Regulation

Fleeing Philly

  • October 23, 2019

Roughly 60,000 people leave Philadelphia every year, significantly more than those who move in from other towns or cities according to a Pew Charitable Trusts survey.[1]…

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Education

“Sick Schools”: Philadelphia Students Deserve Better

  • August 8, 2018

Earlier this year, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News published a shocking series, “Toxic City: Sick Schools.” The report revealed abysmal conditions in Philadelphia district schools: peeling lead paint,…

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Education

Time to Let Fair Funding Work

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 18, 2018

A recent Philadelphia Inquirer editorial on school funding gets it partly right, but partly wrong. They challenge the fact that Pennsylvania spends $3,800 more per student than the national…

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Education

Philly Exodus Spells the Need for School Choice

  • Marc LeBlond
  • March 29, 2018

Philadelphia’s population is growing. In fact, Philly’s population has grown for 11 consecutive years according to the U.S. Census Bureau and highlighted recently in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Population growth…

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Education

The Invisible School District Income Tax

  • January 30, 2018

Editor’s Note: This is the second of a series of occasional blogs by a Philadelphia resident highlighting policy problems holding back the City of Brotherly Love. If a tree…

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State Budget

Pennsylvania’s Sin Tax Addiction

  • November 14, 2017

Pennsylvania’s excess of excise—or so-called “sin”—taxes was the subject of a recent story in The Philadelphia Inquirer. The piece focused on the amount working people pay in taxes on…

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State Budget

Inquirer Hurls Insults While Lawmakers Embrace Budget Solutions

  • September 7, 2017

Yesterday, The Philadelphia Inquirer published an editorial (paywall) attacking House Republicans for defending Pennsylvanians against tax increases and working to avoid driving the state deeper into debt. The editorial…

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Taxes & Economy

Severance Tax Talk is Stunting Investment in Pa.

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • August 30, 2017

One tax is emblematic of Pennsylvania’s failure to grow the economy with more government spending: the natural gas severance tax. Special interest groups have worked for a decade to enact a…

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Public Union Democracy

The Inquirer’s Problematic Budget Prescriptions

  • January 11, 2017

A Philadelphia Inquirer editorial urges optimism about the forthcoming state budget debate. It’s certainly well-warranted. Gov. Wolf and legislative leaders have repeatedly expressed interest in redesigning state government to…

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