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.
Related Issues
State Budget
The Taxpayer Protection Act
KEY POINTS Pennsylvania’s frequent budget deficits are the consequence of chronic overspending. Pennsylvanians pay $4,589 per person in state and local taxes, which equals 10.2 percent of residents’ total…
Backgrounder
Read More: The Taxpayer Protection ActEnergy
Climate Change Initiative Would Raise Costs Without Environmental Benefits, Critics Say
If Pennsylvania joins a multistate climate change agreement that restricts carbon dioxide emissions, energy prices will increase and jobs will be lost in response to new regulatory…
Commentary
Read More: Climate Change Initiative Would Raise Costs Without Environmental Benefits, Critics SayEnergy
Energy Shows Why Regulatory Reform is Key
Right now in Pennsylvania —the second-largest energy-producing state behind Texas— Governor Wolf is using executive action to attempt to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). This interstate…
Commentary
Read More: Energy Shows Why Regulatory Reform is KeyEnergy
Op-Ed: Pennsylvania Governor’s Climate Regulations Draw Bipartisan Opposition as Hearings Begin
The Wolf administration’s own estimates reportedly show that the tax from selling allowances would generate $2.36 billion over the next decade, which energy consumers would pay through their…
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: Pennsylvania Governor’s Climate Regulations Draw Bipartisan Opposition as Hearings BeginEnergy
Op-Ed: Was fracking to blame for Pa. Democrats’ “faceplant”?
Biden’s fossil fuel flip-flop may have saved him, but fellow Democrats took the brunt of energy voters’ ire.
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: Was fracking to blame for Pa. Democrats’ “faceplant”?Taxes & Economy
Crucial Reforms Needed in End-of-Year Budget
The recently completed state budget will dig Pennsylvania into a deep hole. Lawmakers passed a 7.5% increase in spending. The General Fund budget, including billions in one-time federal funds, is $36.54 billion—up from $33.98 billion last…
Media
Read More: Crucial Reforms Needed in End-of-Year BudgetState Budget
Balancing the State Budget Didn’t Have to Be This Hard
If lawmakers had enacted the Taxpayer Protection Act in 2018, they would face a $770 million gap between revenues and spending. Going one step further, if lawmakers had enacted the…
Commentary
Read More: Balancing the State Budget Didn’t Have to Be This HardState Budget
How to Balance the State Budget without Raising Taxes in a Pandemic
Reducing spending to reflect how the pandemic impacted state agencies and balance the budget without tax hikes or borrowing is the first step. Without additional structural spending changes laid out in…
Backgrounder
Read More: How to Balance the State Budget without Raising Taxes in a PandemicEnergy
Op-Ed: Drilling and Fracking Equal Jobs. Does Biden Understand That?
In the past decade, fracking enabled drillers to reach the gas trapped in that shale quickly and cheaply, creating tens of thousands of jobs in the shale and pipeline service industries alone.
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: Drilling and Fracking Equal Jobs. Does Biden Understand That?Energy
Op-Ed: Pennsylvania should keep fracking and oil as pro-energy policies
The Keystone State is also the nation’s second-largest producer of natural gas, third-largest producer of coal, 16th-largest producer of crude oil, and third-largest producer of electricity in general, according to…
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: Pennsylvania should keep fracking and oil as pro-energy policiesRegulation
Help Restaurants by Privatizing the PLCB
Clearly, Gov. Wolf looks out of touch—and perhaps he knows it. Last week, following his veto, he released a proposal to waiver license fees collected by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB)…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Help Restaurants by Privatizing the PLCBHealthcare
Preserving Medicaid Before It’s Too Late
Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program is a national leader in all the wrong ways. Sub-standard access to care and soaring enrollment, costs, and fraud crowd out services for people with intellectual disabilities and low-income…
Backgrounder
Read More: Preserving Medicaid Before It’s Too LateHealthcare
Free-market Face Lift: How to Make Health Care More Affordable
Excessive restrictions on health care providers limits access to care. …
Commentary
Read More: Free-market Face Lift: How to Make Health Care More AffordableHealthcare
COVID-19 Could Change the Way Pennsylvania Does Business
Small business owners like Elvira, Jessa, and Andy deserve a fighting chance to keep their business dreams alive. That’s the only way to heal Pennsylvania’s economy.
Fact Sheet
Read More: COVID-19 Could Change the Way Pennsylvania Does BusinessState Budget
Marijuana Money Can’t Fix the Budget
The dollars involved are small and legalization would create new expenses.
Memo
Read More: Marijuana Money Can’t Fix the BudgetEnergy
Lawmakers Fight Wolf on Cap and Trade Plan
Governor Wolf is determined to pull Pennsylvania into a multi-state compact that restricts carbon dioxide emissions and raises the cost of power. But thanks to the natural gas revolution Pennsylvania…
Commentary
Read More: Lawmakers Fight Wolf on Cap and Trade PlanHealthcare
Lawmakers Push to Do Better, Rebuild Our Economy
Today the Republicans in the Pa. House attempted to override the Governor’s veto of HR 836, the bill that would end Pennsylvania’s 6-month long state of emergency and the…
Commentary
Read More: Lawmakers Push to Do Better, Rebuild Our EconomyRegulation
Lawmakers Try to Stop Restaurant Catastrophe
Bars and restaurants in Pennsylvania are sounding the alarm, warning that mass closures are on the horizon due to unnecessarily strict government regulations. A new report from the …
Media
Read More: Lawmakers Try to Stop Restaurant CatastropheTaxes & Economy
Wolf Takes More Federal Money, Complains About It
Governor Wolf is focused more on wrangling over unemployment aid than lowering unemployment.
Commentary
Read More: Wolf Takes More Federal Money, Complains About ItHealthcare
Preserving Medicaid: How to Stop Shortchanging Patients and Bankrupting Taxpayers
Pennsylvania is a Medicaid leader in all the wrong ways. Enrollment has skyrocketed beyond population growth, and the state ranks fourth in the share of the state budget consumed by Medicaid.
Report
Read More: Preserving Medicaid: How to Stop Shortchanging Patients and Bankrupting TaxpayersEducation
Unleashing Educational Opportunity
Applying cautious estimates, this study finds that the two private school choice programs in Pennsylvania are expected to provide billions in long-run economic benefits from higher lifetime earnings, fewer high…
Report
Read More: Unleashing Educational Opportunity