Staff

Taxes & Economy

Pennsylvania’s Poor Showings Aren’t Permanent

• July 20, 2017

The commonwealth continues to score poorly in 24/7 Wall St.’s list of the nation’s best-and worst-run states, ranking 42nd right between neighbors West Virginia and New Jersey. Put differently, Pennsylvania is…

Media

Regulation

Rescuing Pennsylvania from Fiscal Shipwreck

• July 18, 2017

The state’s shaky fiscal position is no secret. Lawmakers continue to negotiate behind closed doors to eliminate the current deficit and pay for new spending in the $32…

Media

Education

Wolf Cost Pa. Kids 8,000+ Scholarships

• James Paul
• July 17, 2017

Scholarships awarded by Pennsylvania's tax credit programs plummeted by 8,404 in 2016, compared to the previous year. To put that number in context: 8,400 students would comprise the…

Media

Regulation

Wolf Targets Job Creators for Tax Hikes

• Elizabeth Stelle
• July 17, 2017

At the top of Governor Wolf’s revenue wish list sits an even higher severance tax on natural gas. Yet, this tax would fail to balance the budget and cause further economic stagnation by suppressing existing revenue streams…

Media

Here’s How a Tax-Increasing Budget Destroys Jobs

• Nathan Benefield
• July 14, 2017

Gov. Tom Wolf, some Harrisburg lawmakers, and government union leaders and lobbyists continue to demand higher taxes on working families. These include potential taxes on families' cable bills, homeowners' heat bills, restaurant patrons' bar tabs,…

Media

Education

Can School Choice Reduce Crime?

• July 14, 2017

We know different parents have different preferences regarding how their children are educated. Some may place an emphasis on standardized test scores, while others want certain moral or religious values.

Media

Regulation

Economy Stalls While Government Grows

• July 13, 2017

This week, lawmakers and the Wolf Administration were unable to agree on a revenue package to pay for a $32 billion budget proposal. Once again, state government is…

Media

Regulation

A Double Whammy for PA Job Creators

• Gordon Tomb
• July 12, 2017

The governor continues to insist on hiking natural gas taxes to balance the budget, while bureaucrats are heaping regulatory burdens on Pennsylvania’s most dynamic industry of the past decade.

Media

State Budget

News Release: State House Promotes Pathway to Independence in Welfare Code

• July 12, 2017

House lawmakers yesterday passed significant welfare reforms to reinforce the safety net for those most in need while helping more Pennsylvanians escape the cycle of poverty and move from dependency…

Press Release

Education

Policy Memo: Education Savings Accounts: Myths and Facts

• James Paul
• July 12, 2017

Education Savings Accounts help children grow, satisfy parents, and can improve the quality of education in Pennsylvania. This memo addresses falsehoods raised by opponents of parental choice in education.

Memo

Health Care

Four Game Changing Welfare Reforms

• Elizabeth Stelle
• July 11, 2017

The 2017-18 spending plan is now law, but officials still must find a way to pay for it. The latest version of the human services code bill includes a host…

Media

Overspending, Not Undertaxing, Created PA Budget Deficit

• Nathan Benefield
• July 11, 2017

Why does Pennsylvania have a state budget deficit? Simple: Overspending. If the state had grown spending by the rate of inflation and population growth over the last three years, the…

Media

Regulation

The Unrelenting Demand for Tax Increases Illustrates Lessons Unlearned

• July 10, 2017

For Gov. Wolf, the more things change, the more they stay the same.  Despite the harm caused by last year’s tax increases, Gov. Wolf appears to be holding out—yet…

Media

News Release: Don’t Hike Taxes—Examine Priorities in $3 Billion Off-Budget Spending

• July 7, 2017

State lawmakers scrambling for revenue sources to balance their $32 billion spending plan are faced with a choice: higher taxes or real reform. The decision should be easy. Pennsylvanians…

Press Release

Public Union Democracy

Ghost Teachers Exposed by NBC Philadelphia

• Gina Diorio
• July 6, 2017

The ghost teaching phenomenon is continuing to garner major media coverage—this time, a multi-part NBC10 Philadelphia investigation. Investigative reporter Mitch Blacher gets to the bottom of union work on school…

Media

Regulation

Liquor Privatization’s Dual Purpose

• July 6, 2017

State lawmakers have yet to agree on a plan to balance last year’s budget (2016-17) or this year’s budget (2017-18), despite authorizing large spending increases both years. In…

Media

Health Care

Meaningful Welfare Reform Included in State Budget

• Elizabeth Stelle
• July 6, 2017

State lawmakers are scrambling to create a revenue plan that can balance the $32 billion dollar spending plan passed by the legislature last week. While talks of tax hikes, borrowing…

Media

Regulation

News Release: End Horse Racing’s $2.7 Billion Taxpayer-Funded Windfall

• July 6, 2017

State government spends $800 million on taxpayer-funding giveaways to politically connected businesses each year. As lawmakers and Gov. Wolf debate ways to pay for the $32 billion spending plan passed…

Press Release

Regulation

Policy Memo: Ideas to Balance the 2017-18 Budget

• Elizabeth Stelle
• July 5, 2017

With a spending plan in place, lawmakers should focus their efforts on reinventing state government to balance the budget, including ending horse racing subsidies.

Memo

State Budget

Lawmakers’ Choices: Higher Taxes or Real Reform

• Nathan Benefield
• July 5, 2017

Half the state budget is done: the spending list. The Pennsylvania House and Senate passed a general appropriations bill on Friday. But the other half—how to pay for it—remains. The…

Media

Criminal Justice Reform

How to Revamp Pa.’s Criminal Justice System

• July 3, 2017

Pennsylvania can reduce its prison population by more than 1,000 people while saving approximately $108 million over five years, according to a Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) Working Group Report.

Media