Author: Marc Stier

Originally published at Pennsylvania Policy Center on October 1, 2025. October 1, 2025 By Marc Stier The federal government is now shut down because the Republicans, who mostly run Washington, need some Democratic support to pass a temporary budget (known as a continuing resolution) in the Senate. For weeks, Democrats sought a meeting with Republicans to reach a bipartisan agreement. That meeting did not take place until a day before the end of the budget year. Democrats are demanding that the continuing resolution extend the expanded tax credits for health insurance on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges and reverse the Medicaid cuts enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. If the expanded ACA tax credits are not renewed, health insurance costs will sharply increase for everyone by an average of 18%—and for many families and small businesses the increase could be far higher, ranging from 44% to 153%.… Continue reading

Originally published at Pennsylvania Policy Center on September 19, 2025. September 19, 2025 By Marc Stier The federal government fiscal year ends on September 30th, and the government will shut down without congressional action to appropriate funds after that date.  The Republicans are planning to pass a continuing resolution (CR) by the end of this week, which would extend the current year budget through November 21st.  That bill must be approved by a majority of the House and, because of the filibuster, 60 votes in the Senate. To get to 60 votes, the Republicans need seven Democrats to vote for the CR. Because some Republicans in the House seek cuts to the budget, some Democratic votes may be necessary to pass the bill there as well.  The need for Democratic votes means that this is a unique moment at which Democrats—and perhaps even a few Republicans who have concerns about… Continue reading

Originally published at Pennsylvania Policy Center on September 18, 2025. September 18, 2025 By Marc Stier The murder of Charlie Kirk was a terrible, appalling event. It was a blow not just to this young man and his family and young children, but to freedom of speech in the United States. Whatever one thinks of Kirk’s views—and I vehemently disagree with him—our country is diminished by his murder. People of all views will now think twice about entering the public space to express views that might be controversial. And we are all poorer for that. The worst possible response to this awful event, however, is being contemplated by President Trump and Vice President Vance. Their recent statements threatening to punish and defund “left-wing groups” that they wrongly hold responsible for the murder of Kirk would be an even greater threat to freedom of speech and assembly than the murder itself.… Continue reading

Originally published at Pennsylvania Policy Center on August 27, 2025. August 26, 2025 By Laura Beltrán Figueroa and Marc Stier VIEW IN A PDF READER. who benefits from public transit in paDownload Continue reading

Originally published at Pennsylvania Policy Center on June 28, 2025. Comments are by Marc Stier – Executive Director, Penn Policy Center As Senate begins consideration of the reconciliation bill today, I’m going to be commenting on the politics of reconciliation and the contents of the Senate bill. Sunday, June 29, 10:16 p.m. I’m wearing down after a long day and week, so this will be my last post today. The floor debate, which began at 3:00 pm, will go on for another three to five hours. Democrats will use the time to not only point out the flaws of the bill but also to further delay the process. Following debate, “vote-a-rama” is now expected to begin around midnight. Vote-a-rama will go through the night and the Senate Republican leadership’s goal is to have a final vote on the bill sometime tomorrow, likely late night. But it could be delayed to early Tuesday. We… Continue reading

Originally published at Pennsylvania Policy Center on June 19, 2025. By Marc Stier It appears that my recent letter to the editor in the Inquirer, claiming that business taxes are not a deterrent to business activity in Philadelphia, got under the skin of MAGA mega-donor and Pennsylvania’s richest man, Jeff Yass. He responded with a letter of his own: “In a recent letter to the editor, Marc Stier of the Pennsylvania Policy Center states that research shows business taxes are not deterrents to economic growth. Quite the opposite, he adds. The city wage tax, currently about 3.5%, generates approximately $2 billion per year. May I suggest we double it to 7%, raise an additional $2 billion, and increase per-child spending in Philadelphia to $42,000 per student — up from the current $32,000 — for each of our  Jeff Yass, Bala Cynwyd Jeff Yass’s financial acumen is highly touted, so I’m a… Continue reading