Poll: 81% Choose Bootlegging Over PLCB Hikes

January 12, 2012

So just what effects do monopolies have on markets? You need look no further than Philadelphia this morning for the answer. An online Philadelphia Inquirer poll has found more…

Media

313 More Reasons to End PLCB Booze

January 11, 2012

Pop quiz: Who has to pay for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board’s $66 million (and growing) inventory software failure, a million-plus in the wine kiosk catastrophe or the…

Media

State Budget

Turnpike Commission Defends Ballooning Debt

Nathan Benefield
January 11, 2012

Following our post yesterday, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission wanted to make sure we saw their response to Auditor General Jack Wagner’s warning on their growing debt. The Turnpike…

Media

Taxes & Economy

Do Millionaires Need Food Stamps?

Elizabeth Stelle
January 11, 2012

For the past few years, politicians in Harrisburg and Washington have considered it a “success” to put more families on welfare. The result is an abundance of loopholes that allow…

Media

Education

A Decade Left Behind

Matthew Brouillette
January 11, 2012

My first career started a few decades ago in the classroom as a high school history teacher. While much has changed since then – including the use of technology and…

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

Chart of the Day: Pennsylvania Transportation Spending

Nathan Benefield
January 9, 2012

Many advocates and industry representatives have been calling for increasing transportation spending in Pennsylvania. Yet over the past 16 years, state transportation spending has increased by 127 percent, a fact…

Media

Taxes & Economy

PA Online Sales Tax Guidelines Claim First Casualty

Nathan Benefield
December 30, 2011

When the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue issued a new bulletin instructing online vendors about collecting state sales tax, tax reform advocates expressed a lot of concern. The new…

Media

Taxes & Economy

Map: PA Among Highest Unemployment Tax Rates

Nathan Benefield
December 28, 2011

The Tax Foundation has a new map showing unemployment insurance tax rates. As you can see, Pennsylvania has one of the highest tax rates in the nation. The unemployment…

Media

Taxes & Economy

Marcellus Drilling Rescues Williamsport

December 27, 2011

Earlier this month, I visited Williamsport, home of the Little League World Series and a growing economy. Clearly it’s not just baseball that brightens this central Pa. city…

Media