Fiscal Fallout in PA

• Common Sense Weekly
• November 8, 2025

Here’s the Commonwealth Foundation’s weekly news roundup of policy issues debated in Harrisburg and across Pennsylvania.We hope you have a great weekend! Fiscal Fallout: Pennsylvania Funding Has Spiked 64 Percent…

Blog

Education

Governor Josh Shapiro “Ain’t Got Sh*t Done”

• July 1, 2024

Overview Governor Josh Shapiro has made “Get Sh*t Done,” profanity and all, the official slogan of his administration, but when it comes to legislative accomplishments, his governing abilities have…

Fact Sheet

State Budget

Proposed Tax Cuts and the 2024 State Budget

• May 28, 2024

Key Points A responsible budget in fiscal year (FY) 2024–25 must grapple with Pennsylvania’s aging and shrinking workforce challenges through sound tax and regulatory reform. State Senate Republicans proposed two…

Fact Sheet

Regulation

Shapiro’s First Six Months Least Productive Legislatively in 50 Years

• August 8, 2023

Overview An analysis by the Commonwealth Foundation of bills signed reveals Gov. Josh Shapiro’s first six months were the least productive of any gubernatorial term in at least 50 years.

Fact Sheet

Regulation

The PLCB’s Boondoggles

• March 7, 2022

PLCB History In 1933, four days before the end of Prohibition, then-Gov. Gifford Pinchot established the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB). Pinchot created the PLCB to fill the regulatory…

Fact Sheet

Three Ways Pennsylvania Should Spend American Rescue Plan Funds

• April 7, 2021

How should the commonwealth use this massive surplus of federal dollars? The temptation might be to simply pay off our budget deficit. The IFO projects that over the next five…

Fact Sheet

The Race to Rebuild: How Pennsylvania Can Bounce Back After COVID-19

• Jessica Barnett
• January 19, 2021

Pennsylvanians continue to struggle amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and government restrictions. Small business owners face permanent closure, children’s schooling is in disarray, and job seekers have few prospects. Families need…

Report

How to Balance the Budget: Revenue Options

• Andrew Abramczyk
• October 2, 2020

Pennsylvania’s partial-year budget to fund the government through November relied on federal emergency aid to patch a prospective deficit. The state cannot count on such extra resources in the future.

Backgrounder

Health Care

Policy Recommendations to Fight COVID-19 in Pennsylvania

• March 24, 2020

As Pennsylvania faces its greatest crisis in decades, it is imperative that legislators take the lead and enact key heath care, education, and budget reforms to help Pennsylvania families and small…

Fact Sheet