Taxes & Economy

Is the US in a recession?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 5, 2008

Tony Phyrillas writes that the U.S. is not in a recession. John Micek jokes about Phyrillas swallowing Bush’s rhetoric. Of course Tony has the evidence, whereas John is,…

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State Budget

Who Gets Farm Subsidies

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 1, 2008

Environmental Working Group has a comprehensive database of US farm subsidies. (HT Club for Growth). Here are Pennsylvania’s top recipients in 2007.

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Taxes & Economy

Ethanol and Rendell

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 1, 2008

Many are calling for an end to ethanol mandates because of how they drive up food costs: Aid workers and others contend diverting more than a a quarter…

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Health Care

Health Savings Sabotage

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 20, 2008

The Wall Street Journal has a column on a bill that passed the US House that would undermine Health Savings Accounts (also see the SPN blog on this…

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Taxes & Economy

PA’s “liberal” population shift

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 10, 2008

The Philadelphia Inquirer has an article remarking on Pennsylvania’s demographic changes, noting that the state is gaining population in the eastern part and losing population in the west –…

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Education

Mapping Graduation Rates

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 9, 2008

Education Week has an interactive tool to map the graduation rates of states and school districts (based on the recent analysis by America’s Promise Alliance). Here is the…

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Taxes & Economy

Big Oil vs. Big Ethanol

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 7, 2008

Everyone in Pennsylvania (save the Amish, who are also unlikely to be reading this blog) must have heard or seen the Barack Obama, anti-“Big Oil” ad dozens of…

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Taxes & Economy

Hoover’s Heirs

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 3, 2008

Wall Street Journal editorial on what not to do facing a possible recession, i.e. follow the lead of Herbert Hoover: In 1930, he signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act,…

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Education

Report: Philly graduation rate 33% lower than suburbs

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 1, 2008

A new report on graduation rates in the largest US cities has troubling news for Philadelphia (and most urban districts). The Philadelphia City School District ranks 34th among the…

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