The Myths Behind Governor Corbett's PA Budget Myths
By Sharon Ward, Third and StateGovernor Tom Corbett's May 21 newsletter offered up responses to five "myths" the administration claims are circulating about his proposed budget for next year. The...
View ArticlePiecing Together the PA Budget Framework
By Chris Lilienthal, Third and StateSome details emerged Thursday about the state budget framework unveiled midweek by Governor Tom Corbett and legislative leaders, but questions still remain. More...
View ArticleThe Human Cost of Eliminating General Assistance in Pennsylvania
By Kate Atkins, Third and StateSince the Great Depression, Pennsylvania has had a General Assistance (GA) program — a small cash benefit that serves as a bridge to self-sufficiency for the temporarily...
View ArticlePA Starts New Fiscal Year with $400 Million in the Bank
By Michael Wood, Third and StateAfter a less than stellar May, General Fund tax collections bounced back strongly in June — exceeding estimate by $170 million, or 6.5%. This narrowed the 2011-12...
View ArticlePa. Budget: Failing to Invest in a Stronger State Economy
By Chris Lilienthal, Third and StateDespite ending the 2011-12 fiscal year with a $649 million fund balance, Pennsylvania fails to make the investments essential to building a strong economy or to...
View ArticlePA's July Jobs Report Is Out, and It's Not Good News
By Mark Price, Third and StatePennsylvania's unemployment rate shot up three-tenths of a point in July to 7.9%. Just two months before in May, the rate was 7.4%. Total nonfarm jobs in the state were...
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Pennsylvania's Natural Gas Tax Giveaway Exceeds $500 Million Mark
By Michael Wood, Third and StateThe state's Department of Environmental Production (DEP) recently published a biannual report on Marcellus Shale production in Pennsylvania. (Most states require monthly...
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Chaos at the PennDOT
By Sharon Ward, Third and StateNow that Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson has given the green light to Pennsylvania’s strictest in-the-nation Voter ID Law, tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians...
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Post-Labor Day Thoughts: Middle Class Can't Afford Another Lost Decade
By Mark Price, Third and StateLabor Day 2012 is behind us, but the challenges confronting the middle class are not.As we do each year around this time, the Keystone Research Center has released the...
View ArticleThe Manufacturing Jobs Score by President Since 1948
By Stephen Herzenberg, Third and StateAfter former President Bill Clinton claimed the "jobs score" was better in Democratic presidential administrations than in Republican ones, Colin Gordon of the...
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Fact Checking PA Governor Corbett's Jobs Record...and Some Unsolicited Advice
By Stephen Herzenberg, Third and StateGovernor Tom Corbett's administration has a new summary of Pennsylvania's recent job performance. Today's news that Pennsylvania's unemployment rate is as high as...
View ArticleConfused About Voter ID in Pennsylvania? You’re Not Alone
By Sharon Ward, Third and StateThe eyes of the nation are truly turned to Pennsylvania as the ACLU is back in court today challenging Pennsylvania’s strictest-in-the-nation Voter ID Law. The...
View ArticleChanging the Subject Doesn’t Make Payday Lending in PA a Better Idea
By Mark Price, Third and StateIn legislative hearings last month, proponents of a bill to legalize high-interest payday loans tried to change the subject and questioned the motives of some of their...
View ArticleNews Flash! Marcellus Shale Coalition Takes on Pennsylvania Charities
By Stephen Herzenberg, Third and StateThanks to Citizens United, we are all the beneficiaries of unlimited corporate money in our elections — witness the onslaught of TV ads interrupting our ballgames...
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'How 'bout No, You Crazy Dutch....'
By Mark Price, Third and StateOn Monday night, the Lower Allen Township commissioners in Cumberland County considered a proposal from Ahold USA, the corporate parent of Giant Food Stores, for a...
View ArticleA Rare Victory In The Endless Fight Against Corporate Welfare
By Mark Price, Third and StateIn a rare victory against corporate welfare in Pennsylvania, Ahold USA has withdrawn its request for property tax breaks for a meat-packaging facility it is building in...
View ArticleMore Than 180 Voter Suppression Laws Proposed
By jamar Thrasher, Third and StateWe have written a lot about Pennsylvania's Voter ID Law, which has been put on hold by the courts for the upcoming election. Turns out we're not alone when it comes to...
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Not Exactly a Mahogany-paneled Corporate Boardroom
By Kate Atkins, Third and StateA hundred days after passage of the state budget, it is too soon to fully assess the impact of cuts to human services, Montgomery County's administrator for behavioral...
View ArticlePennsylvania Tax Giveaways and an Island in the Sun
By Jamar Thrasher, Third and StateA few weeks ago, the Pennsylvania General Assembly fast-tracked a bill in the waning days of the legislative session to allow certain private companies to keep most of...
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Will Pennsylvania Take Full Advantage of Health Reform?
By Chris Lilienthal, Third and StateWith the election decided, it is now clear that the Affordable Care Act is here to stay. That’s great news for Pennsylvanians, some of whom have already begun to...
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