Topics

MARCH 9, 2010 | Commentary by MATTHEW BROUILLETTE

For Whom The Turnpike Tolls

Tolls are appropriate because they are imposed directly upon travelers for their use of roads.  However, the plan to toll I-80 represents more than a toll.  It is also a tax on drivers because more than $160 million in toll dollars from the highway will be funneled to mass transit systems, primarily in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.  Taxing drivers in the northern tier to subsidize mass transit users in the southeast and southwest is bad public policy.

MARCH 8, 2010 | Commentary by MATTHEW BROUILLETTE

Rendell’s War on (Some) Special Interests

Gov. Rendell, of course, didn't declare war on all special interests - only those who oppose his tax-borrow-and-spend agenda.  For example, while he lambasts the natural gas industry for opposing yet another tax upon the several it already pays, he gives a pass to the special interests clamoring for more of its money.

FEBRUARY 17, 2010 | Commentary by ELIZABETH BRYAN

The True Cost of Unemployment Compensation

Pennsylvania's unemployment compensation fund is bankrupt. Beginning in March 2009, the Keystone State borrowed over $2 billion from the federal government to keep it solvent. Unfortunately, unemployment continues to grow, making a bad situation worse. Since December 2007, Pennsylvania has lost more than 200,000 jobs. It is imperative that policymakers revisit the unemployment compensation system and understand how the existing structure hinders economic recovery.

FEBRUARY 16, 2010 | Policy Brief by ELIZABETH BRYAN, KATRINA CURRIE

Business Guide to Electric Choice & Competition

In the late 1990s, Pennsylvania's electricity rates were 15% above the national average, despite the abundance of low-cost coal generation in the Commonwealth. At that time, electricity was sold by a monopoly utility provider per designated region. Then federal regulations changed to allow electricity markets to develop. The state legislature responded with the Electricity Generation Customer Choice and Competition Act, signed in December 1996, promising lower prices and better service throug

FEBRUARY 3, 2010 | News Release by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

Penn State Whitewashes Climategate Investigation

University's internal review ignores key evidence of alleged scientific misconduct

Penn State's internal review of Michael Mann's alleged scientific misconduct-and the university's virtual exoneration of his behavior-ignored key evidence in the Climategate scandal.  As expected, Penn State did little more than a whitewash.

JANUARY 26, 2010 | Commentary by NATHAN BENEFIELD

Five Alternatives to Tolling I-80

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) continues its push for federal approval to toll Interstate-80, claiming that without it bridges will collapse, highways will crumble, and dogs and cats will start living together.  But the proposal represents little more than a tax on I-80 drivers, as 40% of the toll revenue would be diverted to other projects, and it fails to address unnecessary transportation spending.

JANUARY 21, 2010 | News Release by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

CF Challenges Gov. Rendell to Explain What's In the Bill

Yesterday, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell told Fox News that voters oppose the current health care reform proposal because "the administration and its supporters, myself included, haven't done a good enough job explaining to people what's in this bill." The Commonwealth Foundation formally welcomes Gov. Rendell to join their efforts to educate the public on the latest health care bills.

JANUARY 19, 2010 | Commentary by MATTHEW BROUILLETTE

Mann-Made Global Warming?

Climategate was born in late November 2009 with the release of more than a thousand emails and other documents from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in England.  One of the prominent figures in these emails is Penn State's Michael Mann, a professor in the university's Department of Meteorology. To Penn State's credit, the university announced it would investigate Mann's alleged misconduct.  But the school has a serious conflict of interest that legi

JANUARY 12, 2010 | Policy Brief by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

Climategate & Penn State

The Case for an Independent Investigation

Just days after news broke about what has been dubbed "Climategate," Penn State University (PSU) announced that it would investigate the conduct of Michael Mann, a professor in PSU's Department of Meteorology and a prominent figure in the Climategate emails.

JANUARY 5, 2010 | Policy Brief by ELIZABETH BRYAN, KATRINA CURRIE

Citizen's Guide to Electric Choice & Competition

In the late 1990s, Pennsylvania's electricity rates were 15% above the national average, despite the abundance of low-cost coal generation in the Commonwealth. At that time, electricity was sold by a monopoly utility provider per designated region. Then federal regulations changed to allow electricity markets to develop. The state legislature responded with the Electricity Generation Customer Choice and Competition Act, signed in December 1996, promising lower prices and better service throug