Prosperity
Reforms would reduce poverty, increase prosperity
Originally published on LNP On Tuesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro will deliver his first annual state budget address to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. While he hasn’t unveiled the details of…
Read More: Reforms would reduce poverty, increase prosperityEvery family, business owner, and taxpayer in Pennsylvania should be able to increase their financial security without undue interference from our state government. Free-market policies that limit taxes, allow entrepreneurs to innovate and create jobs, and offer stability to families will put our state on track to become a national leader. Policies that enact spending limits, cut taxes, and reduce regulations will help Pennsylvania avoid debt and restore sound fiscal planning that will benefit citizens in the years to come.
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Criminal Justice Reform
Pa. Senate Passes Legislation Removing Employment Barriers
Individuals like Ericka Miller and Amanda Spillane are one step closer to having a fair opportunity to pursue success and live their American dream. On Thursday, the state Senate…
Media
Read More: Pa. Senate Passes Legislation Removing Employment BarriersGovernment Accountability
Sunlight is Always Welcome
Pennsylvania’s two state-wide public pension systems are deeply underfunded. They only have about sixty cents in assets available for each dollar of promised payouts, which means they are at…
Media
Read More: Sunlight is Always WelcomeState Budget
It Won’t Get Easier: Our Take on the State’s Five Year Outlook
Last week the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) presented its annual set of fiscal and economic projections for the next five years. The full report and summary presentation are available…
Media
Read More: It Won’t Get Easier: Our Take on the State’s Five Year OutlookRegulation
The O-Zone Hole
State and national governments sometimes designate “Economic Opportunity Zones,” geographic areas wherein they give tax breaks to incentivize investment. If opportunity zones are such a great idea, though, why not…
Media
Read More: The O-Zone HoleState Budget
Pennsylvania’s Overspending: A $1 Billion-Per-Year Disaster in the Making
November 15, 2019, Harrisburg, Pa. — A new report from the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office projects that state government will run annual deficits around $1 billion for…
Press Release
Read More: Pennsylvania’s Overspending: A $1 Billion-Per-Year Disaster in the MakingState Budget
Pennsylvania Needs the Ramsey Method
High debt, reckless spending, and impending financial ruin. That description fits both Pennsylvania and budget guru Dave Ramsey’s life before he achieved financial stability. The Ramsey method has helped millions of…
Media
Read More: Pennsylvania Needs the Ramsey MethodState Budget
Pa. Voters Support the Taxpayer Protection Act
Nearly 2/3rds of Pennsylvanians support the Taxpayer Protection Act.
Poll
Read More: Pa. Voters Support the Taxpayer Protection ActTaxes & Economy
Pennsylvania’s Business Climate is a Gamble for Entrepreneurs
60, 61, 29, 45! While these might sound like Powerball numbers, they are actually state rankings that highlight just how lucky businesses in Pennsylvania aren’t. Across different measurements of the state’s business…
Media
Read More: Pennsylvania’s Business Climate is a Gamble for EntrepreneursHealth Care
The Administrative Cost of Community Engagement Requirements in Medicaid
This is the first in a series of policy briefs looking at the common objections to implementing community engagement requirements, or work expectations, for healthy adults receiving benefits under Medicaid…
Fact Sheet
Read More: The Administrative Cost of Community Engagement Requirements in MedicaidRegulation
Sparks Fly Over Creating a Carbon Tax in Pa.
Walk outs, tin foil hats, and shouts from the audience characterized a tense House Energy and Environmental Resources hearing on Governor Wolf’s executive order to join the Regional…
Media
Read More: Sparks Fly Over Creating a Carbon Tax in Pa.Regulation
Wolf’s Wage Mandate will Harm Workers
Fewer jobs, reduced hours, cuts to take home pay. That’s what Pennsylvanians are facing now that Gov. Wolf’s overtime wage mandates are moving forward. Initially, Wolf wanted to increase the…
Media
Read More: Wolf’s Wage Mandate will Harm WorkersState Budget
Slicing Pennsylvania’s Finances, Part 2
The state legislature controls less than half of all state revenue. The rest is on autopilot, flowing automatically through a maze of accounts and undermining the constituional plan for accountabilty…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Slicing Pennsylvania’s Finances, Part 2Regulation
Fleeing Philly
Roughly 60,000 people leave Philadelphia every year, significantly more than those who move in from other towns or cities according to a Pew Charitable Trusts survey.[1]…
Media
Read More: Fleeing PhillyTaxes & Economy
Wolf Pollutes the Discussion on RGGI
Power plants aren’t the only things blowing smoke in Pennsylvania. Governor Wolf’s executive order forcing the state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is based on deceptive “findings.” And…
Media
Read More: Wolf Pollutes the Discussion on RGGITaxes & Economy
State Treasury: Soak the Rich
Last week the Pennsylvania state treasury tweeted a link to a New York Times opinion piece headlined The Rich Really Do Pay Lower Taxes Than You. The piece…
Media
Read More: State Treasury: Soak the RichTaxes & Economy
The Not-So Secret Trick to Raise Kids out of Poverty
Innassa, a Pittsburgh native, was a stay-at-home mom for her two sons while her husband worked. Then, he got injured—and three surgeries later, still hasn’t recovered. “He’s talking and can…
Media
Read More: The Not-So Secret Trick to Raise Kids out of PovertyRegulation
Good Returns Won’t Close the Gap
The state teachers’ pension fund, PSERS, just reported a 6.7% return over the past twelve months. That is a very good investment return. Sadly, when starting from a deep…
Media
Read More: Good Returns Won’t Close the GapRegulation
RGGI Would Hurt Pennsylvanians
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is a network of nine surrounding states that have imposed caps on CO2 emissions in a failed attempt to impact climate trends. Current member states have experienced increased…
Media
Read More: RGGI Would Hurt PennsylvaniansRegulation
Pensions and Pa’s Poor Fiscal Health
Pennsylvania recently underwent a “fiscal physical’ and didn’t exactly come out with a clean bill of health. Truth in Accounting, an economic think tank, recently released its report on the…
Media
Read More: Pensions and Pa’s Poor Fiscal HealthState Budget
Soda Taxes Target the Poor
Soda may not be on the list of Seven Deadly Sins but try telling that to lawmakers in Philadelphia. On January 1, 2017, the city instituted a tax of 1.5…
Media
Read More: Soda Taxes Target the PoorTaxes & Economy
How to Increase Economic Growth
The following testimony was given at the Pennsylvania Fiscal and Economic Summit at York College on August 22. Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you…
Testimony
Read More: How to Increase Economic Growth