Category: Published op-eds

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Saving Public Education in Pennsylvania, Where It Began

  By Blog post, Education, K-12 Education in PA, Penn Policy Center, Published op-eds

Originally published on PennCapital-Star.com The budget stalemate in Harrisburg hasn’t been primarily about whether some budget line items go up or down by a few hundred million dollars. Those kinds of disputes are easy to resolve. Rather, it’s been about whether Pennsylvania will start down a radical, extremist path that leads to the destruction of public education in our state. As we celebrate the birth of our country, we should remember that public education is central to the ideals that led to, and grew out of, American independence. And we in Pennsylvania should resolve not to compromise those ideals as the state passes its budget this year. The American Revolution was not just a political revolution against the King and Parliament. It was also a social revolution against the hierarchal society they represented, a society in which everyone knew and kept in their place. It was a revolution to give… Continue reading

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Pa. Rep. Zabel’s resignation highlights need for systemic change in Harrisburg

  By Published op-eds, Sexual and gender equality, Sexual harassment

We need reparative and restorative justice instead of just punitive justice Originally published in the Pennsylvania Capital-Star on March 13, 2023 We are heartened to hear that Mike Zabel has resigned from his position as state representative. His resignation is necessary at this moment for many reasons, including that we have no other way to continue challenging the patriarchal culture in Pennsylvania politics—and most other spheres of life—that makes sexual harassment a common experience.   But we fear that his resignation, like those of other men in politics who have harassed or abused women, will do little to change the systematic harassment of women that plays too large a role in the politics of this state.  So, we want to take this moment to think about how to replace the repetitive cycle of far belated discovery of the bad things done by a political leader, followed by public condemnation, followed by… Continue reading

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Marc Stier: We Need a Budget for All Pennsylvanians

  By Budget, PBPC Blog posts, Pennsylvania Budget, Published op-eds

Originally published at the TribLive.com on July 6, 2022. The last few weeks of public debate in Harrisburg have been deeply revealing of the different approaches of the two parties. One of those parties has been trying to bring people in our state together. The other has been trying to divide us. One party has seriously addressed real issues we all care about. The other has been making issues up so they can turn Pennsylvanian against Pennsylvanian. All Pennsylvanians share some common interests; no matter where we live in the state, what we look like, how rich or poor we are, or what work we do, we want jobs to be created and wages to grow. We want to be able to afford the necessities of life — food, clothing, shelter, health care and transportation to get to work, do errands, and see family and friends. Our well-being doesn’t just… Continue reading

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This Budget We Have The Chance To Move PA Forward. We Can’t Miss It.

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, Pennsylvania Budget, Published op-eds

Originally published by the PA Capital-Star on June 16, 2022 For more than a decade, the Republican majority in the General Assembly has called for austerity. And it appears that a huge state budget surplus — without counting one-time American Rescue Plan funds — of more than $5 billion isn’t stopping them from doing so again. So, the question Pennsylvanians need to ask themselves is this: If not now, when? The results of a decade of austerity are easy to see. We are not a poor state. Our economy ranks sixth in the nation in total gross domestic product. And yet: We rank in the bottom seven states for support for higher education. We rank in the bottom seven in state funding of K-12 education and thus have the most inequitably funded schools in the country. We are falling behind neighboring states in the percentage of 3- and 4-year-olds in pre-K… Continue reading

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Guest Commentary: Is This Really Taxadelphia?

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Taxes, Published op-eds, Taxation

The director of a state budget and policy organization has an answer that may surprise you BY MARC STIER Originally published in The Philadelphia Citizen, April  21, 2022 “Philadelphia is one of the highest-taxed cities in the United States.” But you knew that, right? It’s common knowledge. Everyone knows it. Everyone also knows that Philadelphia has been growing slowly because of its high taxes.Beware of what “everyone knows.” Sometimes ideas get repeated so often, they become common knowledge that turns out to be wrong.The truth is that of the 30 largest cities in the United States, Philadelphia ranks 13th in tax revenue per person per year. The falsehood that Philadelphia has one of the highest tax rates in the country is not a neutral fact. It has political implications. It reinforces the narrative that blames Philadelphia’s high taxes for its anemic job growth. At $4,302, Philadelphia’s per person revenue is… Continue reading

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Every kid deserves a chance; Republicans don’t agree

