Nathan Benefield
Senior Vice President
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 senior vice president, 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.”
The Act 1 Farce
More bad news on Act 1 – the so-called “back-end referendum” provisions not only allows school districts to increase taxes by 3.4 to 5.5% without voter referendum, and allows…
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Renewed push on health care planned
The Patriot News reports that Governor Rendell will continue to push his health care tax. Meanwhile, other state legislatures are taking up free-market health care reform (often to fight…
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Enough money for roads and bridges?
Brett Lieberman in the Patriot News examines PA’s infrastructure needs. But unlike most coverage, Lieberman deserves credit for looking at how money is being spent, before conceding we need…
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The New Privatization
Steven Malanga in the summer City Journal offers a look the rising trend in privatization of toll roads – both existing and new construction – airports, and other infrastructure.
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How to Keep Our Bridges Safe
Stephen Malanga in todays’s Wall Street Journal on how to address the need for new transportation infrastructure: It’s unlikely that public funds alone will supply what’s needed.
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Warren Buffett to ride for free on PAT
This News Release from Rep. Matt Smith to reminds everyone that now senior citizens can ride for free at any time of day. This subsidy isn’t limited to low-income…
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The Politics of Disaster
Geoff Segal on the Reason Blog on the Minnesota bridge collapse and fixing transportation infrastructure. Here is what he had to say about our own Governor: Even Pennsylvania…
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Scarnati “Sets Record Straight”?
Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati defends tolling I-80, claiming he is “setting the record straight”. He leads off saying, “One issue that is not debatable in Pennsylvania is…
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Why do lawmakers fear competitive bidding?
Chambersburg Public Opinion on the attitudes of some lawmakers towards a Turnpike lease, now that the idea may be revisited. It seems that many lawmakers need to visit…
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Why Expanding SCHIP is a bad idea
Resources on the proposed SCHIP expansion (which would increase federal subsidies for health care for the non-poor) from: Heritage FoundationTax FoundationWashington Policy CenterNational…
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The Public Schools Edifice Complex
How much money should a school receive for a student it no longer has to educate? And, is taxpayer money being wisely spent on classroom instruction or school construction? Those…
Commentary
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Fly by night transportation plan
Remember about a month ago, when Rep. Geist received a letter from the US Department of Transporation stating that I-80 could not be tolled under the Interstate Reconstruction Program…
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School Choice Roundtable Video
Video from yesterday’s rountable discussion on school choice. Get all Commonwealth Foundation videos here…
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PDE supports limiting school spending
Pennsylvania Education Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak proposes limiting school spending, reported in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Of course he only wants to limit in for cyber schools – to $5800…
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CF on PCN
If you missed the roundtable discussion on school choice and press conference, co-hosted by the Commonwealth Foundation and REACH, in which we released our latest policy brief, there…
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Not the School Districts’ money
Lowman Henry on the attacks on cyber schools, responding to the same Patriot News article that we did yesterday. Educrats refer to funding for cyber charter schools…
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Friedman’s Legacy
Thomas Siems in today’s Wall Street Journal on the legacy of Milton Friedman – as today would have been his 95th birthday. Along with the REACH Foundation, we…
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Remember in November of ’08
“The ‘reform movement’ in the Pennsylvania Legislature is dead,” writes Brad Bumsted, who ask us all to “Remember, remember the 5th of November…” Okay, so I think Brad is…
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The Ugly Truth About Canadian Health Care
Good read about Canadian health care(and other single-payer systems) by David Gratzer in the latest edition of City Journal.
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Online schools’ surpluses criticized
Today’s Patriot News features another article repeating the misinformed and overblown criticism of cyber schools – worrying about the 0.8% of school district spending that goes to educate students…
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With I-80 tolling roadblocked, take a look at turnpike leasing
Patriot News Editorial in favor of taking another look (in the case of some lawmakers, actually looking at) a Turnpike lease.
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