At first I thought the IRS scandal was leaked to distract from the Benghazi scandal. But that didn’t make sense because the IRS scandal is a more obvious abuse of power than the White House lying about the murder of four Americans in Libya. Before I had resolved which scandal was distracting from which, we […]
The Edward H. Arnold Institute for Policy Studies
Leading Pennsylvania College in Disarray
An all too familiar scene was enacted on the campus of Swarthmore College during a meeting on May 4th to discuss demands by student activists for the college to divest itself of its investments in companies that dealt in fossil fuels. As a speaker was beginning a presentation to show how many millions of dollars […]
Liability Costs Weaken Our Global Competitive Stance
American businesses have the highest liability costs in the world by a mile, according to a study from the Institute for Legal Reform (ILR). The good news is that the results of a poll, also commissioned by ILR show, people blame the excess costs on the ones who benefit the most from an out-of-control legal […]
Another Rite of Spring in Washington, New Energy Tax Proposals
Signs of spring in Pennsylvania are all around us. It is a season of change and growth. However, these signs of change have been ignored in Washington, where the metaphorical windows stay locked and thoughts remain unchanged. Many politicians continue to make inaccurate blanket statements about the energy industry. They say the industry needs to […]
Today’s Epidemic and the Need for Workers Compensation Reform
Governor Corbett shined a light on a very serious issue affecting businesses across the state of Pennsylvania. In a recent interview with PAMatters.com, Governor Corbett commented that many of the unemployed are unemployable because they cannot pass a drug test. Governor Corbett is already feeling the backlash from this honest statement, but the reality is […]
The “Social Impacts” of Liquor Privatization
The roster of testifiers at the Pennsylvania Senate Law and Justice Committee hearing on liquor privatization seems intended to generate ill-will towards privatization because of perceived negative “social impacts.” Testifiers will inevitably tug at heart-strings and assert that selling off our Soviet-style liquor system will bring nothing but ruination, despite a plethora of data saying […]
Sometimes All Politics Aren’t Local
Sometimes All Politics Aren’t Local As the President of the Pennsylvania Coal Alliance and a former Pennsylvania State Senator, I have witnessed firsthand the unintended consequences of government policies. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the area of energy policy. The Obama Administration, through the efforts of the EPA, has mercilessly attacked the […]
Death Shouldn’t Kill Family Business Jobs: Ending the Inheritance Tax on ‘Mom-and-Pop Shops’
Family-owned and operated small businesses, our “mom-and-pop shops,” create 65 percent of Pennsylvania’s jobs. Often, mom and pop and their children work long and hard with the sincere hope that these job-growing enterprises will be carried on from one generation to the next. Yet, instead of doing all we can to encourage the continuity of […]
Government Reform Caucus: A Step in the Right Direction
GOVERNMENT REFORM CAUCUS: A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION TO PUT CITIZENS BACK IN CONTROL OF GOVERNMENT A Republican State Representative and a Democratic State Senator have announced the creation of a new Government Reform Caucus in the General Assembly. The ideas they are advancing are state government reform ideas that the Susquehanna Valley Center […]
State Liquor Control’s Coalition of the Ludicrous
The following is a Philadelphia Inquirer editorial from March 26, 2013: ‘Why would you ever vote for something that ludicrous?” State Rep. Mike Sturla’s question last week was an excellent one if turned on its asker, who was engaged in a vigorous defense of Pennsylvania’s deeply ludicrous wine and liquor monopoly. Government liquor control has […]