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.
All’s good, according to Bill DeWeese
Pennsyltucky Politics gets a positive prognosis from Bill DeWeese (along with some choice words about Patriot News reporter Charlie Thompson, “slithering around in his usual unkempt reptilian fashion.”) DeWeese…
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Sam Smith joins I-80 Toll Opposition
House Minority Leader Sam Smith has joined in the calls for the US Dept. of Transportation to reject I-80 tolls. Get his news release and letter here.
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Toll war building strength
Article in the Centre Daily Times on the Anti I-80 tolling movement. Topics on this page Centre Daily Times…
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Anti I-80 Tolling Blogs and Websites
Here are a couple of new websites and blogs focusing solely on the tolling of I-80 and Act 44. The I-80 Toll Disaster Blog (including an interesting post titled…
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Pennsylvania gets an “F” for worker Freedom
A report card from the Alliance for Worker Freedom gives Pennsylvania an “F” for meeting none of the ten measures of worker freedom. As with all states…
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What do “highly-paid lobbyists” want?
I had to share this email exchange between Simon Campbell of StopTeacherStrikes and Rep. Karen Beyer, prime sponsor of HB 446 (which, in the name of “accountability” includes…
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DePasquale to take on school spending
One lawmaker who seemingly did read our Edifice Complex report is Eugene DePasquale, who is going to propose legislation to “to rein in spending on school construction”. DePasquale…
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Response to Cyber School News Release
Following our call for rejection of unequal limits on cyber schools (which passed the House Education Committee today), I had an interesting email exchange with a public school employee.
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Rx For Health Care: Pain
Robert Samuelson has a interesting commentary on health care costs: The politics of health care rests on a mass illusion: Most Americans think that someone else pays for…
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The Truth About “Alternative Energy”
Roy Innis on Townhall.com on “The Truth About ‘Alternative Energy'”…
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State Senators Against Interstate 80 Tolling
Eleven state senators (Sens. Gordner, MJ White, Baker, Boscola, Browne, Corman, Earll, Eichelberger, Folmer, Piccola, and Robbins) have sent a letter to US Transportation Secretary Peters expressing concerns over tolling…
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RendellCare Version 1.2
Governor Rendell has now stated that he won’t sign the extension of the MCare program (which funds medical malpractice claims) unless it includes funding of his Cover All Pennsylvania…
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600 Things caused by global warming
Here a list of 600 things attributed to global warming, all with links to the article source (HT to Government Bytes) . For my favorite: a tossup between…
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Share the Wealth, Joe Camel
The PA Attorney General has joined a lawsuit against RJ Reynolds demanding $7 million ($100 million among the several states in the suit) because a cartoon version of Joe…
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Religion and Politics (and Health Care)
Rep. Scott Boyd offers a rebuttal to Governor Rendell’s claims that Jesus want Christians to support his Cover All Pennsylvanians proposal. Boyd instead calls for some free-market…
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Cyber School Students Deserve Equal Treatment
HARRISBURG, PA — Today, the Commonwealth Foundation called on the House Education Committee to treat all public school students equally, whether they attend traditional district schools or cyber public…
Press Release
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Tax Money for Soccer Stadium?
Lowman Henry on the wisdom – or lack thereof – of using $45 million in taxpayer subsidies to build a soccer stadium in Pennsylvania. There are a couple of…
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Bill threatens future of Pa. cyber schools
Editorial by Joanne Jones Barnett in the Express Times on the renewed effort to limit funding, enrollment, and now even teachers in cyber charter schools. Topics on this…
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Tolling rivals confront leaders
Centre Daily Times on the most recent discussion of tolling I-80. Sounds like it isn’t too popular in that neck of the woods. Also, Turnpike CEO Joe Brimmeier is…
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State’s pension plans on the edge
Lancaster Sunday News article on the state pension system and proposed legislation to convert to a defined contribution plan. For more on the proposed pension reform, check out our…
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How much should we spend on health care?
A couple of interesting blog post on StateHouseCall.org regarding the Familes USA report on the burden of health care cost (get the PA report here, and the PA…
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Read More: How much should we spend on health care?