Pennsylvania’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

  • Michael Torres
  • February 3, 2021

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 Behind

State Budget

Three Takeaways on Gov. Wolf’s 2021 Budget

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 3, 2021

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 Budget

State Budget

The Taxpayer Protection Act

  • Tirzah Duren
  • January 21, 2021

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 Act

State Budget

Balancing the State Budget Didn’t Have to Be This Hard

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • November 12, 2020

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 Hard

State Budget

How to Balance the State Budget without Raising Taxes in a Pandemic

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • November 6, 2020

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 Pandemic

Healthcare

Preserving Medicaid Before It’s Too Late

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • September 24, 2020

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 Late

Government Accountability

Solutions to Preventing Tax Increases in 2021

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 26, 2020

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 2021

Government Accountability

Slicing Pennsylvania’s Finances, Part 3

  • Andrew Abramczyk
  • May 20, 2020

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 3

Healthcare

Policy Recommendations to Fight COVID-19 in Pennsylvania

  • March 24, 2020

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 Pennsylvania

Healthcare

No Easy Pass This Year on Cost Overruns

  • Andrew Abramczyk
  • March 3, 2020

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 Overruns

Healthcare

Where Have All the Human Service Dollars Gone?

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • February 10, 2020

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?

Government Accountability

Lawmakers Send Message to Wolf on Eve of Budget Address

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 3, 2020

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 Address

State Budget

The Road to Better Infrastructure

  • Tirzah Duren
  • January 3, 2020

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