Prosperity
Ending Poverty Starts With Increasing Work And Paychecks, Not Government Budgets
Originally published at The Federalist Lawmakers across the spectrum agree that poverty is a perennial crisis. But if they are ever going to come together to find an effective…
Read More: Ending Poverty Starts With Increasing Work And Paychecks, Not Government BudgetsMany Pennsylvanians face chronic unemployment, welfare dependency, and the cycle of poverty. This happens because labor incentives have been overridden by bad policies that keep millions out of the workforce and enact excessive red tape. We can reverse this trend by ending the practice of waiving work requirements on able-bodied Pennsylvanians with no dependents, removing barriers to employment for those seeking a fresh start, and creating a healthcare system without burdensome regulations.
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Taxes & Economy
SNAP Back to Reality, Senators
Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Senate Democrats’ Twitter, @PaSenateDems, comes some high-stakes rhetoric during a Capitol press conference today. In reaction to the Pa. Department of Public Welfare’s decision to reapply…
Media
Read More: SNAP Back to Reality, SenatorsTaxes & Economy
Welfare Reforms Protect Poor, Taxpayers
Regardless of where you stand on taxpayer-funded entitlements, few Americans argue against the maintenance of temporary safety nets or modifications aimed at ending welfare fraud, waste and abuse.
Commentary
Read More: Welfare Reforms Protect Poor, TaxpayersCriminal Justice Reform
Fiscal Outlook for Pennsylvania: Not Too Rosy
This week the new Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office held its first annual seminar on the state economy and revenue. After a series of presentations on the state of the…
Media
Read More: Fiscal Outlook for Pennsylvania: Not Too RosyCriminal Justice Reform
Corrections Reform: Another Sacred Cow?
Our friends at Reason.org have called out Pennsylvania lawmakers’ opposition to prison healthcare reform, calling it yet another public sector union sacred cow. At issue is House…
Media
Read More: Corrections Reform: Another Sacred Cow?Criminal Justice Reform
Time for Pennsylvania to Get Right on Crime
Last week on NPR, former U.S. Attorney General and Pennsylvania Gov. Dick Thornburgh joined Adam Gelb, director for Pew’s Public Safety Performance Project, to discuss criminal justice…
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Read More: Time for Pennsylvania to Get Right on CrimeTaxes & Economy
Do Millionaires Need Food Stamps?
For the past few years, politicians in Harrisburg and Washington have considered it a “success” to put more families on welfare. The result is an abundance of loopholes that allow…
Media
Read More: Do Millionaires Need Food Stamps?Health Care
No Rush on Health Insurance Exchanges
In late November the Department of Insurance announced that Pennsylvania would begin implementing a state health insurance exchange as laid out in PPACA (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care…
Media
Read More: No Rush on Health Insurance ExchangesWelfare
Protecting Medicaid for the Poor
The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare has trimmed Pennsylvania’s Medicaid rolls by 150,000 people since August. Welfare spending advocates and organizations receiving welfare dollars…
Media
Read More: Protecting Medicaid for the PoorHealth Care
How Much Will Obamacare Cost You?
The federal health care overhaul will be paid for with spending cuts and an estimated $420 billion in new taxes. How much of that $420 billion will come out of your pocket?…
Media
Read More: How Much Will Obamacare Cost You?Welfare
Getting Serious About Welfare Abuse
The Department of Public Welfare’s effort to curb fraud and abuse continues. This week the Department announced the creation of a new office, the Office of Program Integrity. This…
Media
Read More: Getting Serious About Welfare AbuseTaxes & Economy
100,000+ Improperly Get Pa. Med Benefits
Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare testified that hundreds of thousands of individuals were improperly receiving Medicaid, taxpayer-funded health care for the poor and the disabled. Capitolwire writes:…
Media
Read More: 100,000+ Improperly Get Pa. Med BenefitsWelfare
Welfare Funds for Home Bowling Alley
What do bowling alleys, chandeliers, and six-person hot tubs have in common? They’ve all been purchased with state welfare funds. Yesterday Tim Costa, executive deputy secretary of the Department of…
Media
Read More: Welfare Funds for Home Bowling AlleyHealth Care
Changing the Incentives in Medicaid
Medicaid spending is set to skyrocket under the federal health care overhaul in the next two years, but it already consumes 31 percent of Pennsylvania’s budget. It is no…
Media
Read More: Changing the Incentives in MedicaidTaxes & Economy
Welfare Fraud Persists
The LIHEAP heating assistance program is once again under fire from Auditor General Jack Wagner. A 2007 audit lead the district attorney of Philadelphia to charge 18 people with…
Media
Read More: Welfare Fraud PersistsHealth Care
Pennsylvania Welfare Spending & Medicaid
Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed FY 2011-12 budget would represent the first time General Fund spending on the Department of Public Welfare would exceed that for the Department of Education.
Fact Sheet
Read More: Pennsylvania Welfare Spending & MedicaidHealth Care
Rescuing the States from Medicaid
State Medicaid spending has increased four times faster than elementary and secondary education spending and nine times faster than transportation spending over the past two decades. In Pennsylvania,…
Media
Read More: Rescuing the States from MedicaidGovernment Accountability
PA House Passes Four Reform Bills this Week
The Pennsylvania State House has been especially productive this week, passing four pieces of key legislation that CF blogged on last week.
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Read More: PA House Passes Four Reform Bills this WeekTaxes & Economy
House Republicans Introduce Welfare Reforms
Public Welfare is both the largest—at over $27 billion in total spending— and among the fastest growing programs in the Pennsylvania state budget. In…
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Read More: House Republicans Introduce Welfare ReformsCriminal Justice Reform
Prisoners Cost Less in Michigan than in Pennsylvania
Last week, Gov. Tom Corbett announced that more than 2,000 inmates previously housed in Michigan and Virginia are returning to Pennsylvania prisons. The problem is that it’s cheaper…
Media
Read More: Prisoners Cost Less in Michigan than in PennsylvaniaHealth Care
Still Learning “What’s in the Bill”
My brother sent me the following text message while at his local pharmacy: Just realized that OTC [over-the-counter] drugs are no longer covered by HSA thanks to Obama. I…
Media
Read More: Still Learning “What’s in the Bill”Health Care
Medicaid Reforms Needed as Welfare Spending Surpasses Education
Under Gov. Corbett’s budget proposal, Pennsylvania would spend more on welfare than education for first time. A large chunk of that welfare spending is in Medicaid, a joint state-federal program…
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Read More: Medicaid Reforms Needed as Welfare Spending Surpasses Education