By Rep. Seth Grove “If I were planning to do a get-out-of-business sale, this is the kind of budget I would do: I would empty my reserves, sell my assets, and get out of town.” This is how I concluded my questions with Budget Secretary Uri Monson, the last testifier to appear before the Appropriations […]
The Edward H. Arnold Institute for Policy Studies
Township Supervisors: Building Better Communities, One Step At A Time
By David M. Sanko Watch David Sanko on Behind the Headlines This Local Government Week let’s celebrate the unsung heroes who make our neighborhoods thrive: township officials — supervisors, managers, road crews, and many more. You might recognize them at the grocery store or see them patching potholes. These dedicated public servants share a […]
Shapiro Plan Is A Destructive Energy Tax On All Pennsylvanians
By David N. Taylor “Governor Shapiro’s energy tax will cause widespread destruction in every industry in Pennsylvania. A new, additional tax on energy will jeopardize our vital industries and undermine the hardworking women and men on our shop floors while massively subsidizing boutique ‘green’ energy monopolized by China.” “Pennsylvania is the largest exporter of […]
Debt Is A Fiscal Catastrophe That We Have Little Hope of Avoiding
By Tom Tillett “When it comes to the federal budget, what consistently unites Democrats and Republicans is their common capacity to lie to themselves, lie to the public and postpone any serious discussion of the central issues of government spending and taxes” — Robert J. Samuelson, in a March 29, 2015, column for The Washington […]
RGGI Is A Bad Deal For Pennsylvanians
By Jon O’Brien The pandemic taught us about the domino effect of supply chains in our global economy, where one minor disruption can reverberate globally and significantly impact business costs everywhere. Pennsylvania can expect similar economic disruptions if our commonwealth joins the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). When the price of business increases, we, as […]
Federal Court Shoots Down Natural Gas Hook-Up Ban
By Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association War against conventional energy and U.S. consumers continues Chalk up a rare win for the hard-working consumer in the self-destructive war being waged by anti-fossil fuel radicals. Two weeks ago, a federal appeals court in California affirmed an earlier decision that the city of Berkeley has no authority to ban natural […]
Climate Litigation Would Close Pennsylvania For Business
By David N. Taylor Recent opinion content making its rounds in state papers reveals that the national campaign to sue U.S. energy companies for the effects of global climate change has chosen Pennsylvania as its next target. These climate lawsuits have failed in other states because they are without merit. The Clean Air Council and […]
Is the new Pennsylvania budget good for business?
By David Taylor Governor Josh Shapiro recently signed the budget measure for fiscal year 2023-24, capping a tense month of negotiation and suspense. For manufacturers, the budget is a mixed bag, but there is cause for optimism. Important manufacturing programs received bipartisan support in the budget, including the Manufacturing Innovation Program, a collaboration of the […]
Senate Should Reverse Higher Mortgage Fees On Hardworking, Middle-Class Americans
By Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity Since May 1, many hardworking middle-class Americans have been paying more to buy a home because of an outrageous new rule imposed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Instead of rewarding families who play by the rules, the FHFA is now penalizing them with higher mortgage fees. It’s […]
Shapiro in Wonderland – Down The Rabbit Hole in Harrisburg?
By Dr. Charles Greenawalt Recently in The Philadelphia Inquirer, a former staffer in the Casey Administration, displayed a lively imagination in proposing to rewrite the Pennsylvania Constitution. As time passes in the Biden Era, we see an increasing number of politicians and political pundits who delight in reshaping government constitutions, laws, institutions, and practices to […]