October 19, 2011 | Commentary by JAY OSTRICH

Willie and Penny Can’t Read

We'll call them Willie, Penny, Ben and Frankie, four public school students from Philadelphia, Reading, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, respectively.  If they don't drop out of school and become clients of the state like many of their former classmates, they will soon graduate and compete in a global market for a dwindling supply of skilled and unskilled jobs.

October 5, 2011 | Commentary by MATTHEW BROUILLETTE

Principles Must Lead Shale Fee Proposal

Before sound could travel from Gov. Corbett's lips to Pennsylvanians' ears, special interest groups and tax-and-spend politicians unwisely laid waste his plan to protect job growth and stave off family budget-crushing tax hikes through a non-punitive natural gas drilling impact fee.

September 27, 2011 | Commentary by CHARLES MITCHELL

Pennsylvania’s Public Universities Have Indigestion

If you ask them, they'll say they're hurting because budget-slashing Gov. Tom Corbett just forced something nasty down their throats—namely cuts to the subsidies they receive from Keystone State taxpayers.  Their problem, many of them say, is not enough money, and the only answer is raising tuition on students and parents.

September 20, 2011 | Commentary by ELIZABETH STELLE

Public-Private Parking Prevents Tax Hikes

Facing immense fiscal and political pressures, many local governments are looking for ways to fund services without raising taxes. But officials need not curb their enthusiasm for fiscal responsibility if they simply put the brakes on being in the parking business.

Pennsylvania has 41 special government parking authorities; the rest of the nation, combined, has five. Despite their abundance, few can explain exactly why Pennsylvania relies on government-run parking monopolies.

September 13, 2011 | Commentary by JAMES MILLER, KATRINA CURRIE

The State of Inconvenience

Walk into any supermarket in Ohio and you can see shoppers purchasing everything they need for dinner - including the wine to go with it.  In West Virginia, residents can fill up their gas tank and replenish their wine selection in one stop.  In fact, every state except Utah provides more freedom over wine and spirits sales than Pennsylvania.  This lack of liquor liberty has turned average residents into bootleggers.

August 30, 2011 | Commentary by KATRINA CURRIE, LEONARD GILROY

Preserving Penn’s Woods Proven by Public-Private Partnerships

Earlier this month, Gov. Tom Corbett suggested the commonwealth consider leasing state park operations and services. Almost immediately and without thoughtful consideration, pundits launched political fire, claiming "privateers" would exploit or commercialize our natural resources beyond recognition.

August 24, 2011 | Commentary by MATTHEW BROUILLETTE

Green Light More Education Tax Credits

Would you ever give a green light or a hard-earned nickel to a business model that showed it was going to hire more staff to service fewer customers by doubling the cost of production while keeping the quality substandard and worse than the global competition? Of course not, but that is exactly the model Pennsylvanians invested in through the public education system in the last decade.

August 1, 2011 | Commentary by MATTHEW BROUILLETTE

Taxing Gas will Burden Pennsylvanians

Despite the manufactured fears of disaster and cheers for a unique tax on drilling, Pennsylvania can balance economic growth with environmental protection without imposing a new tax. The true impacts of drilling can be addressed by charging drillers fees for services provided, requiring them to be insured for environmental costs, and other measures.

July 13, 2011 | Commentary by PRIYA ABRAHAM

Government Transparency in Pennsylvania Becomes a Reality

The last few months saw immense partisan animosity and demeaning comments during numerous spats under the Capitol Dome.  But amid the fiscal fist fights over school choice, a natural gas tax, university subsidy cuts and really, everything concerning the FY 2011-12 state budget, one important bipartisan pact emerged: creating transparency in state spending.

July 6, 2011 | Commentary by NATHAN BENEFIELD

Corbett's First Inning Scorecard

July signals the coming of two breaks in Pennsylvania—Major League Baseball's All-Star break and the end of the state budget season.   Having endured his first budget as the commonwealth's chief executive, Gov. Tom Corbett has effectively finished the first inning of a nine-inning baseball game.  The question is, how did he do at bat?