Prosperity
Ending Poverty Starts With Increasing Work And Paychecks, Not Government Budgets
Originally published at The Federalist Lawmakers across the spectrum agree that poverty is a perennial crisis. But if they are ever going to come together to find an effective…
Read More: Ending Poverty Starts With Increasing Work And Paychecks, Not Government BudgetsThe continued growth in public welfare spending is unsustainable. The federal government is responsible for much of the welfare system, but states can adopt reforms that preserve welfare resources for the most vulnerable. By enacting reforms that promote work and independence, Pennsylvania can right-size state welfare spending and help more Pennsylvanians get back on their feet. Taxpayers deserve a welfare system that compliments a strong economy.
Welfare
State Flexibility Essential to Preserving the Safety Net
Last week, I noted a number of states whose governors were refusing the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act because of the costs the expansion would impose. Over…
Media
Read More: State Flexibility Essential to Preserving the Safety NetTaxes & Economy
Welfare: Don’t Repudiate Resounding Results, Replicate Reform
A new move from the Obama administration would waive work requirements under TANF (cash assistance). Requiring recipients to work was a central provision of the highly successful 1996 welfare…
Media
Read More: Welfare: Don’t Repudiate Resounding Results, Replicate ReformHealthcare
States Take a Stand Against Medicaid Expansion
The Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act would cost Pennsylvania an additional $2 billion through 2019, should the commonwealth participate. That represents merely the state share, as taxes…
Media
Read More: States Take a Stand Against Medicaid ExpansionTaxes & Economy
Welfare is Number One in New Budget
Pennsylvania taxpayers will once again spend more on welfare than any other department in the General Fund, including education, according to newly released budget spreadsheets (based on the tentative…
Media
Read More: Welfare is Number One in New BudgetPublic Union Democracy
Unions Fight Flexible Funding
Gov. Corbett’s budget proposed combining five county human services programs into one flexible block grant. In the past, state legislation dictated how much counties could spend under each category, regardless…
Media
Read More: Unions Fight Flexible FundingPublic Union Democracy
Voters: Limit Government Spending!
In a recent poll, Susquehanna Polling and Research asked 700 registered Pennsylvania voters if they would support limiting the growth of state government spending—legislation similar to the…
Media
Read More: Voters: Limit Government Spending!Welfare
DPW: No More Tax $ for Limo Rides
In 2007, Western Pennsylvania Child Care (WPCC) spent taxpayer dollars meant to house and counsel juvenile delinquents on limo rides to an NCAA basketball tournament game and the King of…
Media
Read More: DPW: No More Tax $ for Limo RidesState Budget
Block Grants for Human Services a “Godsend”
State funding for county services may soon be streamlined, wasting fewer dollars on bureaucratic largesse and focusing aid on programs that are most effective at helping the needy. Yesterday,…
Media
Read More: Block Grants for Human Services a “Godsend”State Budget
Getting Rich Off the Poor: Examining Welfare Abuse
Over the past few years, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare conducted a series of audits and uncovered many questionable practices among state contractors. Some providers of welfare…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Getting Rich Off the Poor: Examining Welfare AbuseWelfare
Taking the Road Less Traveled: Fostering Private Charity Care
Our current welfare system is failing our most vulnerable citizens and bankrupting our commonwealth. Despite skyrocketing welfare spending, 15,420 individuals with intellectual disabilities…
Media
Read More: Taking the Road Less Traveled: Fostering Private Charity CareTaxes & Economy
Nearly One Million Found in Out-of-State Welfare Fraud!
The facts are starting to get in the way for critics of welfare reform. By reviewing just three months of non-contiguous out-of-state EBT card transactions (November 2011 to January…
Media
Read More: Nearly One Million Found in Out-of-State Welfare Fraud!Welfare
Fighting Fraud is the Beginning of True Welfare Reform
Monday the Pennsylvania House continued its efforts to reform the state’s welfare system by passing HB 1948 out of committee. The legislation, sponsored by Tim Krieger, would establish the…
Media
Read More: Fighting Fraud is the Beginning of True Welfare ReformState Budget
GAO Sounds the Fiscal Alarm on State Medicaid Costs
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has a new report on state and local government finances. Of greatest concern are the expected increases in Medicaid spending and health care for…
Media
Read More: GAO Sounds the Fiscal Alarm on State Medicaid CostsWelfare
Why We Are Losing the War on Poverty
Michael Tanner, Director of Health and Welfare Studies at the Cato Institute, published a study that cuts to the heart of the poverty problem in the U.S. Tanner writes…
Media
Read More: Why We Are Losing the War on PovertyHealthcare
Medicaid Flexibility: The Key to a Sustainable Safety Net
As we inch towards the state budget deadline, welfare spending reductions in Pennsylvania continue to be contentious. The reductions that are proposed concentrate on 20 percent of spending, since…
Media
Read More: Medicaid Flexibility: The Key to a Sustainable Safety NetHealthcare
Medicaid Waivers & the Looming Fiscal Crisis
In the waning days of 2008, the state of Rhode Island secured a global waiver for its Medicaid program. The waiver exempted the state from many federal rules and mandates in exchange for a…
Media
Read More: Medicaid Waivers & the Looming Fiscal CrisisState Budget
Welfare Sec. Alexander Discusses Mending the Safety Net on the BOX
On the latest edition of The BOX, Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare Secretary Gary Alexander takes time to discuss proposed welfare reforms. Despite accusations of wanting to “throw the…
Media
Read More: Welfare Sec. Alexander Discusses Mending the Safety Net on the BOXState Budget
Human Services Programs Must Deal with Wasteful Spending
Last week, you couldn’t swing a dead cat in the state capitol without hitting someone protesting Gov. Corbett’s welfare spending reductions. The governor proposed combining six human service line items, such…
Media
Read More: Human Services Programs Must Deal with Wasteful SpendingTaxes & Economy
Chart of the Day: Welfare Overlap
The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) encompasses much more than Food Stamps and Medicaid. There are numerous federally-funded and state-only aid programs. In fact, most of the 2.7 million…
Media
Read More: Chart of the Day: Welfare OverlapState Budget
Chart of the Day: Welfare Spending
Total welfare spending in Pennsylvania more than tripled from 1991 to 2012, rising 227 percent. During the same period (1991-2011) population rose by a paltry 6.7 percent. It goes without…
Media
Read More: Chart of the Day: Welfare SpendingState Budget
5 Scary Facts about Pennsylvania’s Welfare Spending
Welfare spending in Pennsylvania is out of control. The Department of Public Welfare is now the largest department in the state. It will continue to crowd out education, environmental…
Media
Read More: 5 Scary Facts about Pennsylvania’s Welfare Spending