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October 15, 2009 | Policy Report by PENNSYLVANIA FAMILY INSTITUTE
Repealing Death Tax Will Create Jobs and Boost Economy in Pennsylvania
Eliminating the Death Tax could create over 1.5 million jobs for small and family business workers, including 64,442 jobs in Pennsylvania. An increase in the Death Tax rates to 55% with only a $1 million exemption would cost 500,000 jobs, a loss of 21,481 jobs in Pennsylvania alone.
August 19, 2009 | Policy Report by ARTHUR LAFFER, DONNA ARDUIN, WAYNE WINEGARDEN
The Prognosis for National Health Insurance: A Pennsylvania Perspective
In 1960, the private sector funded over three quarters of the nation’s health care expenditures. Individuals paid nearly one-half of the total national health care expenditures through out of pocket expenditures. Beginning in 1967 the way health care is purchased in the U.S. began to completely reverse itself.
February 12, 2009 | Policy Report by NATHAN BENEFIELD, ELIZABETH BRYAN
Government on a Diet: Spending Tips 2009
Government on a Diet: Spending Tips 2009 identifies $5 billion in unhealthy state spending in FY 2008-09 and offers a series of recommendations to both resolve the current revenue shortfall and reduce the size and burden of government on Pennsylvanians by $1,600 annually for each family of four.
May 8, 2008 | Policy Report by MICHAEL BOND
Medicaid Reform: Mending the Holes in Pennsylvanias Health Care Safety Net
Politicians and school officials frequently point to student performance on state tests as a primary measure of the quality of public education. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) “is a standards based criterion-referenced assessment used to measure a student’s attainment of the academic standards while also determining the degree to which school programs enable students to attain proficiency of the standards.”
March 10, 2008 | Policy Report by NATHAN BENEFIELD, MATTHEW BROUILLETTE, JESSICA RUNK
Government on a Diet: Spending Tips 2008
State government consumption and spending of taxpayer money has grown rapidly over the years. Since 1970, Pennsylvania’s operating budget increased from $4.2 billion to $59 billion in FY 2007-2008, an inflation-adjusted increase of over 168%. As a share of personal income, the state’s operating budget rose from 8.8% in FY 1970-1971 to an estimated 12.2% in FY 2007-2008—an increase of more than 39%.
July 26, 2007 | Policy Report by NATHAN BENEFIELD, ROBERT MARANTO, JASON O'BRIEN
Edifice Complex: Where Has All the Money Gone?
From the 1986-87 to 2005-06 school years, taxpayer spending on Pennsylvania’s government-run K-12 schools increased from $6.6 billion to almost $22 billion—a 72% increase after adjusting for inflation. Between 1996-97 and 2005-2006, Pennsylvania’s public schools added over 43,000 staff—teachers, administrators, and support staff—while enrollment increased by only 26,000. Thus, for every new student, schools added 1.6 staff.
March 6, 2007 | Policy Report by MATTHEW BROUILLETTE, GEOFFREY F. SEGAL, ADRIAN T. MOORE
The Emerging Paradigm: Financing and Managing Pennsylvanias Transportation Infrastructure and Mass Transit
In November 2006, Governor Ed Rendell’s Pennsylvania Transportation Funding and Reform Commission identified a $1.7 billion annual shortfall in funding for the Commonwealth’s transportation infrastructure and mass transit services. The Commission suggested an additional $900 million for state highways and bridges, $65 million for local highways and bridges, and $700 million for mass transit is needed on an annual basis to sufficiently meet Pennsylvania’s transportation funding needs.
May 30, 2006 | Policy Report by NATHAN BENEFIELD, JENNIFER A. SYNDER
Pennsylvania Piglet Book 2006
The Pennsylvania Piglet Book 2006 is the joint effort of the Commonwealth Foundation and Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) to make the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania aware of wasteful spending of their tax dollars in the annual state budget. The Piglet Book identifies programs of greatest waste in the 2005-06 Pennsylvania budget and Governor Ed Rendell’s 2006-07 proposed budget. It identifies cuts that should be made, and encourages lawmakers to focus government spending only on those core functions that truly serve the public good.
February 23, 2006 | Policy Report by RICHARD DREYFUSS
Beneath the Surface: Pennsylvania's Looming Pension and Healthcare Benefits Crisis
Pennsylvania government employee-benefit plans operate in a vacuum. In a world where private-sector benefit cutbacks and cost reductions occur on a daily basis, state government in Harrisburg has not responded in similar fashion. In fact, instead of reducing the potential for financial disaster, actions in recent years have served to accelerate the coming crisis.
September 13, 2005 | Policy Report by DAVID A. MACPHERSON
The Effects of the Proposed Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Increase
In recent years, the movement to enact “living wages” or increases in the minimum wage has been active in states and cities across the country. Advocates of these wage hikes argue that the increases will help low-income families escape poverty. While emotionally compelling, this argument ignores the unintended consequences the proposed increase would create. Worse, the mandated increase confers its benefits overwhelmingly on employees who aren’t poor, while those who are bear a disproportionate share of the costs.
