Staff

Regulation

Pennsylvania State Pension Liabilities

• June 6, 2011

PSERS and SERS project total taxpayer contributions will increase from $1.1 billion this year to more than $5.5 billion in 2016—a 421% increase in five years.

Fact Sheet

Taxes & Economy

Marcellus Hiring Spree Continues

• Elizabeth Stelle
• June 6, 2011

The Center for Workforce Information and Analysis (the research arm of the Department of Labor and Industry) released their April Marcellus Shale Fast Facts, demonstrating tremendous growth in Marcellus…

Media

Pa.’s education in a state of emergency

• June 6, 2011

Media Hit

Gov. Tom Corbett’s spending leaves some wondering about his budget ‘sacrifice’ message

• June 5, 2011

Topics on this page Tom Corbett…

Media Hit

Corbett’s Liberty Financing Authority proposal gaining little traction so far

• June 3, 2011

Media Hit

PLCB Perestroika Program Pulled!

• June 3, 2011

Consumers rejoice! Supermarket superman Wegmans Food Market, has declared dosvedanya to the PLCB’s pitiful perestroika program and killed the catastrophic kiosk program. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, which…

Media

Regulation

The Phony “Surplus”

• Nathan Benefield, Richard Dreyfuss
• June 2, 2011

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue released May General Fund tax collection data, and many lawmakers are clamoring to spend this “surplus”. But the idea there is any “surplus” is…

Media

Union Red Herring Erring

• June 2, 2011

The recent Pennsylvania AFL-CIO media campaign to malign Rep. Scott Perry by saying he wants to “punish workers” is as off base as it is disingenuous. The union, for…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Pennsylvania’s State Union Contracts

• June 2, 2011

On June 30, 2011, 15 of the state's 19 government union contracts expire, with two more expiring in August. These 19 public sector unions represent 62,271 state employees, whose compensation…

Fact Sheet

Regulation

Have Casinos Hurt Lottery Sales?

• June 1, 2011

According to a new report from the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, the presence of casinos does not have a negative impact on state lottery revenues.  At the same…

Media

Education

Make the Case to Voters

• Nathan Benefield
• June 1, 2011

My letter to the editor in today’s Post-Gazette on school tax referendum. The article “Groups Fighting…

Media

Education

Pa. Education – A State of Emergency

• June 1, 2011

At the start of our nation, founding father John Adams was as concerned with the positive development of our offspring as he was with that of the republic.  Seeing the…

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

WITF Marcellus Forum Viewers Guide

• Nathan Benefield
• May 31, 2011

Tonight at 8 p.m., WITF TV will air an hour-long “Marcellus Shale Forum”. While the discussion should be informative for most viewers wanting to learn about the Marcellus Shale…

Media

Taxes & Economy

What’s the Difference Between a Tax and a Fee?

• Elizabeth Stelle, Nathan Benefield
• May 31, 2011

The latest media narrative this week seems to be that Americans for Tax Reform’s Grover Norquist is controlling Pennsylvania lawmakers, by stating that a proposed “impact fee” is a…

Media

Education

Violence Rips Worst Pa. Schools!

• May 31, 2011

In the 2009 school year, Pennsylvania’s bottom five percent of failing public schools had an alarming amount of violent incidents totaling more than 5,400. Not only are these 100,000 students trapped in failing schools, but…

Media

Proposed laws take aim at property tax increases

• May 31, 2011

Media Hit

Education

Questions for Appropriators on Higher Education

• Nathan Benefield
• May 27, 2011

Since Gov. Corbett presented a budget which reduced state taxpayer funding for institutions including Penn State, Temple, Pitt, and the State System of Higher Education, college administrators, faculty and lobbyists…

Media

Education

Oh Yeah, Those Guys

• Nathan Benefield
• May 26, 2011

My letter to the Philadelphia Daily News: Will Bunch’s recent article identifies wealthy Americans who are voluntary donating their money to push greater school choice.  Bunch fails…

Media

Regulation

Privatizing “Yellow Pages” Government

• Elizabeth Stelle
• May 26, 2011

This report surveys the scope of Yellow Pages Government in Pennsylvania, looks at examples of state and local privatization throughout the country, and outlines best practices to equip lawmakers to…

Report

Anti-school voucher lobbyists are protecting their income streams

• May 26, 2011

Media Hit

State Budget

Is Gas Drilling Behind the Surplus?

• Nathan Benefield
• May 26, 2011

A reader asks if natural gas drilling is behind April’s higher than estimated tax revenues — what legislators are now calling a “budget surplus.” It would be difficult to definitively make that claim,…

Media