Beaver nonprofit pays top dollar to senator’s wife

• September 2, 2007

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Sen. Gerald LaValle’s wife’s compensation ($102,076, plus a $9,695 pension benefit) to run a non-profit charity that has been funded primarily with taxpayer money through…

Media

Rendell targets PHEAA

• August 28, 2007

Rendell is calling for an “overhaul” of PHEAA. in today’s Tribune-Review. Our guess is that it will just be a shakedown rather than a true effort to reform that…

Media

Pinocchio Ed

• August 26, 2007

Allegheny Institute’s Jake Haulk in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review challenges — among other half-baked claims made by Gov. Rendell — the mindset that government “investment” of tax dollars is a…

Media

Why Campaign Expenditures are Increasing: The Government is Getting Bigger

• Nathan Benefield
• August 20, 2007

Research by John Lott reveals a somewhat obvious explanation to campaign contribution growth, touched on briefly in my testimony. Special interests spend millions to influence government because government…

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Toll of teacher strikes

• Nathan Benefield
• August 20, 2007

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on the cost of teacher strikes in PA, citing this study by the Allegheny Institute. Also read Simon Campbell’s commentary on legislation to end teacher…

Media

Rendell’s world: Spending and debt

• Nathan Benefield
• August 20, 2007

Brad Bumsted in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on spending and debt under Rendell – i.e. the “cardboard check syndrome”.

Media

Bogus reform prevails

• August 5, 2007

Brad Bumsted in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes about “the much-bullayhooed effort in the General Assembly to strengthen the state’s infamously weak Right to Know Law.” Guess what? It’s gone…

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Taxpayer control in name only

• August 4, 2007

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review editorial on the bill of goods sold to taxpayers with Act 1 of 2006. Supposedly, the General Assembly plans to tackle the issue of property taxes again…

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Education

Public Cyber Schools Save Taxpayers Money: Rendell/Zahorchak proposal would increase taxes, reduce public school choice

• August 2, 2007

HARRISBURG, PA — Today, the Commonwealth Foundation issued a response to Pennsylvania Education Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak’s proposal to reduce funding to the Commonwealth’s public cyber charter schools.

Press Release