By David M. Sanko You may read about them in the newspaper, run into them in the supermarket, or even see them patching potholes, mowing along local roads, or plowing snow in the winter. They’re your township supervisors and staff, and while you might not know all of them personally, these public servants […]
The Edward H. Arnold Institute for Policy Studies
Pennsylvania Can Be A Leader In Natural Gas Production
By Greg Moreland Nothing gets done without energy. From powering computers, credit card machines, or heavy manufacturing machinery to providing the electricity needed for heat, air conditioning, or lighting, to creating buildings, furniture, and office supplies to fueling trucks to deliver, energy is the common denominator that sets our world in motion. There is a […]
Want Transparency? Give Townships A Choice For Providing Public Notices
By David Sanko This is Sunshine Week in Pennsylvania, a time devoted to recognizing the importance of government transparency. The Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) has long supported the state’s Sunshine Law and has even published a guide for its members to encourage compliance with the law. Over the […]
Pro-Growth Policies Can Ease Budget Challenges
By State Senator Scott Martin Although Pennsylvania’s financial position appears to be strong in the current fiscal year, the commonwealth’s budgetary outlook in future years is not nearly so rosy. In November, the nonpartisan Independent Fiscal Office forecast structural imbalances in the state budget of between $1.5 billion and $3.1 billion every year from 2024 […]
Pennsylvania Has A Growing Crisis In Recruitment, Retention Of Police Officers
By David Kennedy As Pennsylvania families gather around their dinner tables, I hope they’ll say a small prayer for the three Pennsylvania police officers we’ve already lost this year: Brackenridge Police Chief Justin McIntire, McKeesport Police Officer Sean Sluganski and Temple University Officer Christopher Fitzgerald. McIntire, Sluganski and Fitzgerald made the ultimate sacrifice. They are heroes. It’s in their memory […]
The Economic Impact of a Constitutional Amendment to Implement Pennsylvania House Bill 14 of the 2021-22 Session
Here are the main findings of a policy report showing what the economic impact would be on Pennsylvania taxpayers of creating a two-year window during which the statute of limitations would be lifted in regards to a constitutional amendment focusing on sexual abuse cases that can be brought against Pennsylvania school districts. The full report […]
Democracy or Mobocracy
By Congressman Robert S. Walker Opening day of a congressional session is normally celebratory. Not this year. Opening day proved to be such an embarrassment that it may color the entire upcoming Congress. What we witnessed was a small mob that using the narrowness of the Republican majority as a blackmail target. There can be […]
Times Have Changed: Give Townships a Choice for Providing Public Notices
By David M. Sanko As newspapers across the commonwealth print less, increase prices for public notices, and even cease operations, Pennsylvania law still requires municipalities to keep the public informed of meetings, bid opportunities, proposed ordinances, and more through the placement of legal advertisements in “newspapers of general circulation.” The question now becomes what is […]
A Reflection on the Life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Here in the United Kingdom we have just come to the end of a two week period of national mourning for our late Sovereign Queen Elizabeth II who served the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth for 70 remarkable years, the longest reign of any Monarch this country has ever had and one of the longest […]
In Competition For Jobs And Growth, Pennsylvania Must Start Now
By David N. Taylor The bad news is that Pennsylvania’s chronic economic underperformance has robbed us of the prosperity we should be enjoying. The good news is we can set things right if our leaders in Harrisburg embrace a pro-growth, pro-production, pro-jobs agenda — and stick to it. Year after year, decade after decade, Pennsylvania’s […]