  By Education, K-12 Education in PA, Public Policy, Published op-eds

Originally published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on February 25, 2022 Before he became the great liberator, Sen. Thaddeus Stevens was, as state Representative, the author of the first Pennsylvania legislation to provide public funds to ensure that all children, no matter how rich or poor, could secure a good education. Stevens’ support for universal education grew out of the same fundamental commitment to equality that animated his opposition to slavery. Stevens, like Abraham Lincoln, believed that America must give everyone the opportunity to use their talents and abilities, to the best of their ability. Slavery blocked this opportunity, and so he opposed it. Lack of access to education blocked opportunity for every child of the working class, and so he supported universal education. Sadly, Republicans no longer seem to support that ideal. Four years ago, the Republican Chair of the Senate Education Committee, John Eichelberger, said that “inner city” education… Continue reading

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A minimum wage hike would reverse 40-year pay stagnation for working people

  By Minimum Wage, PBPC Blog posts, Published op-eds

Originally published in The Morning Call on March 11, 2021 Raising the minimum wage is about helping low-income workers do better — but not just that. It is about changing the rules of our economy so that we all do better, now and in the future. To all do better we must reverse the 40-year trend that has seen skyrocketing incomes and wealth for the owners and executives of the largest corporations while income for working people and the middle class has been stagnant. This transformation was not the necessary result of a free market economy. The economy is a human creation subject to the rules we choose. Political and legal changes made at the behest of the corporate elite deliberately tilted the economy to their advantage and against the working and middle classes, as well as small businesses. What were those changes? First, lawmakers allowed the value of the… Continue reading

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The minimum wage was created during the Great Depression. We need to raise it during the Pandemic Recession

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Published op-eds

Originally published at the PA Capital-Star on March 7, 2021 Opponents of raising the minimum wage seem to have an inexhaustible supply of concerns which they repeat no matter how often we present evidence that refutes them.  The latest one is the claim that we cannot raise the minimum wage during the COVID-19 recession. Raising the minimum wage during a recession, they say, will stall our recovery.  This might sound plausible for a second—or until one remembers that the minimum wage was created during the Great Depression by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA). After a slow recovery from the Great Depression, the economy went into reverse in 1937 and the beginning of 1938. The reason is clear. In 1936, President Franklin Roosevelt started to listen to orthodox economists worried about the budget deficit. Taxes were raised, government spending was cut and the U.S. government had a balanced budget in 1937. The Federal Reserve raised interest rats as well, hurting the economy.  But the economy suffered. Unemployment, which was still high… Continue reading

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Pa. is in the throes of a COVID-19 recession. Wolf, lawmakers need to step up for working families

  By COVID-19, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Budget, Published op-eds

Originally published at the PA Capital-Star November 17, 2020 By Marc Stier No matter where we live, what we look like, whether we are native–born or immigrants, or whether we are struggling or getting by, the COVID-19 recession is a threat to all of us. We need the state government to do more for families and small businesses to meet that threat. Yet the recession will cost the state at least $3.3 billion in revenues—and perhaps more—over two years. Squaring this circle would be difficult at any time, but the General Assembly must act by Nov. 30 when the stop-gap budget enacted in May, covering about about half of the General Fund,  runs out. Democratic and Republican senators appear close to a compromise that avoids a budget impasse at this dangerous time even as it leaves many problems unresolved. Our understanding is that it would fund a full-year General Fund budget at the same level as in fiscal 2019-2020 with some adjustments… Continue reading

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How the ‘Fair Share Tax’ will restore fairness to our tax system

  By Pennsylvania Budget, Public Policy, Published op-eds

Originally published in the Pennsylvania Capitol-Star, April 24, 2019 Pennsylvania politics remains divided. One side, composed of mostly conservatives, believes that the key to prosperity is to cut taxes for the rich, cut spending for everyone else and—although they don’t say it too loudly—keep wages low. The other side, composed of mostly liberals, believe that a prosperous Pennsylvania needs to close our public investment deficit. They point out that state spending as a share of gross state product has fallen by 12 percent compared to the years 1997-2011. That has left us with: With a Democratic governor and a Republican-controlled General Assembly, neither side is getting what they want this year. And thanks to robust revenues, the governor’s austere budget—but not as austere as Republicans want—may be settled without too much stress. But that means that partisan gridlock is making it impossible for our government to make a real choice between the two visions of Pennsylvania’s… Continue reading