Category: Public Policy

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Pennsylvania Policy Center Statement on General Fund Budget Passed by PA House

  By Budget, Penn Policy Center, Pennsylvania Budget, Statement

For Immediate Release Contact: Kirstin Snow, Communications Director, snow@pennpolicy.org; 215-510-9336 Harrisburg, PA–Marc Stier, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Policy Center, today released the following statement after the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed HB 611, a 2023-24 General Fund Budget, on party line vote. “In March, Governor Shapiro proposed a budget that had the right priorities but proposed too little spending in certain key areas, including K-12 education, workforce development, and housing. The budget passed by the House of Representatives today follows the governor’s priorities but adds spending in areas we believe deserved additional support. That spending is supported by additional revenue expected in both the current fiscal year and in years 2023-24. Going beyond the governor’s budget proposal, the House budget includes: ·      An additional $100 million in basic education funding ·      A $225 million Level Up supplement to the 108 most underfunded school districts in the state. ·      An… Continue reading

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The Cruelty of Our Times

  By Philosophy, Politics, Public Policy

The worst part of our times is that cruelty, which has always come too easily to human beings, has now become the accepted mode of too much of our lives. And for so many reasons. Because we are so divided politically and so threatened by the other side we want to obliterate them. Because we are so threatened by the other side that we can’t abide anyone on our side who doesn’t think and talk exactly as we do, or who fails to rise to the same level of indignation at some offense that we do. Because we talk to so many people at a mediated distance, which makes it impossible to see the immediate harm we do to others with our words. Because political conflict, economic struggles, and endless choices make us so uncertain of ourselves and our future that we seek the constant affirmation that comes with showing… Continue reading

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The Real Cost of Opening a Window for Sexual Abuse Lawsuits in Pennsylvania

  By Blog post, Penn Policy Center, Sexual and gender equality, Sexual harassment, Testimony

I was asked to testify about the claims made in a paper by the Susquehanna Valley Center for Public Policy that opening a two-year window for childhood victims of sexual abuse to bring lawsuits against their abusers might cost public schools in Pennsylvania between $10 billion and $32 billion. On its face, the claim sounds utterly absurd. (Not to mention irrelevant; if that is the cost of doing justice for those who have suffered from sexual abuse, then that is what we should be prepared to pay.) But as I delved into the details of the paper, I discovered that it was based on what, frankly, was a horror show of faulty research methods and statistical analyses. I was tempted to say—but in the setting of an official hearing in the Capitol, did not say—that this paper would have received no better than a D grade in the research methods… Continue reading

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Why We Need a Property Tax Circuit Breaker in Pennsylvania

  By Blog post, Property Taxes, Statement, Taxation

tatement of Marc Stier at Senator Jimmy Dillon / Representative Robert Freeman press conference on establishing a property tax circuit breaker in Pennsylvania on April 25, 2023 I’m very pleased to stand with Senator Jimmy Dillon and Representative Robert Freeman in support of establishing a property tax circuit breaker in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center first proposed such a plan in 2015 and our new organization, the Pennsylvania Policy Center, continues to support it. Representative Freeman has long championed it, and we are glad to see Senator Dillion become a champion of it as well. Pennsylvania has long had a serious problem: our tax system is unfair. State and local taxes in our commonwealth place a much greater burden on families with low incomes and moderate incomes than those with high incomes. Just to give you an idea of how unfair our tax system is, consider this: The… 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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Alternative Approaches to Making a Down Payment on Education Equity

  By K-12 Education in PA

In this paper we compare the impact of two proposals: one in the Shapiro administration’s budget plan and one by the PA Schools Work (PASW) campaign for a down payment on fair and full funding of K-12 schools regarding how far they go in reducing the state’s inequitable and inadequate school funding for school districts on the basis of class, race, and Hispanic ethnicity.1 We show that the PASW proposal, by spending more money and distributing some of that money through the Level Up program, takes a larger step forward in pursuit of the goal of giving every child the “thorough and efficient” public education required not only by basic notions of fairness and equity but by the Pennsylvania Constitution. Continue reading

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A Fair Share Tax for Pennsylvania–Updated for 2023

  By Diana Polson, Pennsylvania Budget, Pennsylvania State Taxes, Policy reports

By Marc Stier and Diana Polson Pennsylvania has long suffered from a tax system that is both highly regressive, taking a larger share of income from low-income and moderate-income families than high-income families, and that does not raise sufficient revenue to meet the needs of Pennsylvanians. In the recent past, inadequate revenues have led to a structural budget deficit and will continue to do so in the near future. In turn, this has led to what we call a public investment deficit: a lack of funding for critical needs that undermines both opportunity and economic growth. Just one example of the public investment deficit in Pennsylvania is the recent decision by Commonwealth Court President Judge Jubelirer saying the state fails to meet its constitutional obligation to provide a “thorough and efficient” education to all K-12 school children. This paper puts forward the Fair Share Tax proposal, a major step toward… Continue reading

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Governor Shapiro’s First Budget: The Right Priorities But Inadequate Funding

  By Budget, Budget analysis, PA Budget and Policy Center, Pennsylvania Budget

By Marc Stier, Diana Polson, and Stephen Herzenberg Continue reading