Taxes & Economy
The Basic Economic Mistake Both Candidates Make
Originally published in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Poll after poll reveals what’s on voters’ minds: It’s the economy, stupid, as it was in 1992 when Bill Clinton’s campaign advisor James Carville…
Read More: The Basic Economic Mistake Both Candidates MakeHigh 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.
Education
Getting More, Paying Less: Children, Taxpayers, and Public Schools Benefit from the Educational Improvement Tax Credit
Executive Summary The public school system is one of the most expansive and expensive government monopolies in America. Yet both real-world experience and economic research suggest that this monopoly of…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Getting More, Paying Less: Children, Taxpayers, and Public Schools Benefit from the Educational Improvement Tax CreditTaxes & Economy
Economic Development
Across the United States, state and local governments are locked in a constant competition to attract and retain businesses. Public subsidies, in the form of grants, loans, tax incentives, and…
Fact Sheet
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Parent Reform: The Next Movement in Public Education?
Lebanon sure isn’t Lake Wobegon where, as Garrison Keillor tells it, all the children are above average. Heck, this Lebanon, Pennsylvania school district is apparently so troubled by children, it’s…
Commentary
Read More: Parent Reform: The Next Movement in Public Education?Regulation
The Economic Impacts of Introducing Slot Machines at Racetracks in Pennsylvania: A Review of the Penn State Harrisburg Study
Purpose …
Fact Sheet
Read More: The Economic Impacts of Introducing Slot Machines at Racetracks in Pennsylvania: A Review of the Penn State Harrisburg StudyState Budget
Rightsizing State Government: Solutions to Pennsylvanias Fiscal and Economic Challenges
Executive Summary “[W]e must find a way to make government live within its means. That is my first priority as governor. We must act now, and we cannot fail. We…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Rightsizing State Government: Solutions to Pennsylvanias Fiscal and Economic ChallengesTaxes & Economy
Creating A Truly New Pennsylvania
Pennsylvanians with high hopes that Governor Ed Rendell’s economic development policies will create a “new Pennsylvania” had better be prepared for disappointment. The new governor’s recent public comments make it…
Commentary
Read More: Creating A Truly New PennsylvaniaEducation
School Taxes and Education Quality: Rendells Rhetoric Versus Reality
Governor Rendell’s inaugural speech reiterated his campaign promise to reform Pennsylvania’s school funding and property tax system while boosting the state’s share of total school revenue to 50 percent. But…
Commentary
Read More: School Taxes and Education Quality: Rendells Rhetoric Versus RealityPublic Union Democracy
The Impact of Compulsory Unionism on Economic Development
Executive Summary With increasing global competition taking a toll on U.S. manufacturing jobs, and state governments and municipalities struggling to achieve greater operating efficiencies in the face of declining revenues…
Report
Read More: The Impact of Compulsory Unionism on Economic DevelopmentPublic Union Democracy
Nobody should be forced to pay for someone elses politics!
Testimony of Matthew J. Brouillette, President, Commonwealth Foundation Thank you Mr. Chairman and Members of the House Labor Relations Committee for the invitation to testify this morning on an important…
Commentary
Read More: Nobody should be forced to pay for someone elses politics!Education
Waiting at the Cradle
"Hey, what about the kids?" That is the slogan for a multimillion-dollar public relations campaign called "Focus Five for Kids," created to highlight children's issues during the Pennsylvania gubernatorial campaign.
Commentary
Read More: Waiting at the CradleEducation
Property Tax & School Funding Reform: The Michigan Experience and Principles for Pennsylvania
Executive Summary After decades of relative inaction, Pennsylvania policymakers may finally tackle the issue of property-tax and school-funding reform. While states such as Michigan have already substantively addressed the problem…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Property Tax & School Funding Reform: The Michigan Experience and Principles for PennsylvaniaTaxes & Economy
Special Session on Property Tax Relief
Testimony of Matthew J. Brouillette, President, Commonwealth Foundation Thank you, Chairman Wenger and members of the Committee for the invitation to testify this afternoon. My name is Matthew Brouillette and…
Commentary
Read More: Special Session on Property Tax ReliefEducation
The Pennsylvania State (Everything But) Education Association
Almost as predictable as the beginning of the football season is the start of the strike season by public school employees in Pennsylvania. And the kick-off to the 2002-03 school…
Commentary
Read More: The Pennsylvania State (Everything But) Education AssociationTaxes & Economy
R. A. D. is Bad for Pennsylvania
Executive Summary A quiet campaign is currently underway to increase taxes on consumers in four central Pennsylvania counties. By granting elected officials in those counties the power to create a…
Fact Sheet
Read More: R. A. D. is Bad for PennsylvaniaEducation
Pennsylvania’s Under-Funded Public Schools and the Special Education Burden
Testimony of Matthew J. Brouillette, President, Commonwealth Foundation Thank you members of the Committee for the invitation to testify this morning. My name is Matthew Brouillette and I am the…
Commentary
Read More: Pennsylvania’s Under-Funded Public Schools and the Special Education BurdenEducation
The Myth of the Special Education Burden
Executive Summary Over the past thirty years, school property taxes in Pennsylvania have increased at a rate more than twice the concurrent rate of inflation. Local school boards—those elected officials…
Fact Sheet
Read More: The Myth of the Special Education BurdenEducation
Three Principles for Necessary for Successful Property-Tax/School-Funding Reform in Pennsylvania
Testimony of Matthew J. Brouillette, President, Commonwealth Foundation Thank you members of the Committee for the invitation to testify this morning. My name is Matthew Brouillette and I am the…
Commentary
Read More: Three Principles for Necessary for Successful Property-Tax/School-Funding Reform in PennsylvaniaEducation
Dispelling the Myth of Pennsylvanias Under-Funded Public Schools
Executive Summary The perennial debate over education funding in Pennsylvania—when it is not about how much more schools should get—is about how the taxpayers should fund the schools. Current discussions…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Dispelling the Myth of Pennsylvanias Under-Funded Public SchoolsPublic Union Democracy
Pennsylvania Businesses Can Now Spend Less Time In The Courtroom
By their very nature, businesspeople are willing to take significant risks to compete in the marketplace. Indeed, every day the profit motive compels people to invest their life savings in…
Commentary
Read More: Pennsylvania Businesses Can Now Spend Less Time In The CourtroomEducation
More Dollars Will Not Produce More Scholars
Just one day after Pennsylvania celebrated Tax Freedom Day 2002—the day when citizens stop toiling just to pay their federal, state, and local taxes and are finally free to work…
Commentary
Read More: More Dollars Will Not Produce More ScholarsTaxes & Economy
Budget Basic: Pennsylvanias Economy Loses When Policymakers Try to Pick Winners
Executive Summary For too long, Pennsylvania has relied too heavily on generously funded but ultimately ineffectual taxpayer-funded government subsidy programs in an attempt to stimulate economic growth. The strategy of…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Budget Basic: Pennsylvanias Economy Loses When Policymakers Try to Pick Winners