Public Union Democracy
Unions Bankrupt Scranton, Who’s Next?
The City of Scranton is broke. It can’t pay its employees and faces a budget deficit of about $16 million this year, thanks to a toxic combination of declining…
Media
Read More: Unions Bankrupt Scranton, Who’s Next?Regulation
Moody’s Sounds the Four Alarms
Yesterday, Moody’s Investor Services downgraded Pennsylvania’s bond rating one level. The downgrade implies Pennsylvania bonds are riskier than previously assessed, and it could make it more expensive for the…
Media
Read More: Moody’s Sounds the Four AlarmsRegulation
Map of the Day: Alcohol-Related Traffic Fatalities
Pennsylvania’s government-run liquor monopoly doesn’t make citizens safer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data on alcohol-attributable deaths ranks Pennsylvania middle of the pack in terms of deaths per…
Media
Read More: Map of the Day: Alcohol-Related Traffic FatalitiesWelfare
State Flexibility Essential to Preserving the Safety Net
Last week, I noted a number of states whose governors were refusing the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act because of the costs the expansion would impose. Over…
Media
Read More: State Flexibility Essential to Preserving the Safety NetGovernment Accountability
Union Privileges Fuel More Money in Politics
Turns out not everything is bigger in Texas. The Lone Star State has twice the population of Pennsylvania, yet when it comes to political spending, Pennsylvania’s labor unions can outgun…
Media
Read More: Union Privileges Fuel More Money in PoliticsRegulation
Popping Popular Privatization Myths
When short on facts, blow a lot of hot air. That’s the strategy of liquor store union boss Wendell Young IV. Wendell and I were panelists on a recent Delaware County…
Media
Read More: Popping Popular Privatization MythsEducation
Massive Strategic Victory for Kids
I've long been convinced that Thomas Jefferson was exactly right when he wrote, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never…
Commentary
Read More: Massive Strategic Victory for KidsRegulation
Liquor Privatization: Just the Facts
In a recent Delaware County Times webcast on Pennsylvania liquor store privatization, on which I was a panelist, there was a great deal of information thrown into the mix which may have…
Memo
Read More: Liquor Privatization: Just the FactsTaxes & Economy
Welfare: Don’t Repudiate Resounding Results, Replicate Reform
A new move from the Obama administration would waive work requirements under TANF (cash assistance). Requiring recipients to work was a central provision of the highly successful 1996 welfare…
Media
Read More: Welfare: Don’t Repudiate Resounding Results, Replicate Reform