Nathan Benefield
Chief Policy Officer
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.”
Republicans Can Win on Health Care
Karl Rove in the Wall Street Journal on some free market health care reforms. While Rove’s prescription contains much of the same reforms we suggested here and…
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Legislation on building wind farms encouraged
Patriot News Article on the debate over wind as a viable energy alternative. The headline is somewhat misleading, as the primary focus is on groups “encouraging” legislation that would…
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More Resources on Energy
Here are a couple of resources on energy policy I forgot to include in my previous post: Energy, Environment and Economics: A Guide for State Legislators – ALEC…
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Free Markets vs. Socialized Medicine
John Goodman on Hillary Clinton’s new health care propsal, along with comments on John Stossel’s latest special on health care, which aired on Friday. Also check out…
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Readings on Energy
As the General Assembly begins a special session on energy (and it looks like the debate is only on how much to borrow and spend on corporate welfare grants),…
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Merit pay for teachers begins to earn high grades
USA Today commentary on the success of teacher merit pay in Denver and elsewhere.
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Legislators back away from I-80 toll plan
Morning Call coverage of state lawmakers unhappy with Act 44 (Tolling I-80) and calling for going back to the drawing board. I respect this admission from the Rendell…
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PA Health Survey Results
The PA Department of Health released results on a survey of health (Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System). What does this tell us? Their main finding was:…
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Sick Sob Stories
John Stossel in today’s Wall Street Journal on American health care and Michael Moore’s Sicko. When government is in charge of health care, the result…
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Biofuels may harm more than help
OECD report says that Ethanol and Biodiesel aren’t the holy grail that Gov. Rendell thinks they are: “When acidification, fertilizer use, biodiversity loss and toxicity of agricultural pesticides…
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There IS enough funding for roads and bridges
Sixty-three Senators believe there is enough federal funding for roads and bridges to also fund the “International Peace Garden” in Dunseith, North Dakota; “America’s Wetland Center” in Lake Charles, Louisiana;…
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Read More: There IS enough funding for roads and bridges
Cyberschools and AYP
Lancaster Intelligencer Journal on cyber schools academic performance and area schools. The article cites our Edifice Complex report– particularly fact about cyber students coming disproportionately from underperforming school…
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Who are the judges?
A Reposting – for those of you who are neither lawyers or criminals and are looking for more info about the judicial candidates, here are various surveys/voter guides. Democracy…
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Pork or Bridge Repairs
The Club For Growth and Americans for Prosperity are blogging on Senator Tom Coburn’s effort to remove pork projects from transportation funding. Read more on transportation pork…
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PA Chief Justice to retire at year’s end
Chief Justice Cappy will retire at the end of the year. Apparently, even he just isn’t paid well enough to finish his term.
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English offers new remedy to tolling of I-80
Congressman Phil English is proposing to ban tolls on all existing federal freeways, similar to a proposal introduced by Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. We don’t think that is…
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Are 37 million really poor?
Robert Rector Q&A on the latest poverty numbers: When you look at the people who John Edwards insists are poor, what you find is that the overwhelming…
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Consumerism and High-Cost Health Care
Health Hog on the idea that individual consumers can’t be allowed to make choices in major health care decision (which leads to the idea that government agents need to…
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Falling Bridges: The Nation Doesn’t Face a Crisis
John and Maxim Lott in the NY Post take on the “crisis” in bridges. They note that “structurally deficient” bridges have little or nothing to do with a likelihood…
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Health Care Reform: Diagnose, Then Prescribe
Following the latest Census Bureau report that 47 million Americans are without health insurance, the talking heads and newspaper editorial boards are renewing their call for “something to…
Commentary
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Fumo still doesn’t like Turnpike Lease idea
Patriot News article cites Vince Fumo as evidence that legislators don’t like the idea of a Turnpike lease. As Fumo put it, the turnpike “is what it is,…
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Read More: Fumo still doesn’t like Turnpike Lease idea