Taxes & Economy

Minimum Wage

• March 23, 2023

Summary One percent of Pennsylvania workers earn the minimum wage, an all-time low.Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Recent analysis by Pennsylvania’s Independent Fiscal…

Fact Sheet

Op-Ed: Pennsylvanians deserve maximum wages, not harmful minimum wage mandates

• Stephen Bloom
• August 16, 2021

Instead of making workers dependent upon politics for a raise, the government should clear the path for our local economies to grow. This approach to prosperity is real and long-lasting—and…

Commentary

Downsides of the Minimum Wage

• Elizabeth Stelle
• March 11, 2021

Thank you Chairman Roae, Chairman Galloway, and members of the House Commerce Committee for inviting the Commonwealth Foundation to testify on this persistent issue. I am Elizabeth Stelle, the Director…

Testimony

Economic Growth Boosts Prosperity, not Minimum Wage Hikes

• Nathan Benefield
• November 20, 2019

November 20, 2019, Harrisburg, Pa. — Today, the Pennsylvania Senate passed legislation to hike the commonwealth’s minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $9.50 per hour by 2022. Commonwealth Foundation Vice…

Press Release

Education

Cal U Waste Begs for Higher Ed Reform

• Elizabeth Stelle
• May 21, 2012

The Senate’s budget included more funding for state universities than Governor Corbett proposed, but new discoveries of wasteful spending should give lawmakers pause. Gov. Corbett proposed a 30 percent cut…

Media

Union Red Herring Erring

• June 2, 2011

The recent Pennsylvania AFL-CIO media campaign to malign Rep. Scott Perry by saying he wants to “punish workers” is as off base as it is disingenuous. The union, for…

Media

Education

Parents Mustn’t Fall for Penn State Claims

• Charles Mitchell
• March 21, 2011

In an op-ed in Sunday’s Harrisburg Patriot-News, Penn State President Graham Spanier repeated his now-familiar claims that his institution must receive more from taxpayers than the $165 million…

Media

Taxes & Economy

UC Trust Fund Interest Another Fiscal Challenge for PA

• Nathan Benefield
• January 18, 2011

A recent NY Times piece looks at the impact of states’ borrowing to pay their unemployment compensation (UC), now that the federal government will begin charging interest on these…

Media

Taxes & Economy

PA Unemployment Fraud Adding to Already-Bankrupt System

• Nathan Benefield
• September 1, 2010

As PA Independent reports today, Pennsylvania had $374 million in overpayments for Unemployment Compensation (UC) last year, including $227 million in fraudulent claims, according to the US Department of…

Media