State Budget

How to Balance the State Budget without Raising Taxes in a Pandemic

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • November 6, 2020

Reducing spending to reflect how the pandemic impacted state agencies and balance the budget without tax hikes or borrowing is the first step. Without additional structural spending changes laid out in…

Backgrounder

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Public Union Democracy

Resigning from a Government Union is No Easy Task

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • July 31, 2018

Want to join a union? Easy, just sign on the dotted line. Want to leave a union? Sharpen your research skills, because it's no easy task. This fact was made…

Media

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Regulation

Employee Compensation Drives Spending Growth

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 21, 2017

PennLive released a list of state government employees earning more than $100,000 in salary today. While the list should open some eyes, it doesn’t capture the full cost of…

Media

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Government Accountability

New Labor Contracts Will Add to Taxpayers’ Burden

  • Nathan Benefield
  • September 28, 2016

New union contracts will make state government more expensive, according to two analyses released by the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO). The IFO projects contracts negotiated by the Wolf Administration…

Media

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Government Accountability

Transparency Improves the Collective Bargaining Process

  • September 1, 2016

On August 30, Secretary of Administration Sharon Minnich announced the details of a new three-year labor agreement between the Wolf Administration and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal…

Media

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Regulation

Addressing the Confusion on Compensation

  • February 23, 2016

Yesterday we issued a press release on public employee compensation, which is now causing quite a stir on social media. One commenter accused us of engaging in “shenanigans.” Another…

Media

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Regulation

Secret Contracts Push State Worker Costs Near $100K Each

  • February 22, 2016

Secret Contracts Push State Worker Costs Near $100K Each Benefit Costs Tripled Since 2000 February 22, 2016, HARRISBURG, Pa.—As Gov. Wolf calls for a record-high $80 billion…

Press Release

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Education

Redesigning Government to Balance State and Local Budgets

  • February 8, 2016

Pennsylvania taxpayers shoulder the 15th highest state and local tax burden in the country. Consequently, the Keystone State has seen an exodus of working people. Unsustainable growth in…

Memo

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Government Accountability

Collective Bargaining Transparency

  • March 17, 2015

Government union contract negotiations can have far reaching implications because they set compensation for tens of thousands of public employees, costing taxpayers billions each year. Despite the enormous impact, the…

Fact Sheet

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