Category: Public Policy

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The Problem with Act 77: Eliminating Straight Ticket Voting

  By Elections and Voting, Memos, PA Budget and Policy Center

Originally published by KRC-PBPC here. To: State legislators, editorial board writers, political reporters, and interested parties From: Marc Stier, Director, Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center Re: Elimination of Straight-Ticket Voting and Related Matters Voting is the fundamental political right of all Americans. And so, election reform must mean making it easier, rather than harder, for Americans to cast their votes for every office. Sadly, there is a long legacy in this country of doing the opposite. Whether put forward by racists determined to protect white supremacy or good government “reformers” determined to weaken the political power of immigrants and the working class, American states have adopted a series of proposals—such as onerous barriers to registration, limited hours and times for voting, too-frequent purges of the voter rolls, and Voter ID laws—that, inadvertently or in many cases deliberately, have made it more difficult to vote. A package of election reforms is now under… Continue reading

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Five myths about raising the minimum wage — debunked

  By Minimum Wage, Published Op-Eds

Originally published by the PA Capital-Star on October 3, 2019. By Marc Stier While raising the minimum wage has been a conversation that continues to reverberate around the capitol, it’s clear that many legislators are apprehensive about raising the wage for the first time in over a decade. Some legislators have told advocates they don’t believe there should even be a minimum wage. But raising the minimum wage isn’t just about a few more dollars a month in the pockets of working people. It’s not a hand-out to low-wage workers. It’s part of an effort to change the rules of our economy so that working people do better, reversing the trends of the last 40 years in which a greater share of our income and wealth has gone to the very rich. Raising the minimum wage will help benefit all working people and help expand the middle class. In our advocacy… Continue reading

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Fact vs Myth on the Minimum Wage

  By Minimum Wage, Public Policy

A one-page version of this piece can be found here. Raising the minimum wage is not a hand-out to low-wage workers. It’s part of an effort to change the rules of our economy so that working people do better, reversing the trends of the last 40 years in which a greater share of our income and wealth has gone to the very rich. Raising the minimum wage will help benefit all working people and help expand the middle class. But, in our advocacy to raise the minimum wage over the past few years, we’ve heard a number of misleading, incorrect talking points over and over in response to our efforts. We wanted to address the most common of those quickly and concisely:   “The minimum wage was never meant to be a living wage. It’s primarily for young people starting out.” FALSE The minimum wage was established to ensure that… Continue reading

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Will There Be a Child Care Benefit Cliff if We Raise the Minimum Wage?

  By Childcare, Minimum Wage, PA Budget and Policy Center, Policy reports

Published by KRC-PBPC here. Introduction Raising the minimum wage is one of the most important steps that Pennsylvania can take to fix a political economy that has been tilted against working people for decades. Two bills before the General Assembly, HB1215 and SB12, propose increasing the minimum wage to $12 per hour on July 1, 2019, and increasing the wage in 50-cent increments until it reaches $15 per hour in 2025. Raising the minimum wage to $15 would ultimately lift wages for two million Pennsylvanians, not only those who make the minimum wage now or who would after an increase, but also many whose wages would be pushed higher when the floor on wages is raised. Raising the minimum wage would also help local economies and the economy of the state as a whole by giving working people the capacity to buy more goods and services. Every state around Pennsylvania… Continue reading

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On Gov. Wolf’s Bond Issue to Assist Counties In Purchasing New Voting Systems

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, Press release, Voting

Originally published by KRC-PBPC here. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center director Marc Stier made the following statement on Governor Wolf’s move to issue a bond to help fund new voting systems in counties across the commonwealth: “Protecting our voting system is of the utmost importance. After the governor correctly vetoed SB48, it remained the case that the state needed to find a way to offset the costs to counties of putting into place secure voting systems that provide a critical paper trail for our elections. We applaud Governor Wolf for circumventing partisan gridlock to do whatever is necessary to make sure county governments aren’t hamstrung by costs in their quest for secure elections. We can all agree that we must have systems in place so that citizens can have confidence in election outcomes. Using this method to reimburse costs will allow county governments to make necessary changes to election… Continue reading

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On the CBO Report About a Federal Minimum Wage Increase

