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.”

Regulation

The Perplexing Problem with Pensions

  • Nathan Benefield
  • September 5, 2013

Traditional pensions are plagued by their dependence on guesswork—estimates on economic growth, employee behavior, and investment return—writes Grove City economist Mark Hendrickson in a recent piece. The errors in…

Media

Read More: The Perplexing Problem with Pensions

Public Union Democracy

“Money in Politics” Fosters Big Government

  • Nathan Benefield
  • September 3, 2013

You probably hear a lot about “money in politics,” but rarely do pundits correctly identify the largest source of special interest political spending.  According to a new report, big labor…

Media

Read More: “Money in Politics” Fosters Big Government

Health Care

Want to Help the Poor? Don’t Expand Medicaid

  • Elizabeth Stelle, Nathan Benefield
  • August 29, 2013

Yesterday, we talked about why Michigan’s plan to expand Medicaid was a bad deal for taxpayers. But expansion is a bad deal for patients too. Advocates of expansion make…

Media

Read More: Want to Help the Poor? Don’t Expand Medicaid

Health Care

Michigan’s Medicaid Mistake

  • Elizabeth Stelle, Nathan Benefield
  • August 28, 2013

Michigan’s decision to expand Medicaid leaves Pennsylvania and four other states to decide if putting more individuals into a government program is the best way to offer “affordable health…

Media

Read More: Michigan’s Medicaid Mistake

Criminal Justice Reform

Obama Learns from Pa. on Corrections Reform

  • Nathan Benefield
  • August 13, 2013

Criminal justice policy that offers less spending, lower crime and improved outcomes for offenders—too good to be true? Actually, that is the result of recent corrections reforms in…

Media

Read More: Obama Learns from Pa. on Corrections Reform

Health Care

Medicaid Abuse Shows Downside of Expansion

  • Nathan Benefield
  • August 12, 2013

New polling shows 70 percent of Pennsylvania voters think we need to address waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid before expanding the program.  A perusal of the news explains…

Media

Read More: Medicaid Abuse Shows Downside of Expansion

Public Union Democracy

Government Unions Break Cities

  • Nathan Benefield
  • July 30, 2013

An article in today’s Wall Street Journal illustrates how government union leaders halted any reforms that may have prevented Detroit’s bankruptcy: A major expense for Detroit is the…

Media

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Regulation

Liquor Privatization Saves Lives?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • July 22, 2013

A little more than one year ago, Washington state privatized its liquor stores (and liquor wholesale operations). As we’ve noted before, both sales and tax revenue increased under privatization.

Media

Read More: Liquor Privatization Saves Lives?

Regulation

“Failure” Leads to Downgrade for Pennsylvania

  • Nathan Benefield
  • July 17, 2013

This latest look at Pennsylvania’s fiscal house shows the urgency of pension reform and spending restraint. Fitch Ratings yesterday downgraded Pennsylvania’s bond rating.  This effectively sends a sign to…

Media

Read More: “Failure” Leads to Downgrade for Pennsylvania

Public Union Democracy

Government Unions Torpedo Agenda

  • Nathan Benefield
  • July 3, 2013

The state budget deadline came and went without passage of any of the “Big Three” policy items—liquor store privatization, pension reform, or transportation tax and fee increases. It was clear…

Media

Read More: Government Unions Torpedo Agenda

Regulation

Podcast: Where Does Pension Reform Stand?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • June 28, 2013

On this BOX Program podcast, Representative Fred Keller (R) 85th District, joins Nathan Benefield to break down what’s been happening in the legislature on pension reform. Both the House and…

Media

Read More: Podcast: Where Does Pension Reform Stand?

Regulation

Pension Reform Benefits Workers and Taxpayers

  • Nathan Benefield
  • June 27, 2013

Pennsylvania’s two main government worker pension systems, the Public School Employee Retirement System (PSERS) and the State Employee Retirement System (SERS), together have more tha than $47 billion in unfunded…

Media

Read More: Pension Reform Benefits Workers and Taxpayers

Government Accountability

Mailbag: That “Delaware Loophole” Thingamajig

  • Nathan Benefield
  • June 26, 2013

A few readers responded to my op-ed on corporate tax reform, asking “If you want fairness, why don’t you support ‘ending the Delaware Loophole’?” Unfortunately, many believe that the…

Media

Read More: Mailbag: That “Delaware Loophole” Thingamajig

Regulation

Putting Pension Projections in Perspective

  • Nathan Benefield
  • June 25, 2013

Critics of pension reform cite certain actuarial reports claiming that shifting new employees to a defined contribution plan (like a 401(k) in the private sector) will actually cost taxpayers more. …

Media

Read More: Putting Pension Projections in Perspective

Education

6 Trends in Public School Spending

  • Nathan Benefield, Priya Brannick
  • June 24, 2013

The Pennsylvania Department of Education recently updated files from public schools’ annual financial reports and enrollment reports. Here are six key trends from those data.

Memo

Read More: 6 Trends in Public School Spending

Health Care

Budget Could Transform Pa., For Good or Ill

  • Nathan Benefield
  • June 21, 2013

About one week remains for lawmakers to finalize a state budget. But along with a spending plan, a number of major policy reforms remain in the mix. The outcomes of…

Media

Read More: Budget Could Transform Pa., For Good or Ill

Public Union Democracy

Nation Laughs at Pennsylvania

  • Nathan Benefield
  • June 20, 2013

The state government liquor store union is once again running ads showing a young girl at a funeral mourning a parent killed by a drunk driver, then claiming this will…

Media

Read More: Nation Laughs at Pennsylvania

Regulation

Podcast: Fixing Public Pensions

  • Nathan Benefield
  • June 19, 2013

Two new BOX Program podcasts offer illuminating insight into our public pension crisis and how lawmakers can help fix the broken system. First, Matt talks with former Utah State…

Media

Read More: Podcast: Fixing Public Pensions

State Budget

The Case for Corbett’s Tax Reform

  • Nathan Benefield
  • June 13, 2013

Combined with the federal tax rate, Pennsylvania businesses pay the second highest tax on their profits in the entire industrialized world.

Commentary

Read More: The Case for Corbett’s Tax Reform

Regulation

Goverment Middleman Bad for Consumers

  • Nathan Benefield
  • June 12, 2013

The Scranton Times Tribune has an excellent editorial explaining that the state government monopoly over liquor wholesale is just a bad as its monopoly over wine and spirits retail…

Media

Read More: Goverment Middleman Bad for Consumers