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
Coverage of Ted Nugent at LiveFreePA
Some coverage of our inaugural Live Free PA event featuring Ted Nugent. Lancaster Online: Open Season: Guitarist Ted Nugent rocks local crowd with riffs on gun control and…
Media
Read More: Coverage of Ted Nugent at LiveFreePATaxes & Economy
Should State Taxpayers Fund Television
Governor Rendell has proposed cutting funding for the Pennsylvania Public Television Network (about $12 million) from the state budget for next year. This has obviously led those who receive taxpayer…
Media
Read More: Should State Taxpayers Fund Television
Club for Growth Congressional Scorecard
The Club for Growth has released its 2008 Congressional Scorecard of votes on key economic, pro growth legislation. Click here for the breakdown of roll call votes by…
Media
Read More: Club for Growth Congressional ScorecardTaxes & Economy
Financial Bailout Oversight & Transparency – Failure
Story from CNN Money covers testimony from the special inspector overseeing the TARP program, i.e. the financial bailout (HT Brian Ellis): Barofsky said his top concern was…
Media
Read More: Financial Bailout Oversight & Transparency – FailurePublic Union Democracy
PA’s Prevailing Wage Law – Abused and Misused
A federal court today issued an injunction against the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (L&I) in its effort to “debar” the firm Worth & Company from bidding on…
Media
Read More: PA’s Prevailing Wage Law – Abused and Misused
PA House Rejects Cell Phone Ban
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted down an amendment that would ban (subject to a $50 fine) using hand-held cell phones while driving, follow a debate of several hours.
Media
Read More: PA House Rejects Cell Phone BanTaxes & Economy
Obama’s Joke: “Cut $100 Million from the Federal Budget”
President Obama has told his cabinet he want to them to cut $100 million from the federal budget to demonstrate fiscal responsibility. While $100 million is certainly a lot…
Media
Read More: Obama’s Joke: “Cut $100 Million from the Federal Budget”Government Accountability
Audit: PA Not Ready for Stimulus Oversight
Auditor General Jack Wagner believes Pennsylvania is ill-suited to provide transparency and oversight on the stimulus money coming to the state in a letter he sent to the federal Government…
Media
Read More: Audit: PA Not Ready for Stimulus OversightTaxes & Economy
Energy Facts and Myths
The Manhattan Institute has release an new edition of their publication, Energy and the Environment: Facts and Myths. A great tool for both interested citizens and for policy makers,…
Media
Read More: Energy Facts and MythsTaxes & Economy
Polling on Tea Parties
Rasmussen has an interesting poll on people’s attitudes toward recent tea parties (top line results), finding that 51% of respondents have favorable views of Tea Parties (vs 33%…
Media
Read More: Polling on Tea PartiesTaxes & Economy
The Un-Silent Majority
Nearly 10,000 Pennsylvanians rallied on Tax Day, April 15th, against wasteful government spending, high and rising taxes, and burgeoning government debt and deficits. The nonpartisan, anti-establishment “Tea Parties” were held…
Commentary
Read More: The Un-Silent MajorityState Budget
Murtha Gets Earmark for Murtha Airport
This has been making the rounds, but the Washington Post has a detailed article about how Congressman Jack Murtha has gotten hundreds of millions of dollars over the years,…
Media
Read More: Murtha Gets Earmark for Murtha AirportRegulation
Privatizing PA’s Liquor Stores
State Sen. Rob Wonderling is starting again to push for the privatization of Pennsylvania’s state-owned liquor stores. Here is Sen. Wonderling’s commentary on privatizing the state stores from…
Media
Read More: Privatizing PA’s Liquor StoresGovernment Accountability
Government Spending Databases are Cheap
The Mercatus Center has a new analysis on the cost of state spending databases showing that it typically costs far less to produce online websites tracking government spending than…
Media
Read More: Government Spending Databases are CheapGovernment Accountability
Schroder Bills to Save PA Taxpayers Over $600 Million
State Rep. Curt Schroder has unveiled a number of legislative proposals which, by his estimates would save Pennsylvania taxpayers well over $600 million annually. House Bill 1056…
Media
Read More: Schroder Bills to Save PA Taxpayers Over $600 MillionTaxes & Economy
Even more on taxes, spending, and the stimulus
Americans for Tax Reform has a new fact page on “Tax Bites” – showing how much taxes take up for the cost of goods and services we buy, from…
Media
Read More: Even more on taxes, spending, and the stimulusHealth Care
Facts About the Uninsured
Keith Hennessey has a great post breaking down the number of people lacking health insurance, finding that only a small number of the reported 46 million uninsured are those…
Media
Read More: Facts About the UninsuredTaxes & Economy
More on Taxes, Taxes, Taxes
The Tax Foundation has released a recent poll on voters’ attitudes toward taxes. Not surprisingly, 56% say that taxes are “too high” (vs. 2% saying they are too low). …
Media
Read More: More on Taxes, Taxes, TaxesTaxes & Economy
Harrisburg Tea Party Attracts Estimated 2000
An estimated 2,000 protesters showed up for the tea party in Harrisburg. Not only was the crowd impressive, but the number of food items collected for Bethesda…
Media
Read More: Harrisburg Tea Party Attracts Estimated 2000Taxes & Economy
Taxes, Taxes, Taxes
Here are some good resources on taxes: 1) Freedomworks has a new site, Scrap the Code, highlighting the flaws in the complex tax code, and calling for a simpler…
Media
Read More: Taxes, Taxes, TaxesTaxes & Economy
Twenty-seven Pennsylvania Cities to Host Tea Parties
By my count, 27 cities will be hosting “tea parties” tomorrow, April 15, in protest of high taxes and wasteful government spending (an additional five events will be taking…
Media
Read More: Twenty-seven Pennsylvania Cities to Host Tea Parties