Commentary

Regulation

Time to End Public Sector Indentured Servitude

• October 25, 2010

Public service is one of the few places where one still can find a defined benefit pot of gold at the end of their employment. Although defined benefit pensions are…

Commentary

Regulation

Harrisburg’s Woes: Coming to a City Near You

• Elizabeth Stelle
• October 19, 2010

Gov. Rendell's recent state bailout of the city of Harrisburg has brought attention to the capital city's fiscal mismanagement. With millions in debt payments and an enormous pension obligation, Harrisburg's…

Commentary

Government Accountability

Making PA Budgets Honest

• September 29, 2010

American governments are built around the power of legislatures to challenge administrations through public debate. From this debate come better policy decisions. However, if one side has a monopoly on…

Commentary

Three Myths about Free Market Conservatives

• Nathan Benefield
• September 23, 2010

Working for a free-market think tank, one hears all the attacks against conservatives and endures being given many labels.  Three of the most common attacks launched by both those who…

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

Citizens Scrimp As Government Spends

• Matthew Brouillette
• September 20, 2010

With grim economic statistics mounting both here in Pennsylvania and throughout the nation, more and more of our fellow citizens are engaging in a collective belt-tightening. It is only our…

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

Constitution Day and the Perilous Future

• September 17, 2010

On September 17, we celebrate the creation of our Constitution, one of the greatest governing documents ever conceived by the hand of man. This is the day we commemorate the…

Commentary

Energy

Energy 101

• September 5, 2010

Pennsylvania has always been a leading provider of America's energy. From timber and coal to the nation's first commercial oil well, and now the Marcellus Shale boom, traditional energy is…

Commentary

Energy

Traditional Energy Fuels Pennsylvania’s Economy

• Elizabeth Stelle
• August 31, 2010

Pennsylvania has always been a leading provider of America's energy. From timber and coal to the nation's first commercial oil well, and now the Marcellus Shale boom, traditional energy is…

Commentary

Education

Gov. Rendell’s Gamesmanship

• Nathan Benefield
• August 27, 2010

While table games have been in Pennsylvania casinos for more than a month, I don't know if Gov. Rendell has tried his luck. But it would be a safe wager…

Commentary

Education

Teachers and their Unions, Part II

• August 26, 2010

This is another look raising legitimate questions as to how, or even if, teacher unions can reasonably be said to recommend their members which, of course, they maintain they do. …

Commentary

Education

Teachers and Their Unions

• August 19, 2010

Teacher unions like to say they represent their members and look out for their best interests, including protecting their rights to speak out without reprisal.  Teachers  are by the nature…

Commentary

Public Union Democracy

Time to Exit Rendell’s Road to Higher Taxes

• August 17, 2010

Governor Rendell has proposed a series of tax increases to fill a $415 million transportation funding deficit created when the federal government rejected his plan to toll I-80 for a…

Commentary

Education

A School Choice Governor?

• August 10, 2010

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett recently made headlines by announcing his support for full-fledged school choice in Pennsylvania. Democrat Dan Onorato has also expressed support for school choice, particularly the…

Commentary

Energy

Gas Fuels Growth

• August 3, 2010

The national economy is in a slump, unemployment remains stubbornly high, and economic growth is being hampered by misguided policies. Meanwhile, Bradford County, Pennsylvania led the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in…

Commentary

State Budget

Can Tom Corbett Keep His “No Tax” Pledge?

• Matthew Brouillette
• July 27, 2010

Attorney General Tom Corbett has taken significant criticism for his pledge to not raise taxes if elected governor.  That was to be expected from his Democrat rival, Allegheny County executive…

Commentary

Government Accountability

I&R: Our Inalienable Right to Reform

• Nathan Benefield
• July 22, 2010

It is clear our government will not reform itself.  Article I, Section 2 of the Pennsylvania Constitution recognizes the right of the citizens to "alter, reform or abolish their government…

Commentary

Regulation

The Real Problem with the Specter Library

• Nathan Benefield
• July 13, 2010

As part of the state budget deal, Gov. Rendell secured $600 million in new borrowing for pork-barrel projects, including $10 million for the "Arlen Specter Library" at Philadelphia University and…

Commentary

Government Accountability

PennFuture: Harrisburg’s Lobbying Launderers

• July 9, 2010

According to its website, PennFuture claims to have secured stronger pollution rules in state agencies; convinced legislators to pass several laws; won $80 million in utility rate cases; and convinced…

Commentary

Energy

The Marcellus Shale: A Real Stimulus

• June 22, 2010

The Marcellus Shale formation is believed to be the largest unconventional natural gas reservoir in America, and its exploration has been coined a modern-day gold rush. A Penn State study…

Commentary

Education

The True Beneficiaries of Education Subsidies

• Nathan Benefield
• June 21, 2010

Gov. Rendell's budget once again demands significant increases in public school spending.  Ostensibly, these increases are "for the children," but a close examination of education spending and policy proposals reveals…

Commentary

Regulation

$27 Billion Pension “Reform”: Still Doubling Down on Generational Theft

• Richard Dreyfuss
• June 21, 2010

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)…

Commentary