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JUNE 23, 2010 | Policy Report by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION
A Taxpayer's Budget 2010: Responsible Spending for Pennsylvania
A Taxpayer's Budget 2010: Responsible Spending for Pennsylvania identifies opportunities to cut over $4 billion in wasteful state spending in Gov. Rendell's proposed FY 2010-11 budget. The report also offers a series of recommendations for resolving the current revenue shortfall and reducing the size and burden of government on Pennsylvanians.
JUNE 21, 2010 | Commentary by RICHARD DREYFUSS
$27 Billion Pension "Reform": Still Doubling Down on Generational Theft
An Update on HB 2497
On June 16, the PA House passed pension "non-reform" by further deferring the scheduled taxpayers' contributions to the state's largest government pension plans - the Public School Employees Retirement System (PSERS) and State Employees Retirement System (SERS). They also created a new reduced defined benefit plan for new hires. The net cost of this reform with interest is still a breathtaking $27 billion. Since the prior version of the bill was an incremental $52 billion - by some scorecards this bill should be considered only half as bad.
JUNE 15, 2010 | Commentary by RICHARD DREYFUSS
Rendell's $52 Billion Pension "Reform"
Doubling down on generational theft
Gov. Rendell and the Democrat-controlled House are trying to redefine pension "reform" by further deferring the scheduled taxpayers' contributions to the state's largest government pension plans - the Public School Employees Retirement System (PSERS) and State Employees Retirement System (SERS). The cost of this reform with interest is a breathtaking $52 billion.
MAY 11, 2010 | Policy Points by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION
Public vs. Private Employment & Pay
Pennsylvania's private sector lost 113,600 jobs while state and local governments added 40,200 positions between 2000 and 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At the same time, public-sector wages exceed those for comparable positions in the private sector.
APRIL 20, 2010 | News Release by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION
Poll Shows Voters Support Pension Reform, I&R, and Spending Limits
Today, the Commonwealth Foundation released results of a recently commissioned statewide measuring Pennsylvanians' opinion of three landmark reforms. The poll of 700 registered voters was conducted by Susquehanna Polling and Research Company between April 7 and 12, 2010.
APRIL 12, 2010 | Testimony by NATHAN BENEFIELD
Cost-Saving Ideas for Pennsylvania State Budget
Government has no money of its own to spend; it only has that which it first takes out of the pockets of working Pennsylvanians in the form of taxes or out of our children's future paychecks in the form of debt. Every dollar you tax, borrow and spend is a dollar that cannot be spent, saved, or invested by the people who earned it. Therefore, examining how each dollar of the $66 billion state budget is spent, prioritizing programs, identifying waste, and finding greater efficiency is critical to restoring Pennsylvania's prosperity.
DECEMBER 16, 2009 | Commentary by KATRINA CURRIE
Five Threats to Pennsylvania's Prosperity
Pennsylvania has long been one of the most economically stagnant states in the nation. For the period 1991-2008, the Commonwealth ranked 45th in job growth, 46th in personal income growth, and 47th in population growth. Pennsylvania has also faired poorly in independent evaluations of states' business climates, in large part because of having the 11th highest state and local tax burden. Not surprisingly, the state also ranks low in interstate migration, having lost 56,000 net residents to other states from 2000 to 2008.
NOVEMBER 30, 2009 | Commentary by ELIZABETH STELLE, NATHAN BENEFIELD
Taxing Tuition: The Future of Higher Education?
With Pittsburgh on the brink of bankruptcy thanks to its continual out-of-control spending, Mayor Ravenstahl and his allies on City Council have hatched a new scheme to collect more money to pay for their profligate ways: a 1% tuition tax on the city's financially-strapped college students.
NOVEMBER 23, 2009 | Policy Points by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION
Pennsylvania Pensions and Taxes
Pennsylvania's statewide pension plans for public school employees, state workers, legislators, judges and other government employees - the Public School Employee Retirement System (PSERS) and the State Employee Retirement System (SERS) - will require significantly higher taxpayer contributions in the 2012-13 fiscal year and beyond.
OCTOBER 14, 2009 | Commentary by RICHARD DREYFUSS
Punishing the Next Generation: The Rendell Pension Legacy
As the Rendell administration moves inexorably toward its finish line in January 2011, it is reasonable to begin considering the issues awaiting the next governor. Of significant note is Rendell's inability to enact comprehensive and sustainable reforms of public pensions and retiree medical plans. Obviously, the General Assembly is inextricably linked to any reform efforts-or lack thereof.
