In a letter to the Philadelphia Inquirer, SEPTA general manager Joe Casey challenges our commentary in which we called for SEPTA to competitively contract routes and for barriers to public sector strikes. Casey says that SEPTA's pension "plan is fiscally sound", that "SEPTA is financially" [...]
Governor Ed Rendell just announced $15.4 million in economic development assistance to renovate its York County factory and train workers.
$14 million of the $15.4 million comes from Capital Redevelopment Assistance. The money for this fund is part of the capital budget - i.e. borrowed from taxpayers by issuing bonds. [...]
Following the Commonwealth Foundation's call for a legislative inquiry into use of tax dollars to stifle, rather than foster, scientific inquiry in the case of Penn State professor Michael Mann, (who, emails reveal, participated hid scientific evidence about climate change to [...]
The Tax Foundation has a new Fiscal Fact on Pennsylvania's tax system and its impact on inter-state migration. After profiling Pennsylvania's tax climate (hint: it is near the bottom in most categories), Scott Hodge notes outlines how Pennsylvania has done in competition [...]
As unemployment continues to rise and talk of a jobs stimulus circulates some are advocating for another increase in the minimum wage. But such a move would destroy jobs instead of spurring employment, especially for younger workers.
Under President Bush the minimum wage increased from $5.15 to $7.25 over the [...]
The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council released their Small Business Survival Index 2009 on Tuesday. Pennsylvania ranks 27th on the Index (1 being the best state for small businesses). Click here for the full report.
Pennsylvania's economic competitiveness will be the subject of our next Policies & [...]
Harley's heavily unionized employees came to a "compromise" through a new contract that will likely keep the company in Pennsylvania. Union leaders said, although they are not satisfied with this contract, Harley's decision to move would be catastrophic.
So what does the contract include? According to Central Penn Business Journal [...]
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The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue released November revenue collections yesterday. Once again, the actual General Fund collections were somewhat below projections; $56 million (or 3%) for the month. The state is now $217 million (or 2%) short of estimate for the fiscal year.
With the exception of October, which feature [...]
Elizabeth Bryan and I discuss the proposed tuition tax in Pittsburgh in a podcast. Joining us for part of the conversation is Aaron Gross, a student coordinator of the StopTuitionTax campaign.
The Wall Street Journal today features a important read on what lies behind climate research, in the wake of the email scandal. Noting that climate change alarmists decry anyone dissenting as being a "denier" funded by special interests, Bret Stephens notes [...]
Here are some recent Commonwealth Foundation mentions in the blogosphere.
The Morning Call’s Capitol Ideas blog noted the Commonwealth Foundation taking issue with the Climate Change Advisory Committee findings on climate change in Pennsylvania. The Chamber Post blog excerpted a section of our commentary on PLAs – Pennsylvania: [...]The Patriot New ran in an article on property tax "relief" the day after Thanksgiving, giving homeowners a reason not to be thankful.
The governor's dream to make Pennsylvania a gambling state has come true, but it has failed to live up to its much-hyped solution to end the ever-burdensome [...]
It's official, I am now an elected official, having won a random drawing - that's democracy in action - for Judge of Election in my precinct. While I am unsure of the duties of the office, I will insist that my staff call me "The Honorable Matt Brouillette", at least [...]
Penn State University is going to "look into" the emails from and about university professor Michael Mann, which indicate, among other things, hiding scientific evidence about climate change to further a political agenda.
The Commonwealth Foundation recent sent a letter to [...]
The Tribune Review gives a strong exposé on why taxpayers continue to lose - Pennsylvania state and local governments spent $4 million to lobby the federal and state government for higher spending. Of course, while federal grants to the state and state grants to local governments make elected officials [...]
With jobs losses continuing to mount, Congress is considering a third economic "stimulus" (pundits often ignore the Bush stimulus of 2008) in as many years - calling this one a "jobs bill". But in talking about the jobs bill, members of [...]
