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.”

Creating a Free, Searchable Website of State Spending

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 21, 2007

Policy Note by our colleagues at theWashington Policy Center on creating a state-level, searchable online database of spending. Examples of online budget databases include Georgia, Texas, and…

Media

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A Brief History of Christmas

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 21, 2007

This Wall Street Journal article on the History of Christmas has little to do with policy (unless there is some debate over ending Christmas as a federal holiday), but…

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‘It’s been a very difficult lesson’

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 20, 2007

Interview with Bill DeWeese in the Patriot News on his role in Bonusgate. His answers: 1) Didn’t know about bonuses ($1.9 million), 2) Will consider reforming legislative spending, 3)…

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Pew Trusts on State Pension Crunch

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 19, 2007

Pew Trusts analsysis of the looming state pension and retiree health care crisis in Pennsylvania. Index to 50-state analysis here.

Media

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Another Poor State Economy Ranking for PA

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 19, 2007

The Beacon Hill Institute has released their State Competitiveness Report 2007. Pennsylvania ranks 34th out of 50, based on Government and Fiscal Policy, Security, Infrastructure, Human Resources, Technology,…

Media

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Superintendent Contracts

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 18, 2007

The Altoona Mirror has put together an extensive list of information on superintendent pay and contracts for all 501 school districts (at least the 447 they obtained information from).

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Tax Free Christmas Presents

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 17, 2007

For those of you still shopping for Christmas gifts – here is a list of gift ideas, based on products that are exempt from the Pennsylvania Sales Tax: Food…

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Pension Payment Update

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 17, 2007

Update on the coming pension spike from the mid-year briefing report (page 103). Click on image for larger version.

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College affordability

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 17, 2007

Richard Vedder and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity have a new short report on the cost of college and state spending on higher education. Among the…

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52,000 New K-8 Students, 42,500 New K-8 Teachers.

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 17, 2007

Education Intelligence Agency Communique on the discrepancy between school enrollment and school hires: The National Education Association today released its annual report, Rankings and Estimates: Rankings of the…

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Turnpike CEO’s spin on I-80 tolling

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 14, 2007

Following the return of the PennDOT-PTC bid to toll I-80 (See our news release here), Turnpike CEO Brimmeier is in full spin mode. From the Post-Gazette:…

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The Gospel of Paul

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 14, 2007

Wall Street Journal’s Kimberley Strassell on the lessons of Ron Paul. Take note: “Compassionate conservatism” was a smart move on George W. Bush’s part, maybe even…

Media

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Feds Decline I-80 Toll Application (Told you so)

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 13, 2007

The FHWA has declined the state’s application to toll I-80. Paul Nussbuam in the Inquirer reports: Pennsylvania is seeking authority to toll I-80 under a federal pilot program…

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Taxpayer money for soccer?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 13, 2007

Its looking more likely that taxpayers will buy a new soccer stadium. Paris Hilton Gov. Rendell, who never has enough money to hand out: “It seems to me there…

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Pa. Senate approves “Rendell Lite”

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 13, 2007

With an easy 44-5 vote, the PA Senate approved spending $650M over 10 years on alternative energy. With this vote, Senate Republicans have drawn a line in the sand:…

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The Freshman Earmarkers

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 12, 2007

I’ve heard of the “freshmen fifteen”, but how about the freshmen $70 million? The six freshmen members of congress who have delivered the most in “earmarks” all hail from PA,…

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Turnpike Bond Attorney defends Turnpike Bonding

  • Nathan Benefield
  • December 12, 2007

The Patriot News ran Tim Carson’s defense of Act 44 today. I pointed out his six inaccurate claims in an earlier blog post, including the hilarious knee-slapper “I…

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