Staff

Taxes & Economy

Time to cook Pennsylvania’s “lame-duck” session

• Matthew Brouillette
• November 11, 2004

It is fundamental to democracy that voters have information--about candidates, about issues, about proposed solutions to problems. It also is fundamental that voters have information in time to influence the…

Commentary

Government Accountability

Give Taxpayers Same Deal Legislators Get

• November 10, 2004

Members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly are set to receive their annual automatic pay increase on December 1. Now keep in mind that our state legislators are already, according to…

Commentary

Rail Transit: “Corridor One”

• November 10, 2004

Although everyone agrees that traffic congestion and air pollution are neither good nor desirable for Central Pennsylvania, regional rail transit—otherwise known as “Corridor One”—is not the solution to these problems.

Fact Sheet

Public Union Democracy

Time to Labor to End Compulsory Unionism

• October 31, 2004

"We want a legislative program led by leaders and staff with sufficient clout that they may roam the halls of Congress and collect votes to reorder the priorities of the…

Commentary

Education

Union Propaganda Can’t Hide Charter Schools’ Success

• October 24, 2004

There they go again. Back in July 2002, during a slow news period, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), a school employee labor union, issued a widely cited report "showing"…

Commentary

Regulation

Telecommunications

• October 14, 2004

The debate over the future of high-tech communications development in Pennsylvania parallels the debate over statewide economic development policy in general: Should state government raise taxes on families and businesses…

Fact Sheet

Taxes & Economy

Some truth in advertising, please!

• September 21, 2004

As visitors to Harrisburg approach the State Capitol, they'll likely notice a number of quotations from luminaries of Pennsylvania history--including William Penn and Benjamin Franklin--testifying to the virtue of liberty.

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

Liberty: The Highest Political End

• Matthew Brouillette
• September 15, 2004

Mark Twain supposedly once quipped that "No man's life, liberty or property are safe while the Legislature is in session." He must have had the Pennsylvania General Assembly in mind.

Commentary

Education

How to Increase Teacher Pay

• Matthew Brouillette
• September 7, 2004

Few people will disagree that the best school teachers are often paid less than they deserve. But even fewer people agree when it comes to figuring out what to do…

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

Taxing the Internet

• July 29, 2004

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, for the invitation to testify today on legislation concerning the “Streamlined Sales Tax Project.”…

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

Renounce the “Faith”

• Matthew Brouillette
• June 15, 2004

Politicians are fond of saying, "Government doesn't create jobs, the private sector does." Yet the machinations of state and federal government--and the news releases that follow--reveal that most politicians truly…

Commentary

State Budget

The High Cost of Fiscally Responsible Compassion

• June 8, 2004

For the naysayers of disciplined and effective government spending, the Pennsylvania House Appropriations Committee has published “Republican Stewardship of State Government: 1995-2003.” Complete with a tagline, “Meeting the Challenge with…

Commentary

Education

Pennsylvania Needs School Board Rent Control

• Matthew Brouillette
• June 2, 2004

Pennsylvanians are once again being reminded this spring that they never actually own their homes; they only “rent” them from their local school board. As school districts across the commonwealth…

Commentary

Education

Referendum: School Taxes

• May 11, 2004

Pennsylvania homeowners lack the right to vote on school property tax increases, while citizens in 44 other states enjoy some form of taxpayer protection. As Pennsylvania legislators debate whether or…

Fact Sheet

Education

The Fight for Educational Freedom

• Matthew Brouillette
• April 29, 2004

Matthew J. Brouillette, president of The Commonwealth Foundation, delivered the following remarks at The Heritage Foundation's Resource Bank dinner in Chicago on May 29, 2004, in honor of Virginia Walden-Ford,…

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

Closing Loopholes to Tighten the Noosehole

• April 21, 2004

Two leading Pennsylvania House Democrats are taking aim at the Commonwealth’s surviving corporate taxpayers. Reps. Mike Veon and David Levdansky say that legal provisions in the tax code—“loopholes” in their…

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

The Rendell Strategic Sourcing Initiative: An Analysis

• Matthew Brouillette
• April 15, 2004

Executive Summary  …

Fact Sheet

Education

Set Our Teachers Free!

• Matthew Brouillette
• April 14, 2004

Remarks of Matthew J. Brouillette, President & CEO, The Commonwealth Foundation I'm Matthew Brouillette, president of The Commonwealth Foundation. Prior to moving into the world of public policy, I…

Commentary

Regulation

“OutFORCING”: Pennsylvania’s Real Job Loss Culprit

• Matthew Brouillette
• April 12, 2004

There’s been a great deal of political talk this election season about greedy “Benedict Arnold” companies sending jobs overseas. Gov. Ed Rendell even announced that the Commonwealth would look unfavorably…

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

Will the Taxpayers Benefit from Rendell’s “Strategic Sourcing Initiative”?

• Matthew Brouillette
• April 7, 2004

"Government should be run more like a business." The underlying sentiment of this oft-repeated phrase is that government should be more efficient and effective when spending our tax dollars. Of…

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

Taxpayers to Subsidize Risks of Venture Capitalists

• March 31, 2004

As the Republican-led Pennsylvania General Assembly considers a “compromise” version of Gov. Ed Rendell’s so-called “economic stimulus” package, The Commonwealth Foundation declared it to be another step backward for the…

Commentary