Category: Public Policy

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PBPC-State Innovation Exchange Poll on Budget and Democracy Issues

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, Pennsylvania Budget, Polling

The poll we are releasing today was commissioned by the State Innovation Exchange and the PA Budget and Policy Center. It is the third poll on tax, budget, and democracy issues sponsored by the two organizations. The poll is also part of a six-state public opinion survey effort by the State Innovation Exchange. Topline Findings: American Rescue Plan and PA Budget As the Pennsylvania economy continues to reverse course from the pandemic, this poll shows clearly that PA voters have a big appetite for public investment and little appetite for austerity. The poll shows that by a 3-1 margin Pennsylvanians prefer investing American Rescue Plan funds in people and businesses over using the money to pay down structural budget deficits. It shows overwhelming support for a range of public investments with ARP funds, including: Low-interest small business loans Combating homelessness, lack of affordable housing, and food insecurity Hazard pay for… Continue reading

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This Year We Need to Pass A Budget for the People not the Powerful

  By Pennsylvania Budget, Published Op-Eds

Originally published by the PA Capital-Star on June 16, 2021 The General Assembly has two more weeks to pass a budget for next year.  This year, the budget can be—and must be—different than recent budgets. This year we are coming out of a pandemic that created vast suffering for workers, local businesses, and our communities. Millions of Pennsylvanians took on hazardous work during the pandemic at very low wages. They deserve just compensation. They deserve a reward.  Thousands of small businesses remain on the brink of closing. They deserve help. Communities all over the state are trying to return to normal. They need assistance.  And all of the suffering has revealed deep inequities in our society. Before the pandemic, some of us were already aware that … millions of Pennsylvanians are not paid wages that lift them or their families out of poverty. educational opportunities are not distributed fairly to kids who live in low- or moderate-income communities, or who are Black or Hispanic.  the state invests less in higher… Continue reading

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Why House Bill 1300 is a Clear Attempt to Restrict Voting

  By Democracy, Statements, Voting

  “The vast majority of us care about democratic government and want secure and free elections. We want to go to the polls and know that our vote is being counted. We want it to be easy to vote. We want all eligible voters—not ineligible ones—to cast their ballots. We want our votes to be counted fairly, and we want to know who won relatively quickly. And, ultimately, we want everyone to acknowledge the legitimate results of free and fair elections. We can have modern free, fair, and secure elections. We can use technology to ensure that people are able to vote conveniently and without sacrificing security. Yet on Tuesday, the House State Government Committee, in a purely partisan vote, moved a bill that makes voting harder. It would make the election process more confusing, change deadlines for no reason, and would roll back alternative and easy ways to vote… Continue reading

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The FY2021-22 PA State Budget: The People’s Budget & Tracking ARP Funds in PA

  By American Rescue Plan, Federal Budget, PA Budget and Policy Center, Pennsylvania Budget, Video

This is a recording of a Zoom meeting hosted by the PA Budget & Policy Center on Thursday, April 15, 2021, to provide updates related to PA’s state budget and the allocation of the $7.3 billion in assistance that the American Rescue Plan delivered to PA’s state government. PBPC director Marc Stier talks about the fiscal challenges facing the Commonwealth and discusses the “People’s Budget,” an effort by several legislators to propose a way to raise the revenue necessary to make long-overdue investments in important programs and priorities. The video also features PBPC’s senior policy analyst Diana Polson presenting recently updated information about how American Rescue Act funds will be distributed in PA, highlighting an online spreadsheet for tracking these allocations: Tracking American Rescue Plan Funding Distribution in PA.    Continue reading

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Mass Incarceration is on the Ballot in Philadlephia in May

  By Criminal Justice, Elections, Public Policy

Almost every time someone is arrested for murder in Philadelphia, he has a criminal record of some kind. In many cases it is for minor drug dealing or for possession of a gun. So, the tough on crime crowd that supports Carlos Vega for DA crowd blames the criminal justice system in general and the DA, Larry Krasner, in particular for the murder saying that if only the guy arrested for murder were in jail, the crime would not have been committed.  What people who advance this idea forget is how many people in this city are involved in minor drug dealing and are carrying illegal guns. Most of them will not murder anyone. We can’t just arrest the corner drug dealers with guns who are likely to commit murder in the future. We don’t know who they are. If we throw the book at every one corner drug dealer… Continue reading

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Cancel Culture or Course Correction?

  By Constitutional Law and Civil Liberties, Philosophy, Uncategorized

For pretty much all of American history Black people have had to be very careful about what they said in front of white people, out of fear that they might be hurt for what they said. The wrong remark at the wrong time could lead to them being ridiculed or denigrated or excluded from something important to them at work or in their community. Or it could lead to them losing their job. Or their life. For pretty much all of American history women have had to be very careful about what they said in front of men, out of fear that they might be hurt for what they said. The wrong remark at the wrong time could lead to them being ridiculed or denigrated or excluded from something important to them at work or in their community. Or it could lead to them losing their job. Or to being… Continue reading