ABC 27 reports that both the Pennsylvania House and Senate will not be printing calendars to give away this year (which typically featured a "courtesy of Rep. Name") sticker. This is an issue we helped bring to the forefront, and investigated the [...]
Pennsylvania has a flat rate Personal Income Tax (PIT) of 3.07%, which is a fair and simple distribution of taxation. Yet some people are imprudently calling for a state-wide graduated income tax, similar to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In this blog series, I will highlight some real facts about [...]
A recent report by the Cato Institute concluded "High rates of unionization in the public sector have led to very high labor costs in the form of generous collective bargaining contracts."
This is something we are constantly seeing played out in Pennsylvania...
Take the recent SEPTA strike in Philadelphia; government [...]
Britain's Climate Research Unit verified hackers confiscated email correspondence between top climatologists, putting Penn State's director of Earth System Science Center, Michael E. Mann, directly in the middle of the biggest scandal to hit the climate change debate.
Mann told the Washington Post these letters are being taken out [...]
Let's see how many dirty political games you can fit into one case - from union thuggery to corporate welfare, to rent-seeking to holding taxpayers and employees hostage - the Harley case encompasses it all!
Governor Rendell's commitment to keeping Harley in York has been unwavering. He especially asked the secretary [...]
Pittsburgh City Schools may soon finalize their second huge grant. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is granting the system $40 million over 6 and half years to improve the cities public schools. In 1988 the district received an unprecedented $12.5 million from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. [...]
The Association of Physician and Surgeons has a one-page handout on some number and facts about the latest Senate health care bill.
Thanksgiving Health Care Handout
Note that while I recommend the handout, [...]
Much mockery has been made of the reported "jobs created or saved" by the stimulus package - from jobs created in Congressional districts that don't exist to the Washington Examiner's collection of non-existent jobs (to this point, finding 80,000 of the reported 640,000 jobs created to be' [...]
My prepared remarks to the "Million Med March" in Harrisburg
Thank you. Good afternoon. Thanks for everyone here for coming out - I know none of us really want to spend our Saturday at the state capitol. Normally, I'd be watching the Michigan-Ohio State football' [...]
Pittsburgh's financial problems are such that it gave rise to the Intergovermental Cooperation Authority(ICA) - formed by none other than, perennially in-deficit Governor, Ed Rendell. The ICA was put in place 5 years ago to solve Pittsburgh's financial worries. Five years later, with an ever increasing budget deficit and [...]
ATR has a new report on state tax trends. In addition to a roundup of state tax changes, the new report highlights trends with policy implications.
While we pointed out previously that residents are fleeing high-tax states to low-tax states, ATR's analysis also finds [...]
Following the recent "Taxpayers March on Harrisburg," as well as recent health care protests in Washington DC and elsewhere, a grassroots organizer posed the question, "what should we do now?" Here are a few thoughts for the tea party movement.
Protest is not enough. Repeated protests and rallies can simply be [...]
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission's ill-advised attempts to toll I-80 continues; yesterday, Brian Chase, an independent consultant, spoke to the House Republican Policy Committee (PLS Subscription) about the validity of a firm hired by the Turnpike Commission's to assess tolling I-80.
Major criticisms include:
The PTC did not use an [...]
Pittsburgh City Council President Doug Shields is lobbying support for a prevailing wage law in the municipality. His bill would set prevailing wage rates for most employees working under city contracts or city subsidized developments.
The city’s controller office would set the wage rates, and other compensation, to the [...]
One of the most common critiques of full-time state legislatures is the sheer amount of seemingly useless resolutions - to pander to certain groups of voters - that take up legislative agendas. While interning for the House of Representatives, I saw this was very common from both parties on the [...]
Yesterday, US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid put forth a new, 2,074 page health care reform bill. The Senate is expected to vote on it in the next few days. Click here to read the whole thing. That is too much for me, so I will instead read both [...]
With the expiration of rate caps in 2010 I've been tracking the entrance of new residential suppliers in the central PA electricity market. These days it's rare to see actual deregulation, but this process is a great example of the power of free markets to improve our quality of life.' [...]
