Nathan Benefield

Nathan Benefield

Senior Vice President

Nathan (Nate) Benefield is the Senior Vice President 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 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.”

Government Accountability

Ghost voting still taking place in Pennsylvania House

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 8, 2008

Both Grassroots PA and Capitol Ideas have made note of yesterday’s PA House vote in which Republican leader Sam Smith noted some lawmakers were “voting” while they weren’t…

Media

Read More: Ghost voting still taking place in Pennsylvania House

Taxes & Economy

“Deregulation” and a “Great Depression”

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 7, 2008

While you listen to Matt Brouillette ( to chat with Matt and listeners on TalkShoe click here) discuss the bailout and the causes of the financial “crisis”, here…

Media

Read More: “Deregulation” and a “Great Depression”

Taxes & Economy

Tax Increase Coming to Pennsylvania

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 7, 2008

State Senators Gib Armstrong and Vince Fumo are both projecting a massive budget deficit ($2.5 billion according to Fumo) and believe that the only way to pay for it is with…

Media

Read More: Tax Increase Coming to Pennsylvania

Taxes & Economy

Pennsylvania’s Business Tax Climate below average

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 7, 2008

The Tax Foundation has released its latest State Business Tax Climate Index. Pennsylvania ranks a middling 28th on the index, which takes into account five factors (listed in order…

Media

Read More: Pennsylvania’s Business Tax Climate below average

State Budget

How much of a budget deficit is Pennsylvania facing?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 6, 2008

Capitolwire.com is reporting that there is a top-secret memo from one of the four legislative caucuses estimating that Pennsylvania is facing a potential $2.5 billion budget deficit going into…

Media

Read More: How much of a budget deficit is Pennsylvania facing?

Health Care

McCain’s Health Care Tax Credit

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 5, 2008

Following Joe Biden’s claim that McCain’s health care plan will result in millions of workers being dropped from employers’ health care plans a number of free-market thinkers have rebutted. …

Media

Read More: McCain’s Health Care Tax Credit

Taxes & Economy

Are bailout proponents con artists?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 3, 2008

In addition to the rhetoric that we need a bailout now, or we will face a great depression (which has been debunked), bailout proponents are selling the idea…

Media

Read More: Are bailout proponents con artists?

Health Care

Health care in US and Canada compared

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 3, 2008

I doubt this will surprise regular readers of this blog, but Canada’s single payer health system isn’t all that Michael Moore makes it out to be. From a new…

Media

Read More: Health care in US and Canada compared

Taxes & Economy

How Government Stoked the Mania

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 3, 2008

Great read in the Wall Street Journal on How Government Stoked the Mania, starting with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and later how the Community Reinvestment Act, and the…

Media

Read More: How Government Stoked the Mania

Health Care

RendellCare 3.0

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 2, 2008

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has revised his proposal to increase government spending and eligibility for health insurance yet again. The latest edition has lowered the cost of the program…

Media

Read More: RendellCare 3.0

Health Care

McCain is Right on Interstate Health Insurance

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 2, 2008

Merrill Matthews in the Wall Street Journal writes that John McCain’s plan to allow individuals and small businesses to buy insurance across state lines – a policy championed in…

Media

Read More: McCain is Right on Interstate Health Insurance

Government Accountability

Constitutional Convention in IL gets a boost

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 2, 2008

The Illinois Constitutional Convention ballot question, discussed in a previous post, got a couple of boosts in the last week. First came news that the Cook County Assessor…

Media

Read More: Constitutional Convention in IL gets a boost

Taxes & Economy

That’s our General Assembly

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 2, 2008

With a budget deficit and possible tax increase looming, federal denial of I-80 tolling opening up a gap in transportation funding (and the Turnpike Commission borrowing against future…

Media

Read More: That’s our General Assembly

Taxes & Economy

Free market groups opposing bailout

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 1, 2008

A coalition of 27 organizations, including the Commonwealth Foundation, have signed on to an open letter to US Senators put together by NTU in opposition to the $700…

Media

Read More: Free market groups opposing bailout

State Budget

PA Budget Deficit Growing

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 1, 2008

The latest Pennsylvania Revenue Department report indicates that collections were $160 million below estimates in September, and $280 million below for the fiscal year which began in July.

Media

Read More: PA Budget Deficit Growing

Regulation

Convention Center no economic savior

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 1, 2008

Post-Gazette looks at the failure of the $373 million Pittsburgh convention center to create an economic boom – or even to outdraw the old convention center (HT: Grassroots…

Media

Read More: Convention Center no economic savior

Taxes & Economy

Not facing a Great Depression

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 1, 2008

Here are a couple of good articles on the bailout (and the rhetoric in favor of it) by Cato scholars. Alan Reynolds writes that “saying we’re in for another…

Media

Read More: Not facing a Great Depression

Health Care

Converting Medicaid into Premium Assistance

  • Nathan Benefield
  • September 30, 2008

The Heritage Foundation has a new backgrounder (click here for PDF) on how states can convert Medicaid spending into premium assistance for insurance – a proposal which would…

Media

Read More: Converting Medicaid into Premium Assistance

Health Care

Bailing Out Massachusetts

  • Nathan Benefield
  • September 30, 2008

The Foundry Blog of the Heritage Foundation has discovered that the federal government will “bail out” Massachusetts troubled health care plan (e.g. RomneyCare) with a $4.2 billion increase…

Media

Read More: Bailing Out Massachusetts

Taxes & Economy

Root causes of the financial “crisis”

  • Nathan Benefield
  • September 30, 2008

I attended a conference late last week feature a number of economists, and was surprised to discover a great deal of disagreement about what caused the “crisis” in the financial…

Media

Read More: Root causes of the financial “crisis”