State Budget
Governor Shapiro’s First Budget Falls Short
Originally published at RealClearPennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s first state budget proposal perpetuates unsustainable spending and fails to address the most promising ideas he put forward during his campaign. For…
Read More: Governor Shapiro’s First Budget Falls ShortPennsylvania’s complex state budget has enabled policymakers to keep taxpayers in the dark when it comes to state spending. Year after year, some elected officials use budget gimmicks to both make the budget appear balanced and to secure their own agendas. Pennsylvanians deserve reforms that bring true transparency to the budgeting process. We must limit spending growth to a sustainable rate, ensuring the state government—like hardworking taxpayers—live within its means.
State Budget
Wolf’s Big, Bad Budget Leaves Families Behind
Feb. 3, 2021, Harrisburg, Pa. —Following Gov. Tom Wolf’s pre-recorded state budget address, Commonwealth Foundation Vice President Nathan Benefield, who has been studying the state budget for more than a…
Press Release
Read More: Wolf’s Big, Bad Budget Leaves Families BehindState Budget
Three Takeaways on Gov. Wolf’s 2021 Budget
Our commonwealth faces a structural budget deficit. Families need education lifelines to get back on track. Small businesses need regulatory and tax relief to stay afloat. Patients need more options to access care.
Commentary
Read More: Three Takeaways on Gov. Wolf’s 2021 BudgetState 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 ActState 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 PandemicHealthcare
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 LateState 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 BudgetHealthcare
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
The Race to Rebuild: How Pa. Can Bounce Back After COVID-19
Pennsylvanians are facing some of the biggest challenges of their lifetimes. It is time for lawmakers to launch a race to rebuild Pennsylvania using the following policy solutions.
Report
Read More: The Race to Rebuild: How Pa. Can Bounce Back After COVID-19Regulation
Competition, Not Corporate Welfare: 3 Ways to Help All Businesses Flourish
To effectively promote economic growth and job creation, policymakers need to stop investing tax dollars in failed programs and start enacting policies that benefit a wide range of job creators.
Memo
Read More: Competition, Not Corporate Welfare: 3 Ways to Help All Businesses FlourishState Budget
Strange Budget for Strange Times: 2020-2021 State Budget Overview
State assembly funds the government through November with a budget chock full of federal aid. …
Memo
Read More: Strange Budget for Strange Times: 2020-2021 State Budget OverviewGovernment Accountability
Solutions to Preventing Tax Increases in 2021
Lawmakers can respect the Pennsylvania constitution’s balanced budget amendment and act to prevent tax increases that will drive more families and businesses out of the state, further shrinking the revenue…
Memo
Read More: Solutions to Preventing Tax Increases in 2021Government Accountability
Slicing Pennsylvania’s Finances, Part 3
The state government uses special entities to borrow in excess of the constitutional debt limit and make loans and guarantees that would otherwise be illegal.
Report
Read More: Slicing Pennsylvania’s Finances, Part 3Healthcare
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 PennsylvaniaHealthcare
No Easy Pass This Year on Cost Overruns
Legislators are questioning the administration's chronic overspending habit, but they aren't getting many answers.
Commentary
Read More: No Easy Pass This Year on Cost OverrunsEducation
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 BailoutGovernment Accountability
Three Steps to an Honest Budget: Fiscal Reform Priorities 2020-2021
Our legislative roadmap to a balanced budget, a spending limit and a more transparent fiscal process.
Fact Sheet
Read More: Three Steps to an Honest Budget: Fiscal Reform Priorities 2020-2021Healthcare
Where Have All the Human Service Dollars Gone?
Nearly half of Pennsylvania's budget goes to human services or welfare. Governor Wolf wants to increase human service spending by $1.4 billion next year. But how well are these programs…
Commentary
Read More: Where Have All the Human Service Dollars Gone?State Budget
5 Takeaways from Governor Wolf’s 2020 Budget Address
Governor Wolf unveiled his sixth budget proposal today. Here are five key takeaways.
Commentary
Read More: 5 Takeaways from Governor Wolf’s 2020 Budget AddressGovernment Accountability
Lawmakers Send Message to Wolf on Eve of Budget Address
February 3, 2020, Harrisburg, Pa. — Today, on the eve of Gov. Wolf’s sixth state budget address, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a much-needed fiscal reform called the…
Press Release
Read More: Lawmakers Send Message to Wolf on Eve of Budget AddressState Budget
The Road to Better Infrastructure
Anyone who has ever driven on Pennsylvania’s roads knows this state is filled with structurally deficient bridges—3,770 to be exact—and that the skill of artfully swerving around potholes is essential…
Commentary
Read More: The Road to Better Infrastructure