Staff

For Years, My Union Exploited Me for Political Influence. So I Left.

• July 8, 2019

I knew since fourth grade I wanted to be a teacher because of the quality of teachers I’d had in northeastern Pennsylvania. I had a desire to help others learn…

Commentary

Work Empowers All Pennsylvanians

• July 8, 2019

I have found nothing more rewarding than my life’s work: empowering others. Over four decades, I’ve been a social worker, counselor, college professor, administrator, director, and mother. In all those…

Commentary

Work Empowers All Pennsylvanians

• July 8, 2019

I have found nothing more rewarding than my life’s work: empowering others. Over four decades, I’ve been a social worker, counselor, college professor, administrator, director, and mother. In all those…

Commentary

As a Former Legislator, I Know How Transformative the Taxpayer Protection Act Will Be

• July 8, 2019

Those who watch the inner-workings of Pennsylvania’s politics and policies understand how difficult—and how rewarding—fiscal responsibility in state government can be. Steve Bloom, former four-term state representative from Cumberland County…

Commentary

As a Former Legislator, I Know How Transformative the Taxpayer Protection Act Will Be

• July 8, 2019

Those who watch the inner-workings of Pennsylvania’s politics and policies understand how difficult—and how rewarding—fiscal responsibility in state government can be. Steve Bloom, former four-term state representative from Cumberland County…

Commentary

Raise the Limits on Tax Credit Scholarships

• July 8, 2019

It was the middle of Wednesday, and I had 30 minutes—30 minutes and a choice. I could either eat my lunch in peace after a hectic morning of work, or…

Commentary

Raise the Limits on Tax Credit Scholarships

• July 8, 2019

It was the middle of Wednesday, and I had 30 minutes—30 minutes and a choice. I could either eat my lunch in peace after a hectic morning of work, or…

Commentary

Education

Getting Real About Education Spending

• Colleen Hroncich
• July 8, 2019

Another budget season has come and gone in Harrisburg.  As usual, education spending was one of the hottest topics. Constant demands for “more money” by teachers’ unions and their…

Media

Taxes & Economy

Those are Drilling Rigs, Not Money Trees

• Gordon Tomb
• July 5, 2019

“Money doesn’t grow on trees,” my mother regularly declaimed in her impromptu lessons on financial literacy. Too bad she’s not with us to explain this to Governor Wolf: neither the Marcellus…

Media

Education

Kids Claim Victory in Pa. Budget

• Marc LeBlond
• July 2, 2019

Thanks to school choice heroes like Speaker Mike Turzai and Senator Mike Regan, Pennsylvania students will benefit from a $30 million increase in tax credit scholarships. The agreed upon…

Media

Criminal Justice Reform

Does Justice Reinvestment Work?

• Jessica Barnett
• July 1, 2019

One of the foremost, data-driven efforts in the nation to make criminal justice truly fair and effective is under consideration in the Pennsylvania House after a unanimous vote in the…

Media

One Year After Janus

• Jessica Barnett
• June 28, 2019

One year ago, Pennsylvania government workers like William, Megan, Shalea, Curtis, and Francisco weren’t planning to taking their union to court. Yet, they are among…

Media

State Budget

This Year’s Budget Continues Past Trends

• Tirzah Duren
• June 28, 2019

The 2019-2020 budget spending bill is on the governor’s desk and lawmakers are claiming it represents an increase of only 1.8 percent over last year. If this were true, it would…

Media

State Budget

Budget Spares Taxpayers, Boosts School Choice, but Leaves Much Undone

• June 28, 2019

June 28, 2019, Harrisburg, Pa.—Today, lawmakers put the finishing touches on a state budget that spares Pennsylvanians from tax hikes, grows the state’s beleaguered Rainy Day Fund, and boosts school…

Press Release

State Budget

State Can Build on Tax Reform Boom

• Tirzah Duren
• June 27, 2019

To attract the investment and job creators that will secure our future, we can—and must—do better. Luckily, lawmakers have the blueprint they need to make our state competitive: Control spending…

Commentary

Education

Students Need Scholarships, Not Vetoes

• Charles Mitchell
• June 27, 2019

While the governor has repeatedly voiced support for freeing students from zip code-assigned schools that aren’t meeting their needs, he vetoed a sorely needed expansion of Pennsylvania’s scholarship…

Commentary

Education

Common EITC and OSTC Misconceptions

• Colleen Hroncich
• June 26, 2019

“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.” This saying is even more true in the internet age. Case in point: recent falsehoods…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Respecting Workers’ Rights

• June 26, 2019

Do you really have liberty if it is not legally protected? Five Pennsylvanian corrections officers likely asked themselves that question when their union, the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association…

Media

Education

How Many Kids Should We Save?

• Marc LeBlond
• June 25, 2019

Last week, local mom Thalia McClenton visited the Capitol to tell her tax credit scholarship story. Thalia’s sons attend Harrisburg Catholic Elementary School thanks to scholarship funding. Thalia explained:…

Media

Education

Five Things Lawmakers Should Know About the State Budget Deal

• Nathan Benefield
• June 25, 2019

Less than a week before the start of the 2019-20 fiscal year, legislative leaders unveiled a proposed state budget—including both the spending and revenue outline, and several policy changes that…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Do Teachers Know About Their Rights?

• Priya Brannick
• June 25, 2019

A year after the path-changing Janus v. AFSCME decision that freed 5 million American government workers from having to pay union fees, there hasn’t been the exodus of union members…

Media