Jacob Custer
Policy Data Analyst
Jacob Custer is the Policy Data Analyst at the Commonwealth Foundation.
Jacob graduated cum laude from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, with a bachelor’s degree in economics and public policy and a minor in American politics. Jacob received a master’s degree in economics from George Mason University in Virginia, where he also participated in the MA Fellowship at the Mercatus Center and worked as a graduate research assistant.
Jacob is passionate about advancing economic freedom. His work in economics explores public choice theory, the socialist calculation debate, and property rights. To connect ideas with practice, he gained experience through internships at the Leadership Institute, the Heritage Foundation, and Capitol Hill. Before joining the Commonwealth Foundation, Jacob worked in Washington, D.C., for a U.S. senator.
Outside of work, Jacob plays pickleball, looks for new board games to play, or hits the road in search of the next adventure.
Education
School District Reserve Funds Remain Bloated
Overview Pennsylvania school districts hold $12.9 billion in reserve funds, including $7.2 billion in general fund reserves. Public school districts receive more than $23,800 per student–among the highest in the…
Fact Sheet
Read More: School District Reserve Funds Remain BloatedHealth Care
Pennsylvania Health-Care Freedom on Life Support
Pennsylvania’s health care freedom is in a free fall. The Knee Regulatory Research Center at West Virginia University’s new report, Health Freedom: A 50-State Freedom Index…
Blog
Read More: Pennsylvania Health-Care Freedom on Life SupportHealth Care
Pinching Pennies: How Government Intervention in Health Care Failed
Pennsylvania’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace, Pennie, has—despite its name—an affordability problem. Premiums and out-of-pocket costs keep rising despite—or rather because of—the government’s attempt to control both. The common explanation…
Blog
Read More: Pinching Pennies: How Government Intervention in Health Care FailedState Budget
Pennsylvania is Shrinking. We Need More Workers
Originally published by The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. New migration reports show that last year more people moved out of Pennsylvania than moved in, marking the commonwealth’s…
Media Hit
Read More: Pennsylvania is Shrinking. We Need More WorkersCriminal Justice Reform
New Juvenile Justice Bills Cut Costs, Curb Recidivism, and Protect Kids
It’s early afternoon, and you’re about to pick up your teenage son from school when you learn he’s been taken into custody for minor theft—and you were never notified. Suddenly,…
Blog
Read More: New Juvenile Justice Bills Cut Costs, Curb Recidivism, and Protect Kids