Staff

Taxes & Economy

New Population Data

• Nathan Benefield
• December 23, 2005

The US Census Bureau released their annual population estimates yesterday. Pennsylvania continues to lag behind: Pennsylvania’s population grew by 0.3% last year, slower than the national growth (0.9%) and…

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Education

Myths about Public Education

• Nathan Benefield
• December 21, 2005

Here is short article summarizing a few of the debunked myths about public education spending: National Center for Policy Analysis – Five Myths About Education. For those still looking…

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State Budget

Spending limit fear-mongering addressed

• December 21, 2005

Harrisburg Patriot-NewsLetter to the EditorWednesday, December 21, 2005 Stephen Herzenberg of the Keystone Research Center letter (Dec. 13) criticizes, in a most fascinating way, the proposed Taxpayer Fairness…

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Regulation

Corporate “wealthfare” is happening all around us

• December 21, 2005

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review editorial, The PNC rip-off: False renaissance, is just the latest example of taxpayers subsidizing the bottom line of major corporations. Remember the $2 Billion Gov. Rendell…

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Education

Court Bans Mention of Intelligent Design

• Nathan Benefield
• December 20, 2005

The Dover Schools case has reached a conclusion: Judge bars the school district from mentioning ‘intelligent design.’ The lesson to take from this sage is that government run schools…

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Public Union Democracy

Teachers challenging union dues in California

• Nathan Benefield
• December 20, 2005

California teachers have initiated a lawsuit against the two major teacher’s unions in that state over their rights: NRTW – December Foundation Action The Califonia Teacher Association and California…

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Sunshine for Medicaid

• December 20, 2005

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is leading the way on Medicaid reform. Gov. Rendell would do well to follow his example. However, given that Gov. Rendell measures success in ADDING citizens…

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Government Accountability

What We Are Up Against

• December 19, 2005

Paul Jacob’s Common Sense… New York State Senator John Marchi of Staten Island is an old hand at politics. And he doesn’t think much of any idea to oust…

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Welfare

WSJ.com – Welfare for the Well-to-do

• Nathan Benefield
• December 19, 2005

A Wall-Street Journal article detailing how many Medicaid recipients have worked the system to swindle taxpayers out of millions (and who is blocking reform):WSJ.com – Welfare for the Well-to-do.

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Education

The public school monopoly hates competition

• December 18, 2005

It was always only a matter of when, not if, the defenders of the status quo in public education would seek to hamstring their competition. First, no charter school…

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Say it isn’t so…our government is spying on us?

• December 17, 2005

Are we really surprised that our government could possibly be monitoring us? After all, it is the natural course of governments that enjoy virtually unlimited power. (Need I even…

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Pension grab: Lawmakers at a loss

• December 17, 2005

Editorial from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review warns of the looming crisis of public pensions. The Commonwealth Foundation will soon be releasing a report that shows just how out of…

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Taxes & Economy

Privatizing Toll Roads

• Nathan Benefield
• December 16, 2005

Good study on privatization of Toll Roads in USA Today, summarized by the National Center for Policy Analysis. It save taxpayers money and generates revenue for government. It will…

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Newspapers Expose “Hidden Costs of Teacher Tenure”

• December 15, 2005

From Labor Reform News… Teachers’ unions top priority, preserving the tenure system and defeating reforms, damages education system, newspaper series finds A group of Illinois newspapers, the Small Newspaper Group,…

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Totalitarian Impulse

• December 15, 2005

Paul Jacobs on the Oklahoma Education Association’s efforts to silence proponents of government spending limits. Sound familiar?…

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Taxes & Economy

Minimum Wage: Q & A

• December 15, 2005

WHO ARE MINIMUM WAGE WORKERS IN PENNSYLVANIA?…

Fact Sheet

Public Union Democracy

Property Taxpayer Protections: Tax Referendum & Prevailing Wage

• December 14, 2005

The Pennsylvania General Assembly is in the midst of discussing what to do about school property taxes. The discussion is an old one in Harrisburg. The complexity of this issue…

Fact Sheet

Welfare

Privatization of Welfare Administration

• Nathan Benefield
• December 13, 2005

An interesting study of how Texas is contracting out many technical aspects of their public assistance offices and streamlining the application process: NCPA Brief Analysis #539, A New Frontier…

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The state of Pennsylvania: Rendell’s ‘growth’ …

• December 12, 2005

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Gov. Rendell’s “cooking of the books” on job creation. Topics on this page Ed RendellPennsylvaniaPittsburgh Tribune-Review…

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State Budget

… tap-dancing pigs

• December 12, 2005

Editorial on spending limits from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Topics on this page Pittsburgh Tribune-Review…

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Education

Striking teachers strike again…and again…and again…

• December 11, 2005

Students in the northeast PA school district of Crestwood may be getting a few more days off, thanks to the PSEA labor unions efforts to raise taxes on homeowners…

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