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.
Regulation
Gov. Moves to Eliminate Handful of Occupational Licenses
Sally Ladd earned a living managing vacation rental properties in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains. Her clients gladly pay Sally to manage their listings, but that livelihood was threatened when the…
Media
Read More: Gov. Moves to Eliminate Handful of Occupational LicensesEducation
New Legislation Tackles the EITC and OSTC Waiting List
The Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs have offered lifelines to hundreds of thousands of low to moderate-income Pennsylvania students. Yet many…
Media
Read More: New Legislation Tackles the EITC and OSTC Waiting ListState Budget
Time for Welfare Work Requirements
Yesterday, welfare work requirement bills HB 2138 and HB 1659 moved out of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. This move ensures welfare reform will be a focus…
Media
Read More: Time for Welfare Work RequirementsTaxes & Economy
A Career for Life: Toni’s Work Story
DuBois resident Toni Prescott Flanders knows the value of hard work. As a teenager she worked alongside her mom, who owned a restaurant. But Toni wanted more than a job.
Media
Read More: A Career for Life: Toni’s Work StoryHealth Care
More than a Paycheck: Amanda’s Work Story
A mother of four, Amanda Zernell worked odd jobs – as a certified nurse assistant at minimum wage and later at Sears – to help support her family. But after…
Media
Read More: More than a Paycheck: Amanda’s Work StoryHealth Care
A $2,000 Blister and Other Medicaid Failures
Sunburns, warts, and blisters—Medicaid recipients receive Emergency Room (ER) treatment for these common ailments, costing state taxpayers millions of dollars according to a WTAE investigation by Paul Van Osdol. With nearly…
Media
Read More: A $2,000 Blister and Other Medicaid FailuresHealth Care
A Future for My Kids and Me
Megan Spaulding graduated from the Brockway Center for Arts and Technology Medical Assistant program two years ago. This single mom turned medical professional describes her new found career as “life-changing.”…
Media
Read More: A Future for My Kids and MeTaxes & Economy
The Path to Prosperity
Last month we featured the story of Diane, a hardworking medical assistant in Clearfield County and graduate of the Brockway Center for Arts and Technology (BCAT) medical assistant…
Media
Read More: The Path to ProsperityTaxes & Economy
Wolf’s Severance Tax Among the Highest in the Nation
The Governor's fourth natural gas tax proposal, and 11th tax proposal overall, is now embodied in legislation. SB 1000 and HB 2253 join nine other bills sitting in the House and Senate, all…
Media
Read More: Wolf’s Severance Tax Among the Highest in the NationTaxes & Economy
Migration Update
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2018/popest-metro-county.html The ten counties that experienced the greatest growth via domestic migration (“destination states”) had a lower average tax burden than the counties that experienced the greatest declines (“deserted states”). p 10…
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Read More: Migration UpdateHealth Care
Welfare Reform is Sweeping the Nation
“Right now, America combines near-record-low unemployment with near-record-high welfare dependency — the result of state-level eligibility exemptions, federal loopholes and policies that put work on the back burner.” Those are…
Media
Read More: Welfare Reform is Sweeping the NationTaxes & Economy
The Dignity of Work in Rural Pennsylvania
The Brockway Center for Arts and Technology (BCAT) is only five years old, but it has helped over 100 unemployed and underemployed Pennsylvanians find fulfilling and family-sustaining healthcare careers.
Media
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House Takes Step Towards Transformative Welfare Reform
Lawmakers took a significant step towards strengthening human service programs today. The House Health Committee passed HB 2138 with bipartisan support to restore the dignity of work for people…
Media
Read More: House Takes Step Towards Transformative Welfare ReformHealth Care
What’s the Goal of Welfare Reform?
Pennsylvania's welfare system focuses on how much one needs to “get by” or how many different services and programs one can qualify for. These are well-intentioned attitudes that stem from…
Media
Read More: What’s the Goal of Welfare Reform?Energy
The State of Natural Gas in Pa.
Pennsylvania’s regulatory and tax environment is stunting job growth and deterring investment. A decade after the Marcellus Shale boom, lawmakers are still debating how to tax the industry instead of…
Fact Sheet
Read More: The State of Natural Gas in Pa.Taxes & Economy
More Dependency Isn’t the Answer to PA Poverty
Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Teresa Miller wants more people on food stamps (or SNAP). In a hearing with the Senate Appropriations Committee, she argued that because the program…
Media
Read More: More Dependency Isn’t the Answer to PA PovertyHealth Care
Missing the Mark in Medicaid
When it comes to welfare, state government asks the wrong question. That’s the premise of Rep. Kerry Benninghoff’s views on welfare reform in the latest Brews and Views podcast.
Media
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Pressure Mounts to Create a Pathway to Prosperity in Medicaid
During state budget hearings this week, Pennsylvanians learned some unwelcome news about healthy adults added to Medicaid under the Obamacare expansion: less than half are working. The Department of Human Services (DHS)…
Media
Read More: Pressure Mounts to Create a Pathway to Prosperity in MedicaidHealth Care
Improving Medicaid through Work & Community Engagement
For the first time, the federal government is allowing states to require recipients to pursue work, education, or community engagement to maintain Medicaid benefits. With wide support in Pennsylvania, this…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Improving Medicaid through Work & Community EngagementTaxes & Economy
Minimum Wage Hike Short-Changes Teens
Higher minimum wages have driven a decline in teenage employment since 2000, according to the Mercatus Center. . . . higher minimum wages are associated with a lower…
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Read More: Minimum Wage Hike Short-Changes TeensTaxes & Economy
Disco Governor Wants Money, Money, Money
Money, money, money/Always sunny/In a rich man’s world. Sung by ABBA in 1976. A governing mantra of Tom Wolf in 2018. More tax dollars seem to be Gov. Wolf's answer…
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Read More: Disco Governor Wants Money, Money, Money