Normally I don't respond to allegations of untrue research, but I feel compelled to do so because it is the Governor of Pennsylvania.
I am not sure what the Governor is celebrating when only 49.2 percent of students in urban Philadelphia actually graduate based on 2006 data.
Governor Rendell also' [...]
Ever since former president George W. Bush unveiled plans for the new presidential center in his name which would focus on fiscal restraint, he has faced fair amount of ridicule from folks like the Cato Institute. And not unjustifiably, given statements like "too much state intervention and protectionism" [...]
Back in September of 2008, Governor Rendell announced a state-wide hiring freeze in all agencies under his control to help curb declining revenues and a weakened national economy. Now, over a year later, Rendell has announced that more state layoffs will be coming this week, with 319 jobs [...]
As many readers will be aware, Pennsylvania lawmakers, judges, and executive branch officials receive an automatic cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), using the CPI for Philadelphia as the measure for inflation.
What is interesting is the CPI for the past year (Oct 2008 to Oct 2009) actually comes out to a negative [...]
Here at CF we strive to shed light on corruption, fraud, and misuse of our tax dollars at the state and local level. But it can get a bit depressing to hear repeated stories of graft and how poorly our state ranks in terms of [...]
The recovery.gov website lists a number of job creation success stories in congressional districts accross many states. For instance, in Arizona's 15th congressional district 30 jobs were created with $761,420 in stimulus money. There is one problem though. There is no 15th congressional district in Arizona; the state' [...]
Alan Reynolds outlines a very basic economic concept: longer limits (and increased benefits) for taxpayer-funded unemployment compensation - as was mandated in the federal stimulus, and repeated by Congress again - results in higher unemployment.
In reality, the evidence is overwhelming that the February stimulus bill has added at least [...]
A new report from the Science & Public Policy Institute (SPPI) focuses solely on climate trends in the Pennsylvania. The report highlights climate trends unique to the state - from temperatures, crop yields, to diseases - which reveals that most changes are either non-anthropogenic or negligible.
The report concludes [...]
In 2008, the General Assembly passed the Pennsylvania Climate Change Act (Act 70). This act created the Climate Change Advisory Committee (CCAC), which was charged with implementing a study on the possible impacts of climate change on PA. The Department of Environmental Protection has worked very closely with the [...]
Reason TV has a new video explaining the intense lobbying between UPS and FedEx, in which UPS is calling for FedEx to be covered under the National Labor Relations Act - and drive up their labor costs.
The bottom line, as Nick Gillespie aptly puts it, is the true villain [...]
WFMZ features a story on a health care protest outside Congressman Charlie Dent's office, featuring Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan, who is also challenging Dent (HT Grassroots PA). Callahan is quoted often, usually repeated typical MoveOn.org rhetoric that indicates he doesn't understand much of the details. Callahan says:
"We need" [...]
The Center for Freedom and Prosperity has a new video out on the red-ink train wreck of government-run healthcare.
[...]
The solar industry, teamed with congress, is trying to get the Solar Manufacturing Jobs Creation Act passed. This act creates a 30% tax credit for solar manufactures and makes available a cash grant program. What is striking is that the solar industry is seeking this elite handout so it [...]
Here are some recent CF mentions in the blogosphere
PointOfLaw.com and National Review Online - feature a CF preview of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court electionThe Heritage Foundation points out an interesting fact - 51% of union members are government workers, according to the most recent data, an all-time high. And I assumed General Motors and Chrysler Employees are included, ostensibly, in the private sector.
Following the indictment of 10 State House Republicans (a current lawmaker and a former lawmaker and 8 staff), the Pennsylvania Capitol has been abuzz (click here for a statement from the Commonwealth Foundation).
My favorite quote comes from Philadelphia Daily News columnist John Baer comparing the new charges [...]
Auditor General Jack Wagner reprimanded the Department of General Services for their failure to execute and oversee state contracts. Since 2003 a large number of contracts have not been competitively bid including, emergency contracts totaling $678 million and no-bid contracts worth $1.1 billion. No numbers on change orders could [...]
