Nathan Benefield

Nathan Benefield

Senior Vice President

Nathan (Nate) Benefield is the Senior Vice President at the Commonwealth Foundation.

An Ohio native, Nate holds an undergraduate degree in political science and economics and a master’s degree in public service management from DePaul University in Chicago. He also completed his doctoral studies (ABD) in political science at Loyola University, also in Chicago.

Nate joined the Commonwealth Foundation in 2005. Now as senior vice president, he provides strategic leadership as well as operational oversight spanning policy analysis, government relations, marketing, and communications.

Nate has researched and written extensively on public policy issues including the state budget, public sector labor reform, government spending and taxes, liquor privatization, education, and economic development. Under Nate’s policy leadership, the Commonwealth Foundation’s work on public sector pension law helped drive the bipartisan pension reform of 2017, heralded by the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post as an example for other states to follow.

Nate has testified numerous times before state legislative committees and is often called upon by legislators and members of the media to provide expertise. He is a frequent commentator on both television and radio, and his writings have appeared across the state and nationally in outlets including the Philadelphia Inquirer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Patriot-News, and Weekly Standard.

Nate’s favorite rock song and personal motto are both “Don’t Stop Believin.”

Education

Voters Support Education Reform

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 22, 2013

Pennsylvania parents and voters want education reform. A new poll from StudentsFirst shows that Pennsylvania families strongly support educational reforms, including incentives for high performing teachers (74 percent support),…

Media

Read More: Voters Support Education Reform

Taxes & Economy

Unions, Democrats Link Transportation to Philly Schools Funding

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 21, 2013

For months, state capitol pundits have complained about a “linkage” between votes on transportation funding and liquor store privatization. Indeed, government unions lobbied with taxpayer resources to try to…

Media

Read More: Unions, Democrats Link Transportation to Philly Schools Funding

Regulation

We Just Lowered the Debt Ceiling

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 17, 2013

Yesterday, House and Senate leaders came together to negotiate a deal—that passed with bipartisan support in both chambers—to reduce our debt ceiling. If that sounds unbelievable, I should…

Media

Read More: We Just Lowered the Debt Ceiling

Education

Unions’ Taxpayer-Subsidized Politics

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 14, 2013

How would you feel if you were forced to pay for a political cause that worked against your own beliefs and values? Outraged? Victimized? Just plain angry? Many Pennsylvania teachers,…

Commentary

Read More: Unions’ Taxpayer-Subsidized Politics

Regulation

PA Can’t Afford to Dither on Meaningful Pension Reform

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 10, 2013

Is your family ready to pay nearly $900 more in property taxes and state taxes per year? Are you prepared to see 33,000 public school teachers in Pennsylvania — nearly…

Commentary

Read More: PA Can’t Afford to Dither on Meaningful Pension Reform

Regulation

Getting Rich off the Government Liquor Monopoly

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 3, 2013

Joe Conti, who once cosponsored legislation to privatize the state liquor store system, keeps finding a way to profit off of the state’s monopoly on wine and spirit sales.

Media

Read More: Getting Rich off the Government Liquor Monopoly

Regulation

Lawmakers Must Act on Pension Crisis

  • Nathan Benefield
  • September 30, 2013

Today, Rep. Glen Grell unveiled a state pension reform proposal. We applaud Rep. Grell’s efforts to address the impending pension crisis.  Absent reform, pension contributions will continue to soar,…

Media

Read More: Lawmakers Must Act on Pension Crisis

Education

How Unions Use Students as Bargaining Chips

  • Nathan Benefield
  • September 18, 2013

When government unions engage in labor disputes, they use their power and monopoly to remind the public of the value of their service. However, schoolchildren should never have to bear…

Commentary

Read More: How Unions Use Students as Bargaining Chips

Health Care

Healthy PA Can’t Cure Obamacare Disease

  • Elizabeth Stelle, Nathan Benefield
  • September 16, 2013

Gov. Corbett today unveiled a “Healthy PA” plan, calling for reforms to Medicaid while also accepting federal “Medicaid expansion” funds to buy insurance for 500,000 or more individuals on the…

