Category: Politics

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Hoist Meet Petard

  By Congress, Politics

In order to secure support from the 20 craziest  members of the Republican (as opposed to the crazy members who support him), Kevin McCarthy has been agreeing to various proposals that will weaken the power of the party leadership. While we don’t know the details, it appears he has been supporting rules that would limit the use of closed rules in the consideration of some (or perhaps) all legislation on the floor of the House. Before any legislation can be considered on the floor of the US House, the House has to adopt a “rule” that has first been adopted by the House Rules Committee which, since the mid 1970s, has been an arm of the party leader,  that is the Speaker of the House. A closed rule prohibits any amendments from being considered on the floor. An open rule allows any amendment to be propose. And a modified closed… Continue reading

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PBPC Statement on PA House Elections 2022

  By 2022, Elections, Pennsylvania

While we are still waiting for final election results in a number of districts, all indications point to the Democrats taking control of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. If they do, Rep. Joanna McClinton will become the Speaker of the House, the first Black woman to do so. For the last twenty years, gerrymandered legislative districts have enabled the Republicans to control the PA House of Representatives even though, in most of those years, a majority of votes for state representative went to Democrats. Republican control of the PA House of Representatives has stood in the way of enacting a great deal of legislation that has broad, and in many cases, bipartisan support, including raising the minimum wage, fixing an unfair tax system in which families in the top 1% pay taxes at half the rate as families in the middle, fully and fairly funding pre-K and K-12 education, making… Continue reading

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Memo: Another Blue Shift Coming

  By 2022

TO: Editorial Board Writers, Columnists, and Other Interested Parties FROM: Marc Stier, Director, Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center SUBJECT: Another blue shift coming in PA election returns DATE: November 7, 2022   In late October of 2020, we released a paper titled, “2020 Election Expectations: High Numbers of Mail-Votes and the Blue Shift.” We explained that due to Democrats being far more likely than Republicans to vote by mail, the initial count of the votes on Election Day would show Republicans ahead in many state-wide and local races—but that as mail ballots were counted, there would be a “blue shift” as vote tallies showed Democrats’ number of votes catching up to, and in many cases surpassing, the Republicans’. We warned that Donald Trump and his followers would use the blue shift to buttress their claims that the 2020 election was rigged—claims that began long before Election Day. Our predictions about… Continue reading

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If you do your part, things are looking good for Tuesday

  By 2022

I’m not at all certain about what is doing to happen on Tuesday. But I’m becoming more confident that IF YOU ALL DO YOUR PART–knocking on doors and getting out to vote yourself–the results will be good. Two strong pieces of evidence. First, a recent poll of people 19-29 , shows that people that age (1) say the will turn out at rates equal to 2018 and, in battlegrounds states like PA, at rates 5 points higher than 2018. And they support Democrats for Congress by a 2-1 margin. Second, to judge by who are the new voters, and who sought and are returning mail ballots in PA (and elsewhere) women are coming out to vote very heavily to save abortion. I know the polls are close everywhere. But the results of polling in close elections at this stage of the game are heavily dependent on estimates of who is going… Continue reading

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If PA Republicans Were Serious About Crime in Philly They Would Actually Fight It

  By 2022, Criminal Justice

Originally published by the Pennsylvania Capital Star on October 24, 2022 Violent crime—especially murder—shocks us all. Not only does it directly harm the victims but it also undermines the sense of security we all want to have. And, it creates difficulties for our communities. A high crime rate in a community discourages both business investment and consumption, leading to economic distress and poverty. Yet instead of putting forward serious solutions that reflect what we know about how to reduce murder rates, Republicans are spreading fear for electoral purposes with their usual racist dog whistles, which point fingers at Philadelphia and blame District Attorney Larry Krasner. The hypocrisy of these attacks is demonstrated in a new paper we recently released. Look at the communities represented by the three leading Republican critics of District Attorney Krasner in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Rep. Tim O’Neal represents Washington County where murders increased by 800 percent… Continue reading

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The Truth About Murder In Pennsylvania

  By Criminal Justice, PA Budget and Policy Center, Pennsylvania

Violent crime, especially murder, shocks us all. It directly harms the victims of crime. It undermines the sense of security of all of us. And it creates difficulties for our communities. High crime rates in a community both discourage business investment and consumption, leading to economic distress and poverty. These are all reasons for our political leaders to talk about crime and how to control it often and honestly. Sadly, however, in this election season Republican politicians have talked incessantly but, in more than one respect, have failed to do so honestly. To begin with, they have blamed Democrats— including Philadelphia’s district attorney, Larry Krasner—for the recent rise in the murder rate in the United States. But the notion that the murder rate is increasing faster in Democratic cities or states or Philadelphia than in Republican-controlled jurisdictions is demonstrably false. Even worse, they consistently put forward proposals for reducing the… Continue reading

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Why Do Artists and Intellectual Tend to be on the Left?

  By Philosophy, Politics

Why do artists and intellectuals tend to be liberals? Because artistic and intellectual goods are things we can all share. When you enjoy a piece of music, it doesn’t stop me from doing so. When you enjoy a good book, the same. In fact, the more people love the same music and books I do, the more people I have to share in the experience and from whom I can learn more about what I love. That doesn’t mean there are no conflicts in these spheres of life. Once upon a time, there was a conflict over owning these goods. But in the digital world the cost of reproducing music and books is now very close to zero. There are still limited resources for the creation of intellectual and artistic goods. But the more we focus our lives on the pursuit of these goods, the more we devote our resources… Continue reading

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Is Doug Mastriano Planning To Become Governor By Force?

  By 2022, Fascism, Politics, The Coming Civil War?

Doug Mastriano is running an incompetent campaign for governor by any standard measures of political competence. He’s not raising money. He’s not moving to the center or at least tempering his most extreme positions. He’s not talking to the press…which is how politicians get their message to voters. He may yet win. Though he is down in the polls by a lot, there is continuing reason to believe that polls understate the vote of Trumpist candidates because their supporters don’t trust pollsters and answer their questions, because some of their supporters, upper middle class Republicans, are reluctant to say out loud that they are voting for creeps like Trump and Mastriano, and because polls don’t measure likely turnout well. Candidates like Trump and Mastriano motivate devoted followers who, like them, are angry and frustrated at what they see as the direction of the country and thus come out to vote.… Continue reading

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STATEMENT: House Dems Pass Inflation Reduction Act To Lower Drug Prices, Make Health Care & Energy Costs More Affordable

  By Climate Change, Economic Development, Energy, Health Care, PA Budget and Policy Center, Statements, US

For Immediate Release Date: August 12, 2022 Contact: Kirstin Snow, snow@pennbpc.org   House Democrats Pass Inflation Reduction Act To Lower Drug Prices, Make Health Care and Energy Costs More Affordable   Historic Bill to Curb Big Pharma and Make Corporations Pay What They Owe Moves Towards Passage Harrisburg, PA — Following U.S. House passage of the Inflation Reduction Act—a bill that will enact historic drug pricing reform, reduce health insurance costs, lower energy costs, and reduce the national deficit—Marc Stier, director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center and Stephen Herzenberg, executive director of the Keystone Research Center, released the following statement:    The U.S. House’s vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act makes historic progress on many fronts. It takes a huge step forward in addressing the threat of climate change by investing $370 billion in a series of incentives to encourage the replacement of fossil fuels with clean,… Continue reading