Many pundits, members of the media, and elected officials (or their spokesman), cite employment data showing "fewer jobs lost" in October (or in the case of the state, September) than in previous months - and then claim that is a sign the economy is turning around. This is a [...]
The US House health care bill not only has little significant tort reform, it in fact limits states from enacting meaningful tort reform. This statement taken directly from the text of the health care bill, stipulates that a state "Medical Liability Alternatives" will only be supported if "the law" [...]
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter has issued an executive order to stop city officials from asking immigration status for the express purpose of boosting the city's population in the Census, and get more money from the federal government - i.e. taxpayers. (HT GrassrootsPA:)
Besides the obvious ramifications of' [...]
Capitolwire (subscription) is reporting that State Representative Mario Civera (R- Delaware), who was recently elected to the Delaware County Council, is now rethinking resigning, and planning both to stay in the State House (and serve as Appropriations Chair), and serve as a county official:
Three House Republicans have been seeking [...]Last month the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released Pennsylvania's Climate Change Action plan. While touting the creation of "green jobs", it did not advocate increasing PA's Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards (the solution contained in HB 80) among its many recommendations. The Patriot-News noted, "The report" [...]
The Pennsylvania House State Government Committee advanced HB 1880, sponsored by Representative Rick Mirabito, that would create an online database of state spending, similar to legislation already enacted in 26 other states. (HT Jim Christiana, who has championed this issue from the Republican side of the aisle).
Elizabeth [...]
Any prudent individual would not plan on gambling winnings to become prosperous or even to get out of debt. But the state of Pennsylvania, turns to gambling to resolve all its financial woes. But, after all, Pennsylvania can hardly be labeled "fiscally prudent."
The number of institutions gambling revenue is intended [...]
Marty Feldstein has an editorial in the Washington Post detailing how the current health care reform proposals in Congress could actually increase the number of uninsured individuals. Namely, he points to some of the mandates contained in the legislation.
Specifically, mandating [...]
The Tax Foundation highlights a new NBER paper by Harvard economists, "Large Changes in Fiscal Policy: Taxes Versus Spending," which analyzes the fiscal policies of OECD countries from 1970-2000.
The study confirms what we've been saying for years - increased government spending is less effective' [...]
In last Tuesday's race for Central Dauphin school board candidates clashed over the privatization of the district's busing. The pro-privatization candidate- Chris Judd narrowly won, but that hasn't silenced the controversy.
In August the school board voted to privatize their transportation services and hired Durham School Services. Of course' [...]
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again - seems to be the motto of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission as they seek once again to Toll I-80. The federal Highway Administration has already denied the request by the PTC twice, because it is doesn't meet the legal requirements. [...]
Alex Charyna points out this tidbit in the Philadelphia Daily News - one demand of the SEPTA union was more Viagra:
Yes, it appears that labor issues are not the only dysfunction troubling SEPTA workers. The Daily News reported that some are unhappy that their current health-care plans cover [...]
Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord told the Pocono Record that now is the time to address the state pension crisis, rather than later, a point the Commonwealth Foundation agrees with. However, McCord's proposed fix is extremely misguided:
Taxpayers would be better served in the long run if the state legislators [...]The city of Harrisburg is hiring a consultant to give some tips to balance its budget, ABC 27 reports. Lancaster, PA hired the same firm a few years ago - at a cost of $200,000 to taxpayer (the bulk of which was inexplicably paid by the state).
Management Partners, Inc. [...]
The Philadelphia Inquirer has a story today that Pennsylvania business groups - especially in natural gas, tobacco, and gambling industries - spent a lot of money lobbying during the state budget. Yet while several quoted in the article point on their problems with the lobbying, no one point out [...]
With an already-weakened economy that has put Pennsylvania families on a tight budget, Monroe County taxpayers finally said "enough is enough!" when confronted with two referendums on Tuesday's ballot calling for increases in county property taxes. Voters rejected these proposals, one to bailout an long-failing library system and the other [...]
