Public Union Democracy

Government Union Contracts Increase Again

  • August 22, 2023

Summary Pennsylvania elected officials routinely and secretly negotiate billion-dollar labor contracts with government union leaders from whom they often receive political donations. These labor contracts are a major cost of…

Fact Sheet

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Criminal Justice Reform

Juvenile Justice Reform

  • Jessica Barnett
  • August 3, 2022

Key Points The Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice Task Force (Task Force) found most youth entering the juvenile justice system committed low-level offenses and are “low risk to reoffend.”[1]Studies…

Backgrounder

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Health Care

Preserving Medicaid Before It’s Too Late

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • September 24, 2020

Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program is a national leader in all the wrong ways. Sub-standard access to care and soaring enrollment, costs, and fraud crowd out services for people with intellectual disabilities and low-income…

Backgrounder

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Health Care

Where Have All the Human Service Dollars Gone?

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • February 10, 2020

Nearly half of Pennsylvania's budget goes to human services or welfare. Governor Wolf wants to increase human service spending by $1.4 billion next year. But how well are these programs…

Commentary

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Taxes & Economy

Feds Restore Foodstamp Rules: Providing a Pathway to Independence

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • December 6, 2019

Pennsylvanians are experiencing the lowest unemployment rates on record and wages are rising, including wages at the lower end of the pay scale. Across the country 16 states have restored…

Media

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Taxes & Economy

New Evidence Shows Work is the Path to Prosperity

  • Jessica Barnett
  • March 29, 2019

Poverty and unemployment are vicious cycles. The longer you remain unemployed, the harder it is to find work—and poverty becomes more entrenched. As the Urban Institute puts it, “long-term…

Media

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Criminal Justice Reform

Today’s Opportunities in the Spirit of King

  • Lenny McAllister
  • January 21, 2019

It’s been a shame that we’ve collectively spent so much time this month talking about the wrong King (Rep. Steve King) and views that harken back to our worst…

Media

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Health Care

Arkansas Latest to Demonstrate Power of Work Over Poverty

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • January 17, 2019

Once again, incomes are rising, tax revenue is up, and welfare enrollment is shrinking thanks to work requirements. A recent analysis from the Foundation for Government Accountability finds Arkansas’s…

Media

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Taxes & Economy

Trump Administration’s Food Stamp Changes Could Affect 59 Pa. Counties

  • December 20, 2018

Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced plans to strengthen existing work requirements for work-capable adults in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or food stamps). The rule change…

Press Release

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