Staff

Taxes & Economy

The Truth About Wages

• Elizabeth Stelle
• June 7, 2019

There is one undoubted truth in debates about wages: everyone wants them to go up. Unfortunately, lawmakers can’t force everyone’s wage to increase, unless they are willing to destroy tens…

Media

Education

Thousands of Scholarship Applications Denied, Again

• Marc LeBlond
• June 6, 2019

Pennsylvania's tax credit scholarship programs, EITC (Education Improvement Tax Credit) and OSTC (Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit), have transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of students with a private education that…

Media

Government Accountability

The Shadow Budget Comes to Light

• Elizabeth Stelle, Tirzah Duren
• June 6, 2019

The shadow budget is coming into the light in an unlikely way this…

Media

Pa. Senate Passes Momentous Criminal Justice Reform Package

• June 5, 2019

June 5, 2019, Harrisburg, Pa.—Today, in a unanimous vote, the Pennsylvania Senate continued the state’s national leadership on criminal justice reform by passing a three-bill reform package. These critical reforms…

Press Release

Senate Committees Pass State Spending Limits & School Choice Bills

• June 5, 2019

June 5, 2019, Harrisburg, Pa.—Today, the state Senate advanced two transformative bills: SB 116, known as the Taxpayer Protection Act, limits state spending growth to a rate Pennsylvanians can…

Press Release

Government Accountability

Transparency Deferred During Union Contract Negotiations

• Jessica Barnett
• June 3, 2019

Public dollars, secrecy, and politics should never mix. Yet, it’s a disturbingly common practice in Pennsylvania as public officials negotiate costly government employee contracts with their campaign donors—behind closed…

Media

State Budget

Making Bad Investments Won’t Restore PA

• Tirzah Duren
• June 3, 2019

Governor Wolf’s Restore PA plan utilizes a natural gas severance tax and borrowing to fund infrastructure improvements. There’s a better way to improve our infrastructure.

Memo

State Budget

Harrisburg’s Notoriously Big Choice

• Tirzah Duren
• June 3, 2019

“More money, more problems.” It seems that Pennsylvania lawmakers and The Notorious B.I.G. may have found some common ground. Surplus revenues have been a hot topic since the Independent Fiscal…

Media

Energy

Climate Change

• Gordon Tomb
• May 30, 2019

For decades state government has imposed subsidies, increased regulation and raised energy costs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These efforts have largely failed to make an impact. On the other…

Memo

Education

Safer Public Schools: Another Benefit of Education Choice

• Marc LeBlond
• May 28, 2019

When parents are forced to choose between safety and academics, parents overwhelmingly choose safety. That's a choice no parent should have to make, but that's the reality for Philadelphia families…

Media

State Budget

High Taxes Are Driving Pa.’s ‘Brain Drain’

• Tirzah Duren
• May 28, 2019

If life is a highway, then Pennsylvanians are using it to drive to other states.   This is especially true for young Pennsylvanians…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Employee Rights Notification Becomes Imperative Following New Court Ruling

• Jessica Barnett
• May 23, 2019

Laws contradicting U.S. Supreme Court decisions should be removed from the books, or at least that’s what Pennsylvania teachers Greg Hartnett, Elizabeth Galaska, Rob Brough, and John Cress rationally argued…

Media

State Budget

Federal Tax Reform: A Pennsylvania Gold Rush

• Tirzah Duren
• May 23, 2019

After centuries of hopeless panning and prospecting, gold has finally been discovered right here in Harrisburg. The historic find weighs in…

Media

Criminal Justice Reform

Up, Up, and Away: Snapshots from Wolf’s Budget

• May 21, 2019

Soon lawmakers in Harrisburg will begin debating the 2019-2020 budget and what to do with excess revenue from the booming economy. Here’s your two-minute summary of the budget situation and…

Media

Energy

Pa.’s Climate Action Plan: Crippling Costs for Zero Benefits

• May 20, 2019

Let’s recognize how our climate is improving and bolster further innovation to reduce pollution without reducing incomes or infringing the freedoms of Pennsylvanians.

Commentary

Education

The Many Benefits of Tax Credit Scholarships

• Colleen Hroncich
• May 20, 2019

The Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) empower thousands of students with a high-quality education of their choice each year—and at a fraction of the…

Media

Education

Are Pennsylvania Leaders Out of Touch?

• Marc LeBlond
• May 17, 2019

When asked whether Philadelphia needs “more, fewer, or the same number of charter schools,” Mayor Jim Kenney responded, “Fewer.” It’s a baffling answer, considering his city’s educational landscape. Just…

Media

Criminal Justice Reform

Should Pa. Wreck Lives Over a Technicality?

• Jessica Barnett
• May 16, 2019

Pennsylvania’s correctional system has a “revolving door” problem. Over 63 percent of the correctional population will return to prison within three years. To change Pennsylvania’s reputation as “imprisonment king”…

Media

Education

School Districts’ Cash Stash Tops $4.6 Billion

• May 16, 2019

May 16, 2019, Harrisburg, Pa.—Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts hold $4.6 billion in reserve funds, according the latest data available from the Pa. Department of Education. Reserves rose by $64 million in…

Press Release

Education

Guest Post: Educational Freedom in Harrisburg

• May 15, 2019

Rian Slade-Bowers' testimonial was first published by American Federation for Children. I attended private schools all my life and it has benefited me immensely. I was educated in a diverse environment…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Pa. Attorney General Agrees: Workers Should Know Their Rights

• Jessica Barnett, Nathan Benefield
• May 14, 2019

Attorney General Josh Shapiro recently demonstrated why Pennsylvania government workers need the Employee Rights Notification Act (House Bill 785 and Senate Bill 371). In a tweet, Shapiro…

Media