Nathan Benefield

Nathan Benefield

Chief Policy Officer

Nathan (Nate) Benefield is the Chief Policy Officer at the Commonwealth Foundation.

An Ohio native, Nate holds an undergraduate degree in political science and economics and a master’s degree in public service management from DePaul University in Chicago. He also completed his doctoral studies (ABD) in political science at Loyola University, also in Chicago.

Nate joined the Commonwealth Foundation in 2005. Now as Chief Policy Officer , he provides strategic leadership as well as operational oversight spanning policy analysis, government relations, marketing, and communications.

Nate has researched and written extensively on public policy issues including the state budget, public sector labor reform, government spending and taxes, liquor privatization, education, and economic development. Under Nate’s policy leadership, the Commonwealth Foundation’s work on public sector pension law helped drive the bipartisan pension reform of 2017, heralded by the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post as an example for other states to follow.

Nate has testified numerous times before state legislative committees and is often called upon by legislators and members of the media to provide expertise. He is a frequent commentator on both television and radio, and his writings have appeared across the state and nationally in outlets including the Philadelphia Inquirer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Patriot-News, and Weekly Standard.

Nate’s favorite rock song and personal motto are both “Don’t Stop Believin.”

Taxes & Economy

Are We Talking Ourselves Into Recession?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 10, 2008

BusinessWeek article on whether the media’s obsession with bad economic news may be driving low consumer confidence and turning a “slowdown” into a recession. Case in point: I recently…

Media

Read More: Are We Talking Ourselves Into Recession?

Education

Home-Schooling Under Attack

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 7, 2008

Here is some commentary on the recent California court ruling that would require parents homeschooling their children to have full teaching credentials/certification. Acton Institute PowerBlog Cato-At-Liberty…

Media

Read More: Home-Schooling Under Attack

State Budget

Earmark Nation

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 7, 2008

Wall Street Journal on the political value of taking a hard line opposing earmarks, compared with the value of pork projects. Unorthodox as he’s been on some conservative…

Media

Read More: Earmark Nation

Taxes & Economy

Pa. legislative Democrats’ I-80 report worthless

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 6, 2008

Towanda Daily Review editorial on the “study” commissioned by House Democrats on a Turnpike lease. One addition to my previous notes on the “study”: To show…

Media

Read More: Pa. legislative Democrats’ I-80 report worthless

Taxes & Economy

Median U.S. Gross Income: $61,500

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 6, 2008

TaxProf Blog has the latest US Median Income, along with a couple of nifty charts on median income growth (in both nominal and real terms) and the average income…

Media

Read More: Median U.S. Gross Income: $61,500

Education

Determining the Cost of an Adequate Education

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 5, 2008

The Pennsylvania General Assembly recently commissioned a $650,000 study to determine what it “costs” to educate a child. The firm winning the commission reported that the state should increase spending…

Commentary

Read More: Determining the Cost of an Adequate Education

Government Accountability

PSU Study: Whites still think Blacks are apes

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 5, 2008

In addition to commenting on policy issues, I also like to comment on some of very weird, esoteric studies conducted by academic researchers. The most recent is this study…

Media

Read More: PSU Study: Whites still think Blacks are apes

State Budget

Campbell on Earmark Moratorium

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 5, 2008

Video of John Campbell on earmarks. I especially like him bringing up the “monuments to me” – i.e. earmarks by legislators for projects named after themselves – noting “I hope…

Media

Read More: Campbell on Earmark Moratorium

Government Accountability

Campaign-Finance Breakdown

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 5, 2008

John Lott and Bradley Smith in the Wall Street Journal on taxpayer-financing of presidential elections: Since 1976, taxpayers have shelled out about $3 billion in current dollars to…

Media

Read More: Campaign-Finance Breakdown

Government Accountability

Influence-Peddling

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 5, 2008

John Stossel on Townhall.com on the rhetoric against “special interests” and “corporate lobbyists” in Washington (also applicable to Harrisburg): None of the reforms gets near root of the…

Media

Read More: Influence-Peddling

Taxes & Economy

Turnpike Comission seeks private bidders to finish roads

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 5, 2008

With no sense of irony, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is adverstising for for “expressions of interest” from private firms interested in finishing and managining the Mon-Fayette Expressway and Findlay…

Media

Read More: Turnpike Comission seeks private bidders to finish roads

Taxes & Economy

Free analysis of costly Turnpike study

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 4, 2008

Toll Roads News offers some comments on the $75,000 taxpayer-funded “study” on a Turnpike lease. The Caucus report is in its nature hypothetical. It is based on…

Media

Read More: Free analysis of costly Turnpike study

Taxes & Economy

Did the PA min. wage increase cost jobs?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 4, 2008

The PA Department of Labor and Industry released their report on the state minimum wage increase. As this Post-Gazette story indicated, the report doesn’t attempt to address what…

Media

Read More: Did the PA min. wage increase cost jobs?

Public Union Democracy

Texas v. Ohio

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 3, 2008

Wall Street Journal article contrasts the economic fortunes between Texas (good) and Ohio (bad), and explores some of the reasons behind this – namely taxes (Texas=low, Ohio=high and increasing)…

Media

Read More: Texas v. Ohio

Taxes & Economy

NAFTA, Foreign Trade, and jobs

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 3, 2008

Cato’s Dan Griswold writes that “Ohio Needs More Foreign Trade” as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama denounce NAFTA in Ohio: Ohio workers would pay a heavy price for…

Media

Read More: NAFTA, Foreign Trade, and jobs

Regulation

Union wants pension backing for roads

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 3, 2008

Financial Times article on public sector unions pushing for public pension funds to invest in roads and other infrastructure. Of course, as noted, many public pension funds (the California…

Media

Read More: Union wants pension backing for roads

Taxes & Economy

An Upside for the Middle Class

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 29, 2008

Interesting Washington Post article on the middle class: Items once considered luxuries — dishwashers, central air conditioning, video cameras — are now common. The average size of new…

Media

Read More: An Upside for the Middle Class

Regulation

How to Shrink an Economy

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 29, 2008

Penn State Altoona econ professor John McGinnis writes on how Pennsylvania’s “economic development” spending shrinks our economy – first by taxing to pay for this corporate welfare, then by…

Media

Read More: How to Shrink an Economy

Government Accountability

After returning raise, LaGrotta took it back

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 29, 2008

Another bizarre twist in the payraise debacle was uncovered in the Frank Lagrotta case. Former Rep. LaGrotta was recenlty convicted and sentenced, and more recently face a ruling that…

Media

Read More: After returning raise, LaGrotta took it back

State Budget

PA Budget Historical Numbers

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 29, 2008

I’ve received a couple of requests for historics Pennsylvania state budget numbers, so I thought I’d post the data here. The figures represent actual final spending from 1970-2007, while…

Media

Read More: PA Budget Historical Numbers

Education

Empowering Families

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 28, 2008

Ken Blackwell commentary on the mistakes states are making by continuing to push for taxpayer-funded state-run preschool – to the detriment of educational choice and parental control.

Media

Read More: Empowering Families