  By Minimum Wage, PA Budget and Policy Center

Originally published by KRC-PBPC here. HARRISBURG—Marc Stier, director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, made the following statement in regards to yesterday’s Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report about raising the federal minimum wage: “The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the agency that provides budget and economic analysis to Congress, released a report yesterday on the economic impact of raising the federal minimum wage to $15/hour by 2025. The main finding from this report, as we have found similarly in our own research, is that raising the minimum wage to $15/hour would benefit millions of low-wage workers across the country and that these benefits would far outweigh the costs. “The benefits of increasing the minimum wage include: reducing poverty; increasing the wages of 27.3 million low- and low-to-middle income families; and shifting money from corporate profits to low-wage workers, thereby reducing inequality. This policy change would result in a reduction of the number… Continue reading

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On Gov. Wolf’s Veto of SB48, a Bill to Eliminate Straight-Party Ticket Voting

  By Elections and Voting, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Voting

Published on KRC-PBPB here. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center Director Marc Stier made the following statement on Governor Wolf’s veto of SB48, a bill to eliminate straight-party ticket voting, among other election reforms: “We are gratified that Governor Wolf has vetoed SB48.” “SB48 started out as a bill to help Pennsylvania counties secure funds to procure new, secure voting machines. Republicans decided to add a provision to eliminate straight ticket voting from the Pennsylvania ballot.” “As my colleague Kadida Kenner pointed out in a powerful op-ed (http://bit.ly/2LpnYnH), eliminating straight ticket voting would have depressed the vote of people of color and low-income voters, who are often ignored by political campaigns, in down-ballot races— including those to the General Assembly. “Like the unnecessary Voter ID laws and partisan redistricting plans they have adopted in the past, the attempt to eliminate straight-ticket voting was a shameful attempt by a Republican Party… Continue reading

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On SB48, a Bill to Eliminate Straight-Party Ticket Voting

  By Elections and Voting, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center director Marc Stier made the following statement on SB48, a bill to eliminate straight-party ticket voting, among other election reforms: “SB48 started out as a bill to help Pennsylvania Counties secure funds to procure new, secure voting machines. “Republicans decided to add a provision to eliminate straight ticket voting from the Pennsylvania ballot. “As my colleague Kadida Kenner points out in a powerful op-ed today (http://bit.ly/2LpnYnH), this action will diminish the vote of people of color and low-income voters, who are often ignored by political campaigns, especially in down-ballot races—including those to the General Assembly. “Like the unnecessary Voter ID laws and partisan redistricting plans they have adopted in the past, this is another shameful attempt by the Republican Party to rig our political system in their favor. “We strongly urge Governor Wolf to veto this bill and find an alternative means of helping… Continue reading

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PA House Democrats Clarify the Minimum Wage Debate

  By Minimum Wage

Originally published by KRC-PBPC.  Yesterday, Pennsylvania House Democrats, under minority leader Frank Dermody (D-Allegheny), stepped up in a big way for raising the minimum wage in Pennsylvania. And in doing so they made it obvious who is responsible for blocking a path to raising the minimum wage. During the debate on the state budget, one Democrat after another stood up to complain that the Republicans had refused to raise the minimum wage as part of the budget. Republican Speaker of the House Mike Turzai tried to cut off debate, bizarrely ruling that raising the minimum wage was not part of the budget. This is nonsense. Raising the minimum wage would both increase taxes and reduce spending (mostly on Medicaid) and obviously has budgetary implications. If it is legitimate to discuss the lack of funding for education or for General Assistance or infrastructure in the budget—and no one denies that—it’s certainly… Continue reading

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On The PA Budget Spending Plan Passed by the House Appropriations Committee

  By Pennsylvania Budget, Statements

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center director Marc Stier made the following statement after the PA House Appropriations Committee passed a budget spending plan: “The House Republicans’ budget proposal released today is sadly, but not surprisingly, a disappointment for working-class and middle-class families. “It includes no increase in the minimum wage even though every state around Pennsylvania has raised its minimum wage and found that the result has been not only higher wages but higher employment in low-wage occupations. “It provides less funding for Basic Education than Governor Wolf proposed and diverts some of that request from public schools to the EITC program that supports unaccountable private schools that often cater to the richest Pennsylvanians. “It does not fund the General Assistance program, which provides a minimal level of support to some of the most vulnerable Pennsylvanians, many of whom are waiting to receive Social Security disability payments. “In… Continue reading