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

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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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Fairness

Voter ID Constitutional Amendment

  • January 16, 2023

Key Points Voter ID requirements improve election integrity, while voter turnout increases, without impacting election outcomes.Pennsylvania voters support Voter ID requirements by a wide margin, with support across all regions…

Backgrounder

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Criminal Justice Reform

Removing Barriers to Work for Ex-Offenders

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • August 15, 2018

Pennsylvania has a 3-year recidivism rate of nearly 61 percent. Research shows one of the most critical components of successful re-entry is a job. But for 255…

Memo

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Criminal Justice Reform

Another Step Towards Reducing Barriers to Work

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • July 23, 2018

Pennsylvania licenses over 250 occupations, creating unnecessary bureaucracy and obstacles to good paying jobs. Across the country states like Arizona, Michigan, Rhode Island, and Nebraska are eliminating licensure requirements…

Media

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Health Care

What’s the Goal of Welfare Reform?

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • April 6, 2018

Pennsylvania's welfare system focuses on how much one needs to “get by” or how many different services and programs one can qualify for. These are well-intentioned attitudes that stem from…

Media

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Education

Education Savings Accounts Across the Country

  • James Paul
  • February 17, 2017

The movement to provide children with better education is building momentum in 2017 as education savings accounts (ESA) advance in nearly a dozen states. Legislation has been filed in…

Media

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Regulation

PA Tops in Corporate Welfare

  • May 14, 2014

Pennsylvania’s system of economic development subsidies costs taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually, yet this spending does little to promote overall job growth. Given the state’s fiscal hurdles,…

Media

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State Budget

The Case for Corbett’s Tax Reform

  • Nathan Benefield
  • June 13, 2013

Combined with the federal tax rate, Pennsylvania businesses pay the second highest tax on their profits in the entire industrialized world.

Commentary

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