Following our report showing that moving from state-run liquor stores to licensure has little impact on alcohol consumption, underage drinking, and DUI rates, Pennsylvania papers are again joining the call for liquor store privatization.
On Thursday, the Patriot News editorialized that
Our legislators need to act. As the Commonwealth Foundation [...]Tom Barnes of the Post-Gazette notes that the Pennsylvania Senate is outlining a number of new rules, largely related to legislative staff and taxpayer dollars being used to support political campaigns. A lot of the rules would forbid things that are already illegal, but the reforms would prevent legislative [...]
While attending a conference in North Carolina, and staying in the same room Yogi Berra did (though not on the same night), Joe Sterns and I caught the premier of the TV Series "V". We also caught a bit of the 1983 V mini-series on SyFy; [...]
The Heritage Foundation has some resources on the latest health care bill being pushed by US House Democrats, including a summary of the legislation, and the full text of the bill.
The Wall Street Journal also has a side-by-side comparison of the various health care reform plans. [...]
About 5,100 union workers for SEPTA went on strike early Tuesday, leaving 450,000 people to find new ways to travel. The union is demanding a 4% raise and an increase in their pension's contributions.
The union President, Willie Brown, said "I hope the public understands this is not only a'" [...]
On Oct 10, Pennsylvania released a preliminary report on received ARRA (i.e. "simulus") funds. The study concluded that "$262,592,907.68 has been spent to date and 1,408 direct full-time equivalent jobs have been created or retained." According to these figures, each job cost $186,501.
This report was not official because recipients [...]
The Pennsylvania Legislature's willingness to succumb to special interests has been well documented by the Commonwealth Foundation, but the amount of attention given to the horse racing industry is fascinating. In fact, no other state gives more money to the horse racing industry than Pennsylvania.
Lawmakers decided in October to' [...]
The Mercatus Center has a new working paper on the importance of government transparency. Authors Jerry Brito and Drew Perrault argue that, "Transparency is a means to an end and that end is accountability". The paper discusses how transparency can improve government on two fronts.
First, transparency naturally deters corruption [...]
The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue released October revenue collections. Once again, the numbers fell short of projections - the state is now $160 short of estimate for the fiscal year.
The tax collections were slightly higher than last year (note that $1.8 billion was "non-tax revenue", i.e. transfers from the [...]
A report released on Friday by the Pennsylvania Department of General Services shows 7,400 jobs have been either created or retained(Capitolwire Subscription) in Pennsylvania using federal stimulus dollars. Jim Creedon, the state's chief implementation officer for the stimulus funds, calls this estimate “conservative" because it accounts only for the'" [...]
Turnpike Officials have admitted that a grand jury has been investigating the commission for at least five months. Although this investigation is separate from the shady dealings surrounding the Valley Forge expansion- for which the commission voluntarily requested the help of the FBI.
Brad Bumsted has more details and [...]
When the Federal Highway Administration rejected the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission's proposal to toll I-80, one of the numerous reasons was there had been no market valuation of the sweetheart deal - i.e. the Turnpike Commission promised to pay exactly what legislators wanted to get in [...]
Sen. Dave Argall has introduced another attempt to reduce the size of Pennsylvania's General Assembly.
Pennsylvania is ranked 2nd in the nation for largest state legislator size (totaling 253); 4th in the nation for highest paid legislators ($76,000, base pay per year), and 1st for most expensive [...]
Yesterday, Republican state Rep. Sam Rohrer of Berks County introduced legislation to help local governments cope with declining revenues, ever-increasing amounts of regulation and new programs from the state. The Emergency Mandate Suspension Act would allow municipalities, school districts, and counties to temporarily ignore unfunded mandates from the state [...]
With the county library system running a $19,000 budget shortfall and unable to fund new pet spending projects, the Friends of the Pike County Public Library have gathered 1,500 signatures to place a referendum on the November 3rd ballot calling for a 1 mill tax increase on the assessed [...]
