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.”

Government Accountability

Pa. Teachers Forced to Pay for Wisconsin Politics

  • Nathan Benefield
  • June 5, 2012

Want to find out how the Pennsylvania State Education Association is spending teachers’ dues?  You chould check out the state of Wisconsin’s campaign finance disclosure site. That’s right, the…

Media

Read More: Pa. Teachers Forced to Pay for Wisconsin Politics

Regulation

Senate Seeks to End Generational Theft

  • Nathan Benefield, Richard Dreyfuss
  • May 31, 2012

This week, Senate Majority Whip Pat Browne, Sen. Mike Brubaker, Senate Appropriations Chair Jake Corman, and Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi announced plans to introduce pension reform legislation. The…

Media

Read More: Senate Seeks to End Generational Theft

State Budget

Appropriations Chair Endorses Spending Limits

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 31, 2012

Last week in his remarks at the Pennsylvania Press Club, Sen. Jake Corman endorsed the idea of spending limits for Pennsylvania state government. Corman expressed support for Sen. Mike Folmer’s proposed…

Media

Read More: Appropriations Chair Endorses Spending Limits

Education

Readers Ask, We Answer: Education Spending

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 30, 2012

A reader asked us to help clarify the claims of Yinzercation blog on state education subsidies. The blogger claims the Corbett administration is being disingenuous about state K-12 education…

Media

Read More: Readers Ask, We Answer: Education Spending

Education

$27B + $15K = What?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 29, 2012

The Pennsylvania Department of Education recently released school financial data for the 2010-11 school year. The latest data shows public school spending and revenue increased yet again in 2011,…

Media

Read More: $27B + $15K = What?

Public Union Democracy

The Booze Business is a Lose Business for Taxpayers

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 24, 2012

I heard on the radio this week another ridiculous ad against allowing retail stores to sell wine or liquor, funded by UFCW dues to play on stations across…

Media

Read More: The Booze Business is a Lose Business for Taxpayers

Public Union Democracy

Pennsylvania’s Pension Iceberg

  • Nathan Benefield, Richard Dreyfuss
  • May 21, 2012

Laura Olson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a story on the crisis in Pennsylvania’s public pensions, and Gov. Corbett injecting pension reform into the budget discussion: Even with…

Media

Read More: Pennsylvania’s Pension Iceberg

Education

Chart: School District Fund Balances Nearly Tripled in 14 Years

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 17, 2012

PA Independent reported on Monday that Pennsylvania school districts’ fund balances reached $3.2 billion in 2011 (they compiled the data from the PA Department of Education’s (PDE)…

Media

Read More: Chart: School District Fund Balances Nearly Tripled in 14 Years

Regulation

Taxpayers Screaming at PLCB Waste

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 17, 2012

Another day, another story of waste at the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. ABC 27’s Dennis Owens reports on the PLCB buying extravagant wine, then selling it at a discount…

Media

Read More: Taxpayers Screaming at PLCB Waste

State Budget

State Budget vs Spending Limits

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 14, 2012

Last week, the Pennsylvania State Senate passed a budget representing $27.66 in General Fund spending. How does that stack up against inflation and population growth? If…

Media

Read More: State Budget vs Spending Limits

State Budget

Chart of the Day: General Fund Spending and Revenue

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 9, 2012

Yesterday, the Pa. Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a budget (the full Senate is expected to vote on it today) that includes $27.65 billion in General Fund spending. Unfortunately, this…

Media

Read More: Chart of the Day: General Fund Spending and Revenue

State Budget

Why Pennsylvania Needs Spending Limits

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 8, 2012

In a Capitolwire story (subscription), Senate Appropriations Chair Jake Corman notes that the proposed version of the state budget the Senate will take up this week increases spending by…

Media

Read More: Why Pennsylvania Needs Spending Limits

State Budget

This is the Change You’ve Been Looking For

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 7, 2012

I had the opportunity to hear Scott Rasmussen speak last week. The theme of his speech was “change”—as in how policy change happens. The lesson he gave was that policy…

Media

Read More: This is the Change You’ve Been Looking For

State Budget

GAO Sounds the Fiscal Alarm on State Medicaid Costs

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 26, 2012

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has a new report on state and local government finances. Of greatest concern are the expected increases in Medicaid spending and health care for…

Media

Read More: GAO Sounds the Fiscal Alarm on State Medicaid Costs

Education

Chart of the Day: Pennsylvania School Revenue per Student

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 23, 2012

Critics of state spending cuts claim there is a lack of funding for public schools. But from the 1995-96 school year through 2009-10 (the latest year with data available…

Media

Read More: Chart of the Day: Pennsylvania School Revenue per Student

Government Accountability

The Left’s Latest Witch Hunt

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 20, 2012

The Wall Street Journal and Pennsylvania Independent both feature stories about attacks from leftist groups against the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The free-market association of state lawmakers…

Media

Read More: The Left’s Latest Witch Hunt

Public Union Democracy

Union Party Speaks: Defend Union Agenda

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 16, 2012

We’ve mentioned many times that the real party controlling the Pennsylvania legislature is not the Republican Party, but rather the Union Party. Today, in a story by the Pittsburgh…

Media

Read More: Union Party Speaks: Defend Union Agenda

State Budget

Chart of the Day: Pennsylvania State Debt Payments

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 12, 2012

The chart of the day shows the growth in Pennsylvania General Fund Debt service over the past decade: from $350 million in fiscal year 2002-03 to $1.1 billion in Gov.

Media

Read More: Chart of the Day: Pennsylvania State Debt Payments

Government Accountability

Think Government Union Dues aren’t Used for Politics? Think Again

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 10, 2012

Government unions often defend their dues—and the fact that taxpayers subsidize the collection of dues—by claiming dues cannot be used for politics. That is not the case. Union dues cannot…

Media

Read More: Think Government Union Dues aren’t Used for Politics? Think Again

Regulation

Schools Get Property Tax Referendum Exemptions for Pension Costs

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 4, 2012

Last year, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed, and Gov. Corbett signed, legislation reducing the number of exemptions to the school tax referendum requirement. But as noted this…

Media

Read More: Schools Get Property Tax Referendum Exemptions for Pension Costs