Media
Top Five PolicyBlog Posts of 2010
Based on reader visits, here are our five most popular PolicyBlog posts over the past year:
#5: 2010 SAT Scores by State
The College Board has released the results of the 2010 SAT. We prepared a chart of SAT performance by state, including all 50 states, a comparison of states with high participation, and Pennsylvania’s performance throughout the years.
The original SAT data is available from the College Board site, including their Pennsylvania SAT profile and their 2010 SAT trends.
#4: PA Teacher Unions Endorse Reduced Pension Benefits, Deferring Contributions
An amendment to the pension deferral bill in the Pennsylvania House would reduce the retirement benefits for new state and school employees, but would continue Gov. Rendell’s proposed deferment of pension costs. The legislation will now, on the whole, cost taxpayers a net increase of $27 billion in additional costs over 30 years. Further, the legislation still fails to provide pension reform.
#3: Ten Facts about the PA Budget Deal
Legislative leaders and Gov. Rendell reached an agreement on a PA state budget deal yesterday. Here are some facts about the $28.05 billion new spending plan:
#2: PA Taxpayers to Build Specter Library, Murtha Center
Pete DeCoursey of Capitolwire (subscription) reports today that the line items from the RACP legislation ($600 million in borrowing for corporate welfare, included as part of the budget deal), includes two projects named for Pennsylvania’s former and soon-to-be-former members of Congress: Jack Murtha and Arlen Specter.
#1: Gasland Debunked
Tonight, HBO premiered the documentary Gasland—a film about the impacts of natural gas drilling across the United States. Director/producer and Pennsylvania native Josh Fox has been touring the country showcasing the film and urging lawmakers to act. Unfortunately, the movie is filled with half-truths, inaccuracies, and occasionally outright lies (or as the Patriot News says, “Not everything in the film’s narration is precisely accurate.”)
Tomorrow, we’ll cap off the year in review with the five most popular research articles of 2010.