Elizabeth Stelle
Director of Policy Analysis
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.
Taxes & Economy
House Republicans Introduce Welfare Reforms
Public Welfare is both the largest—at over $27 billion in total spending— and among the fastest growing programs in the Pennsylvania state budget. In…
Media
Read More: House Republicans Introduce Welfare ReformsTaxes & Economy
Who’s Creating Jobs in Pennsylvania?
It’s clear the Marcellus Shale is revitalizing rural economies across the commonwealth by increasing local revenue and paying landowners…
Media
Read More: Who’s Creating Jobs in Pennsylvania?Education
Scholars Aren’t Made from Dollars
All indications say academic performance remains inadequate, with thousands of children trapped in failing schools while waiting lists for charter schools and Educational Improvement Tax Credit scholarships grow. Proponents of…
Commentary
Read More: Scholars Aren’t Made from DollarsEducation
Do School Districts have to Raise Property Taxes?
Following Gov. Corbett’s budget, school district officials and the tax-and-spend lobby have cried that cuts to state education spending will force schools to increase property taxes. Yet this ignores several…
Media
Read More: Do School Districts have to Raise Property Taxes?
Happy Anniversary?
One year after ObamaCare was signed into law, a majority of Americans want it repealed. Here are some of the reasons why Pennsylvanians are dissatisfied with the law, even before…
Media
Read More: Happy Anniversary?Education
Should Penn State Close Some Branch Campuses?
Among the dire predictions made by Penn State President Graham Spanier in response to Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed budget cuts is that the university will have to close branch campuses.
Media
Read More: Should Penn State Close Some Branch Campuses?Regulation
Despite Union Propaganda, Residents Support Privatization
The Morning Call and Muhlenberg College recently conducted a poll on Pennsylvania’s budget situation. Despite months of union sponsored misinformation campaigns, Pennsylvania residents remain largely supportive…
Media
Read More: Despite Union Propaganda, Residents Support PrivatizationHealth Care
Medicaid Reforms Needed as Welfare Spending Surpasses Education
Under Gov. Corbett’s budget proposal, Pennsylvania would spend more on welfare than education for first time. A large chunk of that welfare spending is in Medicaid, a joint state-federal program…
Media
Read More: Medicaid Reforms Needed as Welfare Spending Surpasses EducationEducation
Progressives Agree: More Dollars Do Not Equal More Scholars
The Center for American Progress conducted a study on school district spending, performance, and efficiency and comes to the unremarkable conclusion that more resources are not directly correlated with higher test scores…
Media
Read More: Progressives Agree: More Dollars Do Not Equal More ScholarsEducation
More Evidence that School Choice Saves Tax Dollars
Reason’s 2010 Annual Privatization Report in Education highlights the savings states have enjoyed thanks to school choice. Since school vouchers and education tax credits are typically much lower than…
Media
Read More: More Evidence that School Choice Saves Tax DollarsHealth Care
Medicaid Reforms Start with the States
Medicaid spending threatens to consume the entire Pennsylvania state budget, and we aren’t alone. Without greater flexibility, states will be forced to cut services, raise taxes or drop out…
Media
Read More: Medicaid Reforms Start with the States
Spending Transparency Coming to Pennsylvania?
PennWATCH (House Bill 15), sponsored by Rep. Jim Christiana, would create a user-friendly database with searchable information on all state government spending. The bill passed the Pennsylvania House unanimously on…
Commentary
Read More: Spending Transparency Coming to Pennsylvania?Taxes & Economy
Environmentalists Blow Recent Rule Change out of Proportion
Reactions to the Corbett administration’s revoking of mandatory impact reports on state lands targeted for drilling fail to see the big picture. Comments from environmentalists imply that without an extra…
Media
Read More: Environmentalists Blow Recent Rule Change out of ProportionPublic Union Democracy
The Tide Against Public Sector Collective Bargaining
Earlier this week, I blogged on state bankruptcy and how some believe budget problems can be solved if states are willing to challenge the…
Media
Read More: The Tide Against Public Sector Collective BargainingEducation
Philly’s Anti-Defamation League Chapter Supports Vouchers
The Anti-Defamation League has a long history of opposing vouchers for public school students. As part of that tradition, they object on the principal of separation of church and state,…
Media
Read More: Philly’s Anti-Defamation League Chapter Supports VouchersState Budget
Is State Bankruptcy a Solution?
What do New York, California and Illinois have in common? They are in fiscal disarray and may soon be asking for a bailout from Congress. Bailing out these states would…
Media
Read More: Is State Bankruptcy a Solution?Government Accountability
Podcast: Talking Transparency
In the latest The BOX podcast, Senior Fellow Jeff Coleman sits down with Representative Jim Christiana after the unanimous passage of his transparency legislation in the State House.
Media
Read More: Podcast: Talking TransparencyTaxes & Economy
Green Energy Could Lead to More Blackouts
Recent controlled blackouts in Houston were reportedly caused by the inability of older fossil fuel power plants to operate in unusually cold temperatures. Now proponents of green energy are…
Media
Read More: Green Energy Could Lead to More BlackoutsHealth Care
Five Reasons Corbett Should Stop Implementing Obamacare
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has indicated the state will continue to implement federal health care mandates, such as an an insurance exchange, at least for the time being. Here are…
Media
Read More: Five Reasons Corbett Should Stop Implementing ObamacareTaxes & Economy
A Tax by Any Name Should Still Smell Defeat
State Senator Gene Yaw is pitching a new natural gas tax. The idea is to allow local communities to include the value of natural gas in property tax assessments,…
Media
Read More: A Tax by Any Name Should Still Smell DefeatHealth Care
More Bad News for ObamaCare
After Judge Roger Vinson declared that the entire healthcare overhaul is unconstitutional, Heritage analyst Conn Carroll explained how the decision effectively stops implementation in states (including Pennsylvania) that…
Media
Read More: More Bad News for ObamaCare