Research

Criminal Justice Reform

Embracing Innovation in State Government

• December 21, 2016

Conventional governing is hampering Pennsylvania’s progress. Growing state budgets combined with one-time revenue transfers and targeted tax hikes are delaying the structural reforms essential to improving the quality…

Fact Sheet

State Budget

Tracking State Budget Trends

• December 2, 2016

The 2016-17 General Fund budget added to Pennsylvania’s fiscal challenges. Lawmakers approved the $31.6 billion budget without implementing meaningful reforms or authorizing enough revenue to balance the budget. Despite lacking…

Fact Sheet

Public Union Democracy

Transforming Labor

• Priya Brannick
• November 13, 2016

Executive Summary In the last five years, Americans have seen an unprecedented sweep of public sector labor reforms across several states. Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana—and most recently, West Virginia in…

Report

Education

Answering Questions about Education Savings Accounts

• James Paul
• September 14, 2016

What are Education Savings…

Memo

Taxes & Economy

How Does Pennsylvania’s Tax Burden Compare?

• August 25, 2016

Pennsylvania’s tax structure should benefit all Pennsylvanians, not just some. Unfortunately, our state’s stifling tax burden harms residents. Each year, government spending grows, increasing the pressure for higher taxes. These…

Fact Sheet

Government Accountability

School District Labor Contracts: Surprising Provisions

• August 17, 2016

More than 1.7 million students rely on Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts to meet their diverse educational needs. School boards from each district agree to collective bargaining agreements (labor contracts) with local teachers’…

Memo

State Budget

Seven Threats to the 2017-18 Budget

• August 10, 2016

The 2016-17 budget remains unbalanced. Without serious efforts to reduce spending or reform major cost drivers, like public pensions and the sprawling human services system, taxpayers should expect a push…

Memo

State Budget

An Analysis of the 2016-17 Budget

• July 18, 2016

On June 30, the legislature passed a $31.6 billion General Fund Budget. Gov. Wolf allowed this budget to become law without his signature on July 12. On July 13, the…

Fact Sheet

Education

School Spending Update, 2014-15

• James Paul
• June 8, 2016

Pennsylvania school districts spent approximately $27.4 billion in 2014-15. This represents a $1.3 billion increase from 2013-14, despite a 12,000 student decrease in average daily membership.

Memo

Public Union Democracy

Pennsylvania’s Ghost Teachers

• June 3, 2016

Collective bargaining agreements in many Pennsylvania school districts permit school employees to take a full-time leave of absence from the classroom to perform union work. While on leave doing union work,…

Fact Sheet

Beneath the Surface: The Pennsylvania Public Pension Saga–Ten Years Later

• Richard Dreyfuss
• May 31, 2016

Pennsylvania government employee-benefit plans operate in a vacuum. In a world where private-sector benefit cutbacks and cost reductions occur on a daily basis, state government in Harrisburg has not responded…

Memo

Taxes & Economy

Pennsylvanians Flee from High Taxes

• Elizabeth Stelle
• May 4, 2016

New census figures paint a sobering picture. In 2015 alone, Pennsylvania lost 41,600 residents to other states in net migration. This amounts to one person every 12.5 minutes, nearly…

Memo

Education

Governor Wolf’s 2015-16 Budget Myths

• Elizabeth Stelle
• April 13, 2016

Governor Wolf claimed the 2015-16 budget could not be balanced without significant tax hikes. But there are two ways exist to close a budget deficit: raise revenue or cut spending.

Memo

Education

Education Spending Trends: April 2016

• James Paul
• April 11, 2016

Pennsylvania’s FY 2015-16 budget was finalized in late March when Gov. Tom Wolf allowed HB 1801, a supplemental funding bill, to become law. This legislation appropriated an additional $3.1 billion…

Memo

Education

Give Children the Best: Education Savings Accounts

• James Paul
• April 11, 2016

Education Savings Accounts (ESA) empower parents to design the best educational experience for their children. …

Fact Sheet

Public Union Democracy

8 Labor Reforms to Protect Public Workers and Taxpayers

• April 6, 2016

Pennsylvania's labor laws and practices heavily favor union executives at the expense of public employees and taxpayers. To level the playing field, state lawmakers should work to eliminate the host of…

Memo

Energy

Governor Wolf’s Natural Gas Tax Proposal

• Elizabeth Stelle
• March 2, 2016

Governor Wolf continues to press for a natural gas severance tax despite ongoing layoffs and potential bankruptcies in the natural gas industry.

Fact Sheet

Regulation

The Costs of Corporate Welfare

• March 2, 2016

Of the last 46 state budgets, only one did not increase total spending. This explosion has been fueled in part by special subsidies doled out to select businesses, creating an economic…

Fact Sheet

Public Union Democracy

How Pennsylvania’s Labor Laws Trap Union Members

• Elizabeth Stelle
• February 25, 2016

Pennsylvania's labor laws keep union members in the dark. Union members rarely have the opportunity to voice their opinion through elections or resign their membership. A lack of transparency makes…

Memo

Education

Pennsylvania Education Spending Trends

• James Paul
• February 8, 2016

Pennsylvania school districts spent $26.1 billion in 2013-14, an all-time high, according to the latest data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. This represents a $600 million increase from 2012-13.

Memo

State Budget

A Brief History of Wolf’s Tax Hikes

• Nathan Benefield
• February 8, 2016

In 2015, Gov. Tom Wolf proposed five broad-based tax hikes on working families—each of which was eventually rejected by state lawmakers.  Here's some background on each of Gov. Wolf’s tax…

Memo