State Budget
Corporate Welfare in the 2024–25 Budget
Summary Pennsylvania’s economy is largely uncompetitive, with the state routinely losing businesses and residents to more economically competitive states like Florida, North Carolina, and Texas. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposes…
Read More: Corporate Welfare in the 2024–25 BudgetPennsylvania’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.
2024 state budget resources
State Budget
Budget Deal Reached
While taxpayers and state workers slept, lawmakers shook hands on a budget deal. John Micek has some of the details, as does the Patriot News. General Fund budget:…
Media
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Stop the Borrowing: $110B is Enough!
HARRISBURG, PA — The Commonwealth Foundation sounded an alarm today that both Governor Rendell and state lawmakers are poised to take citizens deeper into debt. “Putting the people of…
Press Release
Read More: Stop the Borrowing: $110B is Enough!Regulation
House Republicans Highlight Debt, Rendell Spending
AP article on House Republicans (at least some of them) noting the enormous burden of debt on Pennsylvania taxpayers before voting on more borrowing for corporate welfare.
Media
Read More: House Republicans Highlight Debt, Rendell SpendingGovernment Accountability
Perzel, Fumo at Secret Budget Negotiations
John Micek reports on the details of the secret budget negotiations: The players last night:House Dems: Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, Whip Keith McCall and Appropriations Chair Dwight…
Media
Read More: Perzel, Fumo at Secret Budget NegotiationsState Budget
Pennsylvania Senate Proposes Spending Diet
Low-growth budget is a step in the right direction, but will House and Governor agree? HARRISBURG, PA — The Pennsylvania Senate recently passed a state spending plan for the upcoming…
Press Release
Read More: Pennsylvania Senate Proposes Spending DietState Budget
Senate Passes Trimmed Down Budget
Tired of waiting for the House Democrats to pass a budget bill, the Senate today passed their own version (as an amendment to supplemental appropriations for last year).
Media
Read More: Senate Passes Trimmed Down BudgetState Budget
Rendell: Furloughs to begin July 1
The Rendell administration has announced that furloughs of non-essential state workers (which includes everyone but state troopers, prison guards, liquor store clerks, casino regulators, and of course, legislative staffers…
Media
Read More: Rendell: Furloughs to begin July 1State Budget
Put Pennsylvania on a Spending Diet
The Burden of Taxes In 2008, the average working Pennsylvanian will labor 111 days just to pay his or her federal, state, and local taxes—the equivalent of working January 1…
Press Release
Read More: Put Pennsylvania on a Spending DietState Budget
How Bad is the Farm Bill
In light of today’s front page commentary on the federal Farm Bill Fiasco, here are some more links describing how awful this legislation is. Citizen’s Against Government Waste…
Media
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A Closer Look at Stadium Subsidies
The American magazine has an exposé on sport stadium subsidies, by Dennis Coates, reaching the conclusion that they do not result in broad economic growth: My own research,…
Media
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Did Pork cause bridge collapse?
Yahoo! News has a story about McCain “backing off” an earlier statement that pork barrel projects caused the Minnesota bridge collapse. However, while earmarks didn’t cause the bridge to…
Media
Read More: Did Pork cause bridge collapse?State Budget
Who Gets Farm Subsidies
Environmental Working Group has a comprehensive database of US farm subsidies. (HT Club for Growth). Here are Pennsylvania’s top recipients in 2007.
Media
Read More: Who Gets Farm SubsidiesState Budget
Make Cardboard Checks Vanish
Senator Eichelberger’s stand against posing with cardboard checks when handing out taxpayer-funded grants is getting attention across the state, with a story in the Morning-Call, and…
Media
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Time for a Spending Diet
As Pennsylvania taxpayers breath a collective sigh of relief after completing their 2007 tax returns, another tax day is looming. But this is a day to celebrate. It’s Tax Freedom…
Commentary
Read More: Time for a Spending DietState Budget
Bringing home the bacon gets a slap in the face
The York Daily Record has an article on state lawmakers and administration officials’ penchant for posing with cardboard checks – i.e. “Ed McMahon syndrome” – prompted by Senator…
Media
Read More: Bringing home the bacon gets a slap in the faceState Budget
The Merits of Pork Barrel spending
Tom Barnes of the Post-Gazette has a story on the state capital budget, covering some of the projects in the Pittsburgh area. The Rendell administration tries to take…
Media
Read More: The Merits of Pork Barrel spendingGovernment Accountability
Why the capital budget process needs to be reformed
Here is a response I posted on GrassrootsPA to the defenders of the $13 billion in capital budget projects who state essentially “It isn’t that bad, because not all…
Media
Read More: Why the capital budget process needs to be reformedState Budget
Pork-Barrel Projects Take Taxpayers to Slaughterhouse
Commonwealth Foundation condemns earmarking of $12.7 billion in taxpayer debt HARRISBURG, PA — The Commonwealth Foundation expressed disappointment in the Pennsylvania Senate’s passage of House Bill 1589, which authorizes $12.7…
Press Release
Read More: Pork-Barrel Projects Take Taxpayers to SlaughterhouseState Budget
$13 Billion capital budget flies under radar
The $12.7 billion in borrowing for the state Capital Budget has become a hot topic on GrassrootsPA. Otherwise, it has merited a blurb in the Patriot News, and…
Media
Read More: $13 Billion capital budget flies under radarState Budget
CAGW releases Congressional Pig Book
Citizens Against Government Waste released their annual Congressional Pig Book, highlighting $17.2 billion in pork projects (11,610 projects). Pennsylvania ranks 31st in pork per capita (though sixth in…
Media
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$100 Trillion Dollars in Debt!
John Goodman analyzes the latest report of unfunded Social Security and Medicare liabilities and come up with the grand total of $102 Trillion for the “infinite horizon” (after reducing…
Media
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