Taxes & Economy

Crucial Reforms Needed in End-of-Year Budget

  • Nathan Benefield
  • November 19, 2020

The recently completed state budget will dig Pennsylvania into a deep hole. Lawmakers passed a 7.5% increase in spending. The General Fund budget, including billions in one-time federal funds, is $36.54 billion—up from $33.98 billion last…

Media

Read More: Crucial Reforms Needed in End-of-Year Budget

Op-Ed: Navigating Pennsylvania’s Political Future

  • Charles F. McElwee
  • November 19, 2020

But future challenges aren’t limited to Democrats. In the case of Republicans, the party must listen to its growing working-class base, particularly in historically Democratic counties. In 2016 and 2020,…

Commentary

Read More: Op-Ed: Navigating Pennsylvania’s Political Future

Op-Ed: Don’t raise taxes while PA families are hurting

  • Nathan Benefield
  • November 16, 2020

Months into this severe pandemic response, the economy is slowly recovering, as are state revenues, but lawmakers face a budget shortfall of at least $3 billion, according to the Independent Fiscal Office’s…

Commentary

Read More: Op-Ed: Don’t raise taxes while PA families are hurting

State Budget

Balancing the State Budget Didn’t Have to Be This Hard

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • November 12, 2020

If lawmakers had enacted the Taxpayer Protection Act in 2018, they would face a $770 million gap between revenues and spending. Going one step further, if lawmakers had enacted the…

Commentary

Read More: Balancing the State Budget Didn’t Have to Be This Hard

Op-Ed: Dissecting Pennsylvania’s Realignment

  • Charles F. McElwee
  • November 10, 2020

In Pennsylvania, Biden prevailed because enough voters in rural counties, working-class regions, and suburban towns found him inoffensive, if not appealing, during a turbulent period. Outside Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, this…

Commentary

Read More: Op-Ed: Dissecting Pennsylvania’s Realignment

Op-Ed: How Pennsylvania Democrats Deliberately Stoked 2020 Election Chaos

  • Jennifer Stefano
  • November 9, 2020

Republicans and Democrats have long understood the problems with mass mail-in ballots. The usual stages of ballot security are lost: unlike absentee ballots, some people are claiming they received unsolicited mail-in…

Commentary

Read More: Op-Ed: How Pennsylvania Democrats Deliberately Stoked 2020 Election Chaos