Media

Read More: Healthy PA Can’t Cure Obamacare Disease

Regulation

The Perplexing Problem with Pensions

  • Nathan Benefield
  • September 5, 2013

Traditional pensions are plagued by their dependence on guesswork—estimates on economic growth, employee behavior, and investment return—writes Grove City economist Mark Hendrickson in a recent piece. The errors in…

Media

Read More: The Perplexing Problem with Pensions

Public Union Democracy

“Money in Politics” Fosters Big Government

  • Nathan Benefield
  • September 3, 2013

You probably hear a lot about “money in politics,” but rarely do pundits correctly identify the largest source of special interest political spending.  According to a new report, big labor…

Media

Read More: “Money in Politics” Fosters Big Government

Health Care

Want to Help the Poor? Don’t Expand Medicaid

  • Elizabeth Stelle, Nathan Benefield
  • August 29, 2013

Yesterday, we talked about why Michigan’s plan to expand Medicaid was a bad deal for taxpayers. But expansion is a bad deal for patients too. Advocates of expansion make…

Media

Read More: Want to Help the Poor? Don’t Expand Medicaid

Health Care

Michigan’s Medicaid Mistake

  • Elizabeth Stelle, Nathan Benefield
  • August 28, 2013

Michigan’s decision to expand Medicaid leaves Pennsylvania and four other states to decide if putting more individuals into a government program is the best way to offer “affordable health…

Media

Read More: Michigan’s Medicaid Mistake

Criminal Justice Reform

Obama Learns from Pa. on Corrections Reform

  • Nathan Benefield
  • August 13, 2013

Criminal justice policy that offers less spending, lower crime and improved outcomes for offenders—too good to be true? Actually, that is the result of recent corrections reforms in…

Media

Read More: Obama Learns from Pa. on Corrections Reform

Health Care

Medicaid Abuse Shows Downside of Expansion

  • Nathan Benefield
  • August 12, 2013

New polling shows 70 percent of Pennsylvania voters think we need to address waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid before expanding the program.  A perusal of the news explains…

Media

Read More: Medicaid Abuse Shows Downside of Expansion

Public Union Democracy

Government Unions Break Cities

  • Nathan Benefield
  • July 30, 2013

An article in today’s Wall Street Journal illustrates how government union leaders halted any reforms that may have prevented Detroit’s bankruptcy: A major expense for Detroit is the…

Media

Read More: Government Unions Break Cities

Regulation

Liquor Privatization Saves Lives?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • July 22, 2013

A little more than one year ago, Washington state privatized its liquor stores (and liquor wholesale operations). As we’ve noted before, both sales and tax revenue increased under privatization.

Media

Read More: Liquor Privatization Saves Lives?

Regulation

“Failure” Leads to Downgrade for Pennsylvania

  • Nathan Benefield
  • July 17, 2013

This latest look at Pennsylvania’s fiscal house shows the urgency of pension reform and spending restraint. Fitch Ratings yesterday downgraded Pennsylvania’s bond rating.  This effectively sends a sign to…

Media

Read More: “Failure” Leads to Downgrade for Pennsylvania

Public Union Democracy

Government Unions Torpedo Agenda

  • Nathan Benefield
  • July 3, 2013

The state budget deadline came and went without passage of any of the “Big Three” policy items—liquor store privatization, pension reform, or transportation tax and fee increases. It was clear…

Media

Read More: Government Unions Torpedo Agenda

Regulation

Podcast: Where Does Pension Reform Stand?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • June 28, 2013

On this BOX Program podcast, Representative Fred Keller (R) 85th District, joins Nathan Benefield to break down what’s been happening in the legislature on pension reform. Both the House and…

Media

Read More: Podcast: Where Does Pension Reform Stand?