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State Budget

Piglet Book Coverage

• Nathan Benefield
• May 30, 2006

Coverage of the Pennsylvania Piglet Book in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Download the full Piglet Book here.

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Regulation

EDITORIAL | Public servants retire in luxury

• May 30, 2006

Centre Daily Times on how our “servants” have become “masters” at the expense of the public.

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Regulation

Pinching pennies? Not ousted lawmakers

• May 28, 2006

“Voters probably weren’t thinking about it at the time, but when they ousted Senate President Pro Tempore Robert Jubelirer, R-Blair, and Senate Majority Leader David “Chip” Brightbill, R-Lebanon, they opened…

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Regulation

State gaming official arrested

• May 28, 2006

“A state Gaming Control Board investigator arrested outside a South Side bar early Saturday, allegedly after threatening and then trying to run from police, has become the fifth agency employee…

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Taxes & Economy

Swann plan requires work …

• May 28, 2006

So says our friend Jake Haulk of the Allegheny Institute in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Dr. Haulk concludes that “it’s still tax-shifting, relies on magic money, wrongly disses property tax…

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Regulation

Pa. lawmakers find retiring pays

• May 28, 2006

Excellent article from the Centre Daily Times on the coming pension crisis. “It’s a train wreck waiting to happen — it’s barreling down the tracks at us,” said Centre…

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Taxes & Economy

Minimum Wages Politics vs. Economics

• Nathan Benefield
• May 25, 2006

The push for a minimum wage increase is going on in North Carolina as well as here in PA. A piece in the Raleigh News Observer looks at the…

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Regulation

Govenment benefits for retirees grow into ‘monster’

• Nathan Benefield
• May 25, 2006

An article in today’s USA TODAY points out that future unfunded liabilities for Medicare, Social Security, and govenment employees pensions and retirement benefits have grown to $57.8 trillion. To…

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Taxes & Economy

Government made bumper stickers

• Nathan Benefield
• May 24, 2006

The Pennsylvania Office of Tourism (part of the Department of Community and Economic Development) have started voting for a PA Bumper Sticker. Not only is developing an “official state…

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Taxes & Economy

Building excise fees will not mean property-tax relief

• Nathan Benefield
• May 23, 2006

Read Grant Gulibon’s commentary in the latest News Item.

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Regulation

Perzel takes up state pension issue

• Nathan Benefield
• May 22, 2006

House Speaker Perzel names a panel on state pension and retiree medical benefits to study the issues identified in the Commonwealth Foundation’s Pension Study. Perzel even suggests setting…

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Government Accountability

Savor these election snapshots

• May 21, 2006

OK, for the record, I don’t sleep in a coat and tie, despite what Pat Carroll thinks! 🙂 It has indeed been a great experience to work alongside folks…

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Regulation

VIP perks are history for ousted legislators

• May 21, 2006

Morning Call on what the ousted Senate leaders will be losing as a result of their loss at the ballot box last Tuesday. Don’t worry though, they’ll still be…

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Taxes & Economy

PUC: Free market is OK

• Nathan Benefield
• May 19, 2006

As reported in the Central Penn Business Journal, the Public Utility Commission will not stop a new taxicab company from competing with existing companies. It always heartwarming when a…

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Eye of the Beholder

• Nathan Benefield
• May 19, 2006

Tongue-in-cheek piece comparing California to Iraq (and media coverage of each) from The American Enterprise.

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Taxes & Economy

Tax hike referendum sinks like a stone

• May 18, 2006

The Bristol Township School District signed on to Act 72, the property tax shift proposal that 80% of school districts rejected. To my knowledge Bristol was the only district out…

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Government Accountability

John Baer on Tuesday’s Impact

• May 18, 2006

There wasn’t a “clean sweep,” but there may very well be some “housecleaning.” Read more in the Philadelphia Daily News.

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Government Accountability

Even The Gray Lady Gets The Message In PA

• May 18, 2006

From Captain’s Quarters Even The Gray Lady Gets The Message In PAThe New York Times recognized the Pennsylvania Earthquake which removed at least thirteen…

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Government Accountability

The Harrisburg Hogs

• May 17, 2006

Wall Street Journal takes note of the PA primaries. The lesson from Tuesday’s results? “It seems this is a message GOP politicians have to relearn over and over: When…

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Government Accountability

Defeats leave power vacuum in Pa. Senate GOP leadership

• May 17, 2006

AP story on the upcoming leadership changes in the Senate. Sen. Jake Corman apparently got part of the message: “Clearly the election was a mandate for government reform,” Corman…

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Government Accountability

The Victory In Primaries For Conservatives

• May 17, 2006

From the Captain’s Quarters Blog…. Over the past week, many of us have written on the frustration felt by conservatives (especially fiscal conservatives) over the past few years. Some…

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