A pipeline company has proposed to build a north-south natural gas pipeline through Lancaster County, and while opposition to the pipeline has been raised, it is important to realize how infrastructure investment in domestic sources of energy would help our nation by keeping energy prices low, reducing pollution, and ending a major cause of foreign […]

Make no mistake: Pennsylvania is in the midst of a public pension crisis. The headlines, including those generated by recent comments by Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, indicate that the predicament is deep-rooted and widespread. But do the news reports tell the whole story? Clearly, the commonwealth is facing a snowballing pension bill, expected to mushroom […]

Mortality Rates Decline Significantly For Eight Common Medical Conditions, Readmissions Also Down HARRISBURG, PA (December 17)—A new report from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) shows that, during 2013, hospitals saved lives that might have been lost just five years prior. Hospitals also reduced readmission rates, preventing unnecessary hospitalizations and their associated costs. […]

Before 1995 few people outside of the United Kingdom had ever heard the name of William Wallace. Mel Gibson, an accomplished Australian film actor and director with a sketchy and haphazard knowledge of government and history, released a box office blockbuster movie—“Braveheart.” Gibson looked back 800 years ago into British history to find a charismatic […]

For reasons that remain obscure, everyone loves talking about zombies. For reasons a bit more obvious, everyone loves loving bacon. Meanwhile, if there’s one thing nobody loves talking about and nobody loves loving, it’s pension reform. But zombie pensions are eating your bacon, so listen up! The Commonwealth operates two pension programs for state workers […]

American steel producers and the United Steelworkers (USW) are working together to stop foreign “dumping” of seamless tubes, or oil country tubular goods (OCTG), which are used in the gas and oil industry. Dumping is the practice of exporting products at a subsidized below-market price, in many cases as much as 30 percent below. This […]

Sound the 6:00 a.m. alarm and cue Sonny and Cher! “Groundhog Day” is previewing in Harrisburg with rumblings that the General Assembly may yet again delay the expiration of the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax (CSFT). One business tax expert sarcastically characterized CSFT as the go-to tax if your aim is to stunt business growth. […]

His given name was Harold F. Mowery, Jr., but to most folks he was simply Hal. His recent passing was marked by an extensive recitation of jobs and positions held and titles and recognitions earned. While this reflection was nice and true, there is still more to be said about a highly accomplished and warm-hearted […]

Pennsylvania is frequently knocked for being slow to adopt policy innovations. Ironic, then, how much criticism is heaped on one of the true innovations of the past generation – charter schools. On the plus side, charter schools have proved every bit as creative and popular in practice as the originators believed. On the minus side, […]

A central focus of Governor Corbett’s recent budget address was investment in education. However, many of the governor’s most vocal opponents often refer to his record on education funding as their chief criticism of his administration. For example, State Senator Vincent Hughes (D-7) recently referred to “the legacy of the governor slashing classroom funding by […]