Commentary

Education

Public School Students Benefit from Private Managers

• Nathan Benefield
• May 29, 2007

The Philadelphia School Reform Commission soon will be voting on a budget for the school district. Facing a projected budget deficit, the Commission is looking for ways to reduce costs,…

Commentary

Education

Diet Tip of the Week, Issue 3

• May 24, 2007

One of the most notorious abuses of taxpayers' money is the exercise of Walking-Around-Money (WAMs). These funds are set aside for use at each legislator's discretion to dish out to…

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

Lost Jobs, Lost Opportunities: The Reality of the Minimum Wage Hike

• Nathan Benefield
• May 16, 2007

In 2006, Governor Ed Rendell argued that hiking Pennsylvania’s minimum wage by 39% would not lead to lost jobs and opportunities for low-wage workers. Unfortunately, Mr. Rendell has already been…

Commentary

Government Accountability

Memo to Senate State Government Committee Members

• May 7, 2007

MEMORANDUM TO: Pennsylvania Senate State Government Committee Members (Senators Piccola, Folmer, A. Williams, Scarnati, Brubaker, Corman, Punt, McIhinney, Fontana, Hughes, and Tartaglione) FROM: Commonwealth Foundation, Democracy Rising PA, Rock the…

Commentary

Education

Change the Incentives in Education

• Matthew Brouillette
• May 2, 2007

Thank you Chairman Armstrong and members of the Appropriations Committee for the opportunity to discuss the impact of Governor Rendell’s education proposals. You have already heard and are going to…

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

Happy Tax Freedom Day, Pennsylvania!

• Nathan Benefield
• April 27, 2007

April 27, 2007 won’t appear as a holiday on anyone’s calendar. Few workers will get the day off. But it will be the first day Pennsylvania’s workers stop working to…

Commentary

Wild Claims About a Turnpike Lease

• April 18, 2007

It is sad that former Pennsylvania House Speaker John Perzel, who last year said he favored leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike, is now striking out so wildly against the governor's proposal.

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

Prospering In Pennsylvania

• Nathan Benefield
• April 9, 2007

Are Pennsylvania’s workers worse off than they were three decades ago? A report prepared by the labor union-backed Keystone Research Center claims they are. Their data indicate that average real…

Commentary

Government Accountability

In Support of a Limited Constitutional Convention

• Matthew Brouillette
• March 28, 2007

Delivered on Monday, March 26, 2007 Thank you Chairman Piccola and members of the Senate State Government Committee for the opportunity to share with you the position of the…

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

New Paradigm Equals New Opportunities

• March 22, 2007

The global environment for transportation financing is entering a new paradigm. Like many states, Pennsylvania finds itself at the convergence of two intersecting trends that demand fiscal attention: First, growing…

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

Higher Taxes Wont Cure Cancer

• Nathan Benefield
• February 22, 2007

Governor Ed Rendell has, on occasion, joked that some state lawmakers would oppose any tax increase, “even if we could cure cancer tomorrow.” Unfortunately, Governor Rendell adopts the opposite view…

Commentary

Regulation

What Happened to Yesterday’s Hometown Heroes?

• February 6, 2007

Each morning my local county newspaper shows up late. Speaking with the delivery man and calling the office hasn’t changed things. So, rather than canceling the 20,089 daily circulation paper…

Commentary

Health Care

The Pension and Healthcare Non-Crisis

• Richard Dreyfuss
• January 29, 2007

Despite the well-documented unfunded liabilities in Pennsylvania’s largest public employee pension plans (PSERS and SERS), the response from Harrisburg to the coming fiscal crisis ranges from denial to paralysis. Following…

Commentary

Health Care

Governor Rendell’s Healthcare Misdiagnosis

• Nathan Benefield
• January 25, 2007

As healthcare costs continue to rise faster than consumers’ ability to pay, it is clear that we need to alter how we pay for healthcare. Recently, Governor Rendell unveiled a…

Commentary

Health Care

Treating the Symptom Rather than the Cause

• Matthew Brouillette
• January 22, 2007

Governor Rendell wants to expand health insurance to 767,000 uninsured Pennsylvanians by increasing taxes on employers and tobacco users, to name just a few. The full costs have yet to…

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

Public-Private Partnerships: Paying for Our Paving

• January 17, 2007

Pennsylvania is facing a $1.7 billion annual shortfall in funding for roads, bridges and mass transit. The only thing worse than the deficit is the proposed “solution” to this shortfall:…

Commentary

Turnpike Lease is Win-Win for Taxpayers, Lawmakers

• Nathan Benefield
• December 12, 2006

Governor Rendell’s recent announcement that the state would seek “expressions of interest” on a lease of the Pennsylvania Turnpike is a recognition of the potential benefits of public-private partnerships (P3s)…

Commentary

Government Accountability

The Elections Big Winner: Reform

• Nathan Benefield
• November 13, 2006

Did voters reject Republicans and embrace Democrats in the 2006 elections? Of course; the gains in seats held by Democrats (both nationally and statewide) suggest they did. But the reasons…

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

For Sale: Harrisburg Senators (No, Not Those Senators)

• November 8, 2006

In Pennsylvania and across the United States, taxpayers don’t need to look very hard to find examples of wasteful, unconstitutional, or just plain wrongheaded government spending decisions. One of the…

Commentary

Health Care

Uncovering Cover All Kids

• Nathan Benefield
• October 10, 2006

This past summer, state legislative leaders sent Governor Rendell a letter promising legislation by October authorizing the Governor’s “Cover All Kids” initiative. They included over $2 million in the state…

Commentary

Regulation

Pennsylvanias Unlimited Government Equals Limited Economic Growth

• October 5, 2006

In a few months, the tumultuous 2005-06 session of the Pennsylvania General Assembly will come to a close—and will likely do so without further action on the “Taxpayer Fairness Act,”…

Commentary