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Education
Lawmakers can ease financial worries of Pennsylvanians
Originally published at LNP The struggle is real. When asked about their families’ financial situation, only 17% of Pennsylvanians see themselves as better off now than two years ago,…
Read More: Lawmakers can ease financial worries of PennsylvaniansHigh taxes make for a slow-growing economy. And communities feel the pinch of high taxes as more and more native Pennsylvanians leave the Keystone State to prosper elsewhere. To remain economically competitive, Pennsylvania must lower state taxes and ensure businesses have the opportunity to succeed. Lower taxes will incentivize more individuals to call Pennsylvania their home, ultimately spurring our statewide economy forward.
Taxes & Economy
Pennsylvania’s Great Rail Disasters
Every Pennsylvanian agrees that traffic congestion and air pollution are hardly good or desirable things for our cities. But there is much less agreement on what strategies should be used…
Commentary
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Bail on These Bonds
If Pennsylvania is the next state to tax, borrow or spend its way to prosperity, it will also be the first. The historical and economic reality is that government is…
Commentary
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The Susquehanna Sailors: Taking the Liberty to Live it up on your Property
Ronald Reagan is credited for having once said: "Some people say that the government spends money like a bunch of drunken sailors. That isn't fair. At least the drunken sailors…
Commentary
Read More: The Susquehanna Sailors: Taking the Liberty to Live it up on your PropertyHealth Care
Diagnosis Litigation
Despite a number of obstacles limiting access to affordable insurance, America’s healthcare system remains the envy of the world. But as the current medical malpractice insurance epidemic raging across the…
Commentary
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Great Rail Disasters: The Impact of Rail Transit on Urban Livability
Abstract This paper grades rail transit in twenty-three urban areas on thirteen different criteria:…
Report
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Hang Up on the Cell Phone Tax!
Pennsylvania policymakers frequently talk about building and nurturing a hightech economy in the Commonwealth—yet the latest effort to raise taxes on the wireless telephone industry reveals that many of them…
Commentary
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Pennsylvanias Education Funding Gap
Executive Summary…
Fact Sheet
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“We refuse to learn from history, and we’re determined to repeat it!”
For the second time in a little more than a decade, Pennsylvania politicians are poised to make sure that the Commonwealth misses out on a developing economic boom by passing…
Commentary
Read More: “We refuse to learn from history, and we’re determined to repeat it!”Taxes & Economy
Restore the First Amendment at Shippensburg University
While the pursuit of diversity at our state and nation’s universities is frequently discussed by journalists and academics, its reach has not been all-encompassing. Indeed, diversity of opinion, and even…
Commentary
Read More: Restore the First Amendment at Shippensburg UniversityTaxes & Economy
Hunting for Taxpayers: Pennsylvania’s Big Game Sport
This fall, the newest Cabela’s outdoor superstore—described by a company marketing specialist as “a retail store wrapped up in a museum wrapped up in a restaurant”—opened in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Commentary
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School Construction and Electoral Participation
Testimony of Matthew J. Brouillette, President, Commonwealth Foundation…
Commentary
Read More: School Construction and Electoral ParticipationPublic Union Democracy
More “Takers” Than “Makers”
Another Labor Day is upon us, but the organized labor union movement in Pennsylvania has very little to celebrate this year. Union membership in the private sector continues its decades…
Commentary
Read More: More “Takers” Than “Makers”Taxes & Economy
The Estimated Impact of Gov. Rendells 34 Percent Personal Income Tax Increase Proposal
Executive Summary A major funding stream for Gov. Ed Rendell’s “Plan for a New Pennsylvania” would come from a 34 percent increase in the Commonwealth’s personal income tax (PIT), from…
Fact Sheet
Read More: The Estimated Impact of Gov. Rendells 34 Percent Personal Income Tax Increase ProposalTaxes & Economy
The Case for a Pennsylvania Tax and Expenditure Limitation
Executive Summary In recent years, states across the United States with both limits on how much their governments can tax and/or spend and “super-majority” provisions that make it more difficult…
Fact Sheet
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Governor Rendells Rewarding Results & Accountability
Testimony of Matthew J. Brouillette, President, Commonwealth Foundation Thank you Chairman Stairs and members of the Committee for the invitation to testify this afternoon on Governor Rendell’s “Rewarding Results and…
Commentary
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The New Pennsylvania Slogan: Pay Me Now and Pay Me Later
Remember the television commercials promoting an automotive oil filter that featured the statement “You can pay me now, or pay me later”? Well, when it comes to business taxes, Pennsylvania…
Commentary
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Governor Rendells Plan for a New Pennsylvania
Testimony of Matthew J. Brouillette, President, Commonwealth Foundation Thank you Rep. Argall and members of the House Appropriations Committee for the opportunity to speak to you this afternoon on…
Commentary
Read More: Governor Rendells Plan for a New PennsylvaniaRegulation
Pennsylvanias $2 Billion Corporate Giveaway
Executive Summary Current proposals under consideration in the Pennsylvania General Assembly would grant limited gambling licenses to horse racetracks across the Commonwealth in an attempt to bolster the struggling industry.
Fact Sheet
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Earth Day Reality Check: Embrace the Truth Not Environmental Hysteria
Forty years ago, native Pennsylvanian Rachel Carson and author of Silent Spring wrote “We stand now where two roads diverge.” Carson’s statement accurately reflects the current state of Pennsylvania’s regulatory…
Commentary
Read More: Earth Day Reality Check: Embrace the Truth Not Environmental HysteriaTaxes & Economy
Governor Rendell Strikes Out With Economic Development Bonds
Governor Ed Rendell moonlights as a cable television sports commentator. So when Pennsylvanians recently saw headlines reading “Rendell Wants $2 Billion for Bonds,” many of them could be forgiven for…
Commentary
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What $17.4 Billion Cant Buy
There are few things in Pennsylvania that $17,438,840,000 cannot buy. Yet in signing the 2003-04 Budget, Governor Rendell told Pennsylvanians that $10,400 average per-pupil revenue is simply not enough to…
Commentary
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