State Budget
Understanding the Pennsylvania State Budget
Pennsylvania's total state operating budget for FY 2010-11 is approximately $65.4 billion-or $5,193 for every man, woman and child in the commonwealth. This policy brief looks at the entire state…
Fact Sheet
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Why PA State Debt is “So Low”?
Yesterday, during his mid-year budget briefing, Gov. Rendell repeated his claims that Pennsylvania state debt is pretty low, less than $1,000 per resident, and much lower (relative to state GDP)…
Media
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Is Harrisburg a Prediction of Things to Come?
Harrisburg’s inability to pay off massive debts accumulated by years of wasteful spending made headlines in the Wall Street Journal. Last week, Harrisburg skipped a $3 million debt payment…
Media
Read More: Is Harrisburg a Prediction of Things to Come?Regulation
Rendell’s “Press Release Economics”
Press-release economics has long been part of a political charade in which lawmakers use other people's money to fund their political gain. In Pennsylvania, agencies such as the Department of…
Commentary
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Economic Development Funding – A Legacy of Waste
Earlier this month the State House passed a bill establishing the Industry Partnerships Program. Yet another Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) program will be instituted, and as…
Media
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Still Not Easy Being Green for PA Taxpayers
In 2005, CF advised against passing Gov. Rendell’s Growing Greener II initiative because far better alternatives than increasing Pennsylvania’s debt load could have been used to save farmlands and…
Media
Read More: Still Not Easy Being Green for PA TaxpayersRegulation
Earmarks in Table Games Bill
I mentioned previously that the legislation authorizing table games at Pennsylvania casinos included a number of earmarks (directing funds to a specific project) and WAMs (creating a pot of money…
Media
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An Ethnic Taste of Corporate Welfare
The benevolent Department of Community and Economic Development most recently bestowed its generosity on the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Central Pennsylvania by awarding it $20,000. This money will…
Media
Read More: An Ethnic Taste of Corporate WelfareGovernment Accountability
Spending Transparency & Accountability
There is a national movement to make government spending and finances accessible to taxpayers. Pennsylvania lags behind, but state lawmakers are moving toward greater transparency.
Fact Sheet
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