState Budget
Welfare Sec. Alexander Discusses Mending the Safety Net on the BOX
On the latest edition of The BOX, Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare Secretary Gary Alexander takes time to discuss proposed welfare reforms. Despite accusations of wanting to “throw the…
Media
Read More: Welfare Sec. Alexander Discusses Mending the Safety Net on the BOXRegulation
Lottery Contract Could Make Everyone a Winner
The lottery is on the minds of those in Harrisburg this week, but it has nothing to do with the $656 Mega Millions jackpot won by three lucky ticket…
Media
Read More: Lottery Contract Could Make Everyone a WinnerEducation
Education Spending: The Rest of the Story
Since Gov. Corbett's budget proposal, those who profit from Pennsylvania's $26 billion a year public school system have been gnashing teeth over what they claim is an "underfunding" of the…
Commentary
Read More: Education Spending: The Rest of the StoryState Budget
Human Services Programs Must Deal with Wasteful Spending
Last week, you couldn’t swing a dead cat in the state capitol without hitting someone protesting Gov. Corbett’s welfare spending reductions. The governor proposed combining six human service line items, such…
Media
Read More: Human Services Programs Must Deal with Wasteful SpendingTaxes & Economy
Chart of the Day: Welfare Overlap
The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) encompasses much more than Food Stamps and Medicaid. There are numerous federally-funded and state-only aid programs. In fact, most of the 2.7 million…
Media
Read More: Chart of the Day: Welfare Overlap