Public Union Democracy

Political Power of Public Sector Unions

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 20, 2009

The Weekly Standard has a good piece on the growing political power of public sector unions, with a short history lesson, and many of the consequences (e.g.

Media

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Government Accountability

Pennsylvanians Divided by Soda

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 10, 2009

Pennsylvanians seem divided by geography on a key debate. No, not the state budget, or national health care (well, those too), but on whether it should be called ‘Soda’, or…

Media

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State Budget

The Best And Worst Ways To Eliminate A Budget Deficit

  • Matthew Brouillette
  • October 5, 2009

John Nothdurft of The Heartland Institute wrote this last February… Anybody listening in Harrisburg? Legislatures in at least 39 states will have to take steps by the end of…

Media

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Education

Government Takeover: The Student Loan Industry

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • September 22, 2009

Last week the US House voted to prohibit private lenders from issuing government backed loans. The bill amounts to a government takeover of the student loan industry complete with…

Media

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Regulation

Smoking Ban Puts Damper on PA Taverns

  • September 15, 2009

A recent article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette highlights the burden the statewide smoking ban has on Pennsylvania bars and taverns. According to the Pennsylvania Tavern Association, there were…

Media

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Government Accountability

Legislative Staff and Term Limits

  • Nathan Benefield
  • September 10, 2009

Following up on our blog post and Brad Bumsted’s article about Pennsylvania having the most legislative staff, I took another look at the…

Media

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RIP Rose Friedman

  • Nathan Benefield
  • August 18, 2009

Here is a statement from our friends at the REACH Foundation on the passing of Rose Friedman yesterday: Rose Director Friedman passed away today, Tuesday, August 18, 2009,…

Media

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Taxes & Economy

Electricity Restructuring and Rate Caps

  • July 30, 2009

With electricity rate caps expiring, state lawmakers are concerned that Pennsylvanians will see steep increases in their utility bills. What will happen as the electricity deregulation, which is more accurately…

Fact Sheet

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Taxes & Economy

Why Pennsylvania Should Not Build High-Speed Rail

  • July 23, 2009

Last week, Gov. Rendell submitted an application to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a share of the $8 billion of stimulus money Congress allocated for high-speed rail. This raises…

Commentary

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