Energy
Regulations subvert ‘environmental justice’
Originally published at the Williamsport Sun-Gazette Thirty years ago, more than 800 waste coal piles marred the Pennsylvania landscape, poisoning streams and emitting gaseous odors, including the rotten-egg smell…
Read More: Regulations subvert ‘environmental justice’Pennsylvania’s notoriously high level of regulation is a burden on our state economy. To make the Keystone State a competitive place to live, work, or grow a business, reforms are needed to rein in the regulatory process. Taxpayers deserve a streamlined regulatory process that scrutinizes proposed regulations to ensure frivolous reforms do not overburden the state economy and do not prevent job-seekers from accessing employment.
Government Accountability
Op-ed: Pennsylvania construction shutdown puts the elderly at risk
Industry leaders who are directly affected by the governor’s orders do not dispute that Wolf has authority to take action aimed at halting the spread of COVID-19. But it’s that…
Commentary
Read More: Op-ed: Pennsylvania construction shutdown puts the elderly at riskHealth Care
Breaking Down Barriers Following COVID-19
COVID-19 has kept many Pennsylvanians from frequenting the neighborhood coffee shops, nail salons, or retailers they once took for granted. But that’s not the real tragedy—even after stay at home…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Breaking Down Barriers Following COVID-19Health Care
Is it Easier to Be Tiger King Than Buy Booze in Pennsylvania?
For Pennsylvanians, mixing up their favorite cocktail and following the adventures of an off-the-wall zoo owner named Joe Exotic might be easier said than done. State-run liquor stores shut down…
Commentary
Read More: Is it Easier to Be Tiger King Than Buy Booze in Pennsylvania?Regulation
Op-Ed: Coronavirus Crackdown Exposes Failing Government Liquor Monopoly
The state liquor monopoly, not the coronavirus, caused the present alcohol shortage. Now is the time to push for changes.
Commentary
Read More: Op-Ed: Coronavirus Crackdown Exposes Failing Government Liquor MonopolyEducation
Pa. Lawmakers can Help Families and Businesses Overcome COVID-19
March 25, 2020, Harrisburg, Pa. — Today, Commonwealth Foundation released a package of key policy solutions to help reduce the harm caused by COVID-19 and the response to it.
Press Release
Read More: Pa. Lawmakers can Help Families and Businesses Overcome COVID-19Health Care
Policy Recommendations to Fight COVID-19 in Pennsylvania
As Pennsylvania faces its greatest crisis in decades, it is imperative that legislators take the lead and enact key heath care, education, and budget reforms to help Pennsylvania families and small…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Policy Recommendations to Fight COVID-19 in PennsylvaniaHealth Care
Recommendations to Ease Mounting Healthcare Burden
March 16, 2020, Harrisburg, Pa. — The Pennsylvania State Legislature should prioritize flexible medical care as it returns to session this week aiming to mitigate the spread of the novel…
Press Release
Read More: Recommendations to Ease Mounting Healthcare BurdenRegulation
Tale of Two Workers
The rhetoric surrounding public service and actual compensation for public service are two different stories. Average total compensation (salary and benefits) for a Pennsylvania state employee is now $104,506. That’s…
Commentary
Read More: Tale of Two WorkersEducation
Slots for Scholars?
Use of gambling revenue to fund colleges is both economically and morally questionable.
Commentary
Read More: Slots for Scholars?Education
State System Error: Proposed Scholarship Program is a Bailout
Governor Wolf's scholarship plan is a disguised bailout for the financially distressed State System colleges.
Commentary
Read More: State System Error: Proposed Scholarship Program is a BailoutRegulation
Wolf’s Wage Mandates Undermine Workers
Governor Wolf's new overtime pay rules and his sixth minimum wage proposal is a one-two punch that could send our economy reeling.
Commentary
Read More: Wolf’s Wage Mandates Undermine WorkersRegulation
IFO Report: Pa. Wastes $60 Million Per Year on Underperforming Programs
Fairness is such a simple concept. We’re born with it—when treated unfairly, we seek to right the wrong and restore a level playing field. But for some reason, Pennsylvania politics…
Commentary
Read More: IFO Report: Pa. Wastes $60 Million Per Year on Underperforming ProgramsRegulation
Dairy Farms Can’t Support Prevailing Wage Mandates
Pennsylvania’s picturesque countryside is home to roughly 6,200 dairy farms. While the road trip through Pennsylvania is idyllic—the business climate for these farmers is far from ideal.
Commentary
Read More: Dairy Farms Can’t Support Prevailing Wage MandatesEducation
Pension Pacman Must Be Stopped
Next fiscal year Pennsylvania school districts will pay $4.9 billion into PSERS, the state teachers’ pension fund.1 Less than one quarter of that amount will fund new benefits earned by…
Media
Read More: Pension Pacman Must Be StoppedGovernment Accountability
How to Make an Easy Six Million
A week ago the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office announced charges against Wing Tat Chiu and Ivy Hiu-Ying Li, a married couple whom they accuse of earning $6 million in illegal…
Media
Read More: How to Make an Easy Six MillionRegulation
Economic Freedom and Flourishing in Pennsylvania
We live in a free country, but when it comes to our economy, Pennsylvanians aren’t free. Unpredictable regulation makes owning a business a huge risk in Pennsylvania, and when it…
Media
Read More: Economic Freedom and Flourishing in PennsylvaniaCriminal 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 WelcomeRegulation
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 HoleHealth 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.