A study by the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing found that mandatory minimum sentences increase the cost of the corrections system without decreasing crime. Corrections costs are already a major source of red ink for the Commonwealth. In 2007, one in 28 adults in Pennsylvania was [...]
Our friends at the Empire Center for New York State Policy has a new report on the "exodus" of residents from New York to other states. The report is full of interesting charts and tables.
The report highlights both good news and bad news for Pennsylvania. On the plus side, [...]
Here are some recent CF mentions in the blogosphere.
Reason Out-of-Control notes many of the same concerns we have with giving the Turnpike Commission carte blanche to toll I-80 Keystone Conservative has a nice summary of our presentation on public pensions and coming tax hikes, and Capitol Ideas [...]Recent empirical data indicates global warming is not the imminent crisis some make it out to be. Christopher Monckton highlights recent trends which buck the U.N. projections. Of particular importance is the finding that the tropical upper atmosphere is not warming, where it is theorized that warming [...]
Toll Roads News is reporting that the FBI has raided the PA Turnpike Commission, seizing computers and records (HT Capitol Ideas)
We're informed the FBI "raid" comprised three federal agents targeting three offices, one of which was the office of executive director Joe Brimmeier, while another was the Turnpike's [...]With only 25% of the $787 billion dollar federal stimulus package spent thus far, the remaining $593 billion has many states coming to the table for a piece of the pie. When it comes to the Keystone state, PA is leading a 5-state coalition to secure over $300 million [...]
If you missed our RE Harper Economic Forums on pensions, here is an online version of Rick Dreyfuss's presentation.
You should also check out related articles on "Rendell's Pension Legacy" and "A Tale of Three Cities" on [...]
Among the many faults with WAMs, perhaps the most egregious is that taxpayers can never figure out where this money is going. For example, you wont find anything in HR 1614 about a minor league hockey rink in Allentown. You will [...]
Gov. Rendell recently submitted a Letter to the FCC expressing concerns with proposed Internet regulation known as "Net Neutrality." This was part of the FCC's "Open Internet" call (to which regular users too can submit opinions).
But as the leader of a state that needs to [...]
In August, John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, penned a Wall Street Journal piece outlining his ideas for health care reform - these include equalizing the tax code, interstate competition, reducing the number of mandate, Medicare reform, and allowing charitable contributions to health care for the poor. Because his [...]
In the American, Philip Levy of the American Enterprise Institute defends federal funding of political science research against charges that it represents wasteful spending from Sen. Tom Coburn.
As a long time student of political science, a some-times member of the political science associations, a reader of the political science [...]
According to a book by Brenda and Robert Vale; dogs equivalent to the size of German Shepherds have the same "carbon footprint" as a typical SUV driving 10,000 miles/year.
"A lot of people worry about having SUVs but they don't worry about having Alsatians and what we are saying is, well, maybe you'" [...]
In wake of a state budget crisis and a temporary infusion of stimulus funds, Colorado State University is considering a partial privatization of the public university. By 2011, it will see a $230 million reduction in state subsidies - about 4% of CSU's budget. In response, officials are forming [...]
A couple of PA state legislators have recently cited a recent Harvard study to make the claim that thousands "are dying because of a lack of insurance" and that is why we "need health care reform now". Unfortunately, the [...]
Just as it seemed the dust was settling in the fight to lease state land for shale exploration, recent closed-door meetings (Capitolwire, subscription needed) conducted by the Rendell Administration have raised serious concerns over state contracting procedures.
Near the end of September, Gov. Rendell announced the state had contracted an [...]
Gerald Prante of the Tax Foundation raises a philosophical question about state spending limits. Namely he wonders, if we don't trust how legislators spend money now - a sentiment I think many people share - why would we trust them with spending' [...]
On Tuesday, the College Board released their annual report on tuition and financial aid. Despite a national recession, college tuition is still rising at an alarming pace. On average, prices at public four-year universities are increasing at "4.9% per year beyond general inflation from 1999-2000 to 2009-10, more" [...]
