Staff

Government Accountability

Memo on Redistricting Reform

• March 24, 2017

Commonwealth Foundation supports redistricting reform as a good government practice.

Memo

Committee Votes to Spend Smarter

• March 24, 2017

Earlier this week, the House State Government Committee voted to tackle Pennsylvania’s spending problem. The committee advanced two pieces of legislation—HB 110 and HB 410. Both bills are…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Op-Ed: Time to End Special-Interest Loophole

• Jessica Barnett
• March 24, 2017

Subverting public resources for political gain will not be tolerated. Except when it is. Pennsylvania government regularly collects and distributes tens of millions of dollars earmarked for politics on behalf of…

Commentary

Health Care

7 Ways to Fix Health Care on the 7th Anniversary of Obamacare

• Elizabeth Stelle
• March 23, 2017

Seven years ago, Obamacare became the law of the land. Later today, the US House is scheduled to vote on a controversial repeal and replace bill. While the outcome in Washington…

Media

Regulation

Senate Prepares New Pension Reform Bill

• Elizabeth Stelle
• March 16, 2017

The state Senate is preparing to introduce a pension reform bill nearly identical to the compromise bill that fell three House votes short last fall.  Senator Pat Browne and Majority…

Media

Education

Teachers’ Unions Dwarf School Choice Spending

• Jessica Barnett
• March 15, 2017

When it comes to education, government union leaders are Pennsylvania’s top political spender. No contest. We recently highlighted how government unions, outspoken proponents of a severance tax, far outspend…

Media

Education

News Release: House Expands Popular Tax Credit Scholarship Programs

• March 13, 2017

Thousands More Students Could Attend Schools of Choice March 13, 2017, Harrisburg, Pa.—Today, the Pennsylvania House voted to extend the state’s popular tax credit scholarship programs to thousands…

Press Release

Public Union Democracy

Send Your Message: Paycheck Protection

• March 13, 2017

If you're having any problems submitting your information above, visit the alert page here to send your message.

Media

Health Care

Policy Points: After ObamaCare

• Elizabeth Stelle
• March 13, 2017

Obamacare increased the number of people holding insurance cards but failed to increase access to quality and affordable health services. It’s time to put patients, not government bureaucrats, in charge…

Fact Sheet

Government Accountability

Reviving the Push for Transparency

• March 10, 2017

Taxpayers scored a victory last year with the passage of Senate Bill 644 (now Act 15). The new law requires the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) to provide cost…

Media

Education

The Cost of Pennsylvania’s Pension Crisis

• Nathan Benefield
• March 8, 2017

In recent Appropriation Committee hearings, Pennsylvania’s two statewide pension funds (PSERS and SERS) reported $62.2 billion in unfunded liabilities (or debt) that taxpayers must pay. This number—which assumes…

Media

Health Care

Obamacare: Say No to Status Quo

• Nathan Benefield
• March 7, 2017

A recent WSJ/NBC poll shows almost everyone supports reforming Obamacare. Only 4% think Obamacare is working well as is. A majority (52%) think it needs a major overhaul or…

Media

Regulation

Protect Students, Not Subsidies

• March 7, 2017

Gov. Wolf’s request to reduce tax credits by $100 million is causing a stir in the legislature. According to a Capitolwire story (paywall), Republicans raised objections on several fronts,…

Media

Regulation

Policy Memo: The Downside of Raising the Minimum Wage

• Elizabeth Stelle
• March 6, 2017

In February, Gov. Wolf proposed raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $12, claiming a higher minimum wage will raise revenue, reduce welfare participation and spur job growth. These claims are…

Memo

Education

Expanding School Choice is Vital to Pa. Children

• James Paul
• March 3, 2017

It's nearly impossible to overstate the significance of Pennsylvania's private school scholarship programs. The Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) have created more than 500,000…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Debunking Union Leaders’ Paycheck Protection Myths

• March 3, 2017

It’s been said death and taxes are life’s only two certainties. Here’s a third: government union leaders’ continual misrepresentation of paycheck protection. For example, recently, the Philadelphia Federation of…

Media

Regulation

Pennsylvania Deficit Watch: March 2017

• March 2, 2017

February proved to be another poor month for revenue collections. For the fourth straight month—and now seven of the last eight—collections fell short of official estimates from the the Pennsylvania Department of…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Dues-Funded Politics: Why We Need Paycheck Protection

• Jessica Barnett
• February 28, 2017

Pennsylvania’s government union leaders are political heavyweights. As we documented in our recent analysis, their political spending far surpasses industry competitors—and relies on…

Media

Education

Op-Ed: Is the Sky Falling on Children’s Education?

• James Paul
• February 24, 2017

In the aftermath of Betsy DeVos’s confirmation as Secretary of Education, opponents predict she could decimate public education. Their perspective is misguided, unsupported by facts, and ultimately harmful for the future…

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

What the Soda Tax Can Teach us About the Budget

• Elizabeth Stelle
• February 23, 2017

The high costs of Philadelphia's soda tax are mounting by the week. The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting a 30-50 percent drop in beverage sales for some supermarkets and distributors.

Media

Health Care

Double-Down on Reinventing Government

• Nathan Benefield
• February 23, 2017

Imagine if Stephen King had written Green Eggs and Ham. What if Dr. Seuss had penned The Shining? Gov. Wolf’s third budget address was an equally disorienting shift in tone…

Media