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JANUARY 17, 2011 | Policy Report by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION
80 Ideas for a Prosperous Pennsylvania
A Blueprint for Transforming the Commonwealth
Pennsylvania must undergo a rapid transformation to reverse the poor policy decisions that have eroded economic freedoms and brought the state to its present condition. To provide a roadmap for success in this critical endeavor, the Commonwealth Foundation has compiled a list of 80 policy recommendations for Gov. Corbett and state legi
SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 | Commentary by MAURICE MCTIGUE
Making PA Budgets Honest
American governments are built around the power of legislatures to challenge administrations through public debate. From this debate come better policy decisions. However, if one side has a monopoly on fiscal information, it can hamper reasonable debate about government budgets. This is the situation in Pennsylvania, where the state
JULY 22, 2010 | Commentary by MICHAEL NEROZZI, NATHAN BENEFIELD
I&R: Our Inalienable Right to Reform
It is clear our government will not reform itself. Article I, Section 2 of the Pennsylvania Constitution recognizes the right of the citizens to "alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think proper." It is past time to exercise this right, but the General Assembly and Governor have not provided the m
Recent Blog Posts
JANUARY 26, 2012
Does Pennsylvania Need Fewer Legislators?
A proposal to reduce the Pennsylvania State House from 203 representatives to 153 will be voted on in the coming weeks by the House. The proposal is certainly popular, but is it much ado about nothing?
As Daily News columnist John Baer notes, the reduction wouldn't take effect until after the 2020 redistricting plan goes into effect— at least 10 years from now. This date assumes the proposed constitutional amendment passes both the House and Senate this session, and next legislative session, and is then approved by voters.
The proposal is often sold as cost-savings. At $314 million, the cost of running the legislature is no small matter, but reducing the number of legislators need not reduce costs. The biggest cost in the state legislature is not its 253 members, but its 2,919 staff members, the largest legislative staff in the nation. Indeed, lawmaker salaries are only a bit more than 10 percent of the General Assembly's total cost. And reducing legislative spending need not wait a decade, it can happen in the next budget.
The more important question is whether this is good policy. Our analysis shows almost zero connection between the number of legislators and policy outcomes like spending, taxes, or economic freedom. As we've repeated time and time again, it is unlikely that minimizing the legislature's size without other reforms will improve Harrisburg's spending problem.
posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 03:00 PM | 0 comment
DECEMBER 20, 2011
Redistricting Reform Needed...Four Years Ago
The Pennsylvania House is expected this week to to pass the Congressional redistricting bill. House Democrats, in the minority, are complaining about the gerrymandering of the new map.
Does the new map favor Republicans? Absolutely, at least for a few years until demographic shifts make all the minutiae moot.
Was the new map drawn with party registration a key factor? Were the home addresses of incumbents and potential challengers key factors? You bet.
Is there gerrymandering? Of course.
Could Democrats have done anything to prevent this? Yes. A few years ago, when Democrats controlled the House, we urged them to move forward on redistricting reform.
That didn't happen, and a broken system was allowed to continue. On the bright side, we've got a whole decade to try to reform the process before the next redistricting occurs.
posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 10:27 AM | 0 comment
NOVEMBER 17, 2011
End Transparency Exemption for Penn State
Penn State officials will soon be under a different kind of investigation—an investigation by taxpayers. In the aftermath of the child sexual abuse scandal, Rep. Eugene DePasquale is introducing a bill requiring full transparency from the state-related university.
Under the current Right-to-Know law, all state-related universities—Penn State, Temple, the University of Pittsburgh and Lincoln—are exempt from standard right-to-know requests. In other words, these universities receive taxpayer funds—over $500 million last year—but are under no obligation to reveal to taxpayers precisely how they spent these funds. The current law requires the universities to post their 990 tax forms, the salaries of officers and directors, and the highest 25 salaries annually, but these general documents provide little insight into universities' enormous spending. Nor do they give access to information that state agencies and local governments must provide to citizens.
The calls for transparency are not without reason: Obviously, the handling of the Sandusky scandal calls into question the judgment of the university leaders, but this isn't the first case of suspected foul play. Dr. Michael Mann, a meteorology professor at the university, has been accused of manipulating and destroying research to prove his theory on climate change. The university's resulting investigation proved a wash.
And consider the following facts that speak volumes about the university's fiscal management:
- Penn State has reduced early morning classes because they are unpopular with students and some faculty, while the university's strategic plan suggests facilities are being underutilized.
- Penn State increased administrative staff per student by 70.8 percent between 1993 and 2007. The University of Pittsburgh increased administrative staff by 54.7 percent, according to a Goldwater Institute study.
- Taxpayers provided nearly $3.5 billion to Penn State over the last decade while tuition doubled to $15,250.
- At Penn State's main campus, 58 percent of students graduate in four years. This compares with 11-45 percent at its 19 branch campuses, where enrollment has been declining.
It's time to open the books on Penn State.
posted by ELIZABETH STELLE | 10:33 AM | 0 comment
