Education

Does Universal Preschool Improve Learning?

• Nathan Benefield
• May 15, 2009

The Heritage Foundation has a new backgrounder asking, “Does Universal Preschool Improve Learning?”   The short answer is NO.  For the long answer, they examine universal preschool programs…

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Taxes & Economy

Tax Freedom Day for PA is April 14

• Nathan Benefield
• April 2, 2009

The Tax Foundation has released the latest report on Tax Freedom Day (get the Full Report in PDF). This year Tax Freedom Day will occur on April 13…

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Health Care

Converting Medicaid into Premium Assistance

• Nathan Benefield
• September 30, 2008

The Heritage Foundation has a new backgrounder (click here for PDF) on how states can convert Medicaid spending into premium assistance for insurance – a proposal which would…

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Health Care

How free is PA’s health care market?

• Nathan Benefield
• August 18, 2008

The Pacific Research Institute released their U.S. Index of Health Ownership, 2008 last week (full report in PDF).  The report ranks states’ health care markets and regulations based…

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Welfare

Welfare Reform: PA gets poor grades

• Nathan Benefield
• July 15, 2008

The Heartland Institute has a new report, Welfare Reform after Ten Years: A State-by-State Analysis (for PDF version click here) ranking the states both on welfare outcomes –…

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Regulation

The Emperor Has No Clothes: The Truth about Secondhand Smoke

• Nathan Benefield
• July 13, 2008

Short paper from the Heartland Institute (click here for PDF) on the science of second hand smoke – including the oft-repeated claim about the number of deaths due to…

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Budget Details Revealed

• Nathan Benefield
• July 4, 2008

The House Appropriations Committee (both Democrats and Republicans) released the line items in the budget late into the night on Thursday. They will attempt to vote on the legislation today…

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State Budget

Senate Passes Trimmed Down Budget

• Nathan Benefield
• June 18, 2008

Tired of waiting for the House Democrats to pass a budget bill, the Senate today passed their own version (as an amendment to supplemental appropriations for last year).

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Abolish the Turnpike Commission?

• Nathan Benefield
• June 3, 2008

Rock the Capital has a new report looking at the history, efficiency, and corruption of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, raising the question of whether there is any need for…

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