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.”
Government Accountability
Pa. Teachers Forced to Pay for Wisconsin Politics
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 PoliticsRegulation
Senate Seeks to End Generational Theft
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 TheftState Budget
Appropriations Chair Endorses Spending Limits
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 LimitsEducation
Readers Ask, We Answer: Education Spending
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 SpendingEducation
$27B + $15K = What?
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
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 TaxpayersPublic Union Democracy
Pennsylvania’s Pension Iceberg
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 IcebergEducation
Chart: School District Fund Balances Nearly Tripled in 14 Years
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 YearsRegulation
Taxpayers Screaming at PLCB Waste
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 WasteState Budget
State Budget vs Spending Limits
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 LimitsState Budget
Chart of the Day: General Fund Spending and Revenue
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 RevenueState Budget
Why Pennsylvania Needs Spending Limits
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 LimitsState Budget
This is the Change You’ve Been Looking For
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 ForState Budget
Good April Tax Collections, but State is Spending More Than Revenue
Two new reports show that Pennsylvania’s fiscal crunch for the current year is not a dire as previously thought. Pa. Department of Revenue monthly reports on tax collections shows…
Media
Read More: Good April Tax Collections, but State is Spending More Than RevenueState Budget
GAO Sounds the Fiscal Alarm on State Medicaid Costs
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 CostsEducation
Chart of the Day: Pennsylvania School Revenue per Student
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 StudentGovernment Accountability
The Left’s Latest Witch Hunt
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 HuntPublic Union Democracy
Union Party Speaks: Defend Union Agenda
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 AgendaState Budget
Chart of the Day: Pennsylvania State Debt Payments
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.
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Read More: Chart of the Day: Pennsylvania State Debt PaymentsGovernment Accountability
Think Government Union Dues aren’t Used for Politics? Think Again
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 AgainRegulation
Schools Get Property Tax Referendum Exemptions for Pension Costs
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…
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Read More: Schools Get Property Tax Referendum Exemptions for Pension Costs