Category: My Work

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A Roadmap to a New PA

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, Pennsylvania, Public Policy, We The People–PA

A Roadmap to a New Pennsylvania: State Policy Towards a Safer, Healthier, More Prosperous and Equitable Commonwealth Written by the We The People Policy and Communications Team with guidance and input from our allies. Stephen Herzenberg, John Neurohr, Diana Polson, and Marc Stier. Edited by Marc Stier Below is the We The People’s comprehensive public policy manual for lawmakers and advocates, “A Roadmap to a New Pennsylvania: State Policy Towards a Safer, Healthier, More Prosperous and Equitable Commonwealth,” which was derived from the best policy research from experts across the country, and informed by everyday Pennsylvanians who came together in 13 community meetings all over the state. At those meetings, citizens found broad agreement on what is wanted from state government: public policies that make poor, working and middle-class Pennsylvanians safer, healthier, and more prosperous. This became the We The People – PA policy agenda. The Roadmap is an expanded breakdown that agenda—a… Continue reading

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On the Supreme Court Janus v. AFSCME Decision

  By John Neurohr, Labor, PA Budget and Policy Center, Statements, Stephen Herzenberg

HARRISBURG — Keystone Research Center executive director Stephen Herzenberg and Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center director Marc Stier made the following statement regarding today’s Janus v. AFSCME Supreme Court decision: “In a 5-4 decision that resulted directly from the [evasion of constitutional responsibility and] abuse of power that led to the appointment of Justice Neil Gorsuch, the United States Supreme Court today took another step to rig our economy and our politics against working families and to further diminish the collective rights of working people. By reversing the longstanding precedent set in the 1977 Abood case, the Janus decision makes the entire United States public sector a ‘right to work for less’ country with the stroke of a pen. The decision deprives unions of any financial support from non-members who nonetheless benefit from union representation and collective bargaining to improve wages, benefits, and working conditions. The decision violates a fundamental… Continue reading

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On the General Assembly Passage of the General Appropriations Bill

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

This press statement, released on June 22, 2018, reflects PBPC director Marc Stier’s statement following the General Assembly’s passage of a budget spending plan that will be sent to Governor Wolf. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center director Marc Stier made the following statement after the General Assembly passed a budget spending plan that will now be sent to Governor Wolf: “When Governor Wolf released his budget proposal in March, we noted that his plan had the right priorities but, given the political realities he faced, understandably did not put forward initiatives bold enough to close the deep public investment deficit in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvanians should feel the same about the general appropriations bill that passed through the General Assembly today. “The new budget provides welcome new investments in pre-K and K-12 education, special education, higher education, workforce training, child care, treatment for substance abuse disorder, and intellectual disabilities. These… Continue reading

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Republican Judicial Districting — An Existential Threat to Pennsylvania Democracy

  By Judicial Gerrymandering, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Redistricting

From Third and State, June 18, 2018 After the uprising of the 17th JuneThe Secretary of the Writers UnionHad leaflets distributed in the StalinalleeStating that the peopleHad forfeited the confidence of the governmentAnd could win it back onlyBy redoubled efforts. Would it not be easierIn that case for the governmentTo dissolve the peopleAnd elect another? – Bertolt Brecht As a resident of Communist East Germany, Bertolt Brecht understood better than most writers in the 20th century how fragile representative democracy can be and what a serious threat to our form of government looks like. And as his poem above points out, the key requirement of representative democracy is that the government be responsible to the people. For that to happen, elections have to be regular and they have to be fair. There can’t be any barriers to participation in elections and those elections need to be conducted under rules that give… Continue reading

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The Follmer Redistricting Commission: Neither Independent Nor Nonpartisan

  By Legislative Districts, Policy briefs, Redistricting

 Both the political class in Harrisburg and the progressive community around the state are focused today on the redistricting issue. Last week the Senate State Government Committee passed a version of Senate Bill 22 that was crafted by Senator Mike Folmer. Some of the advocacy groups that have been working in favor of a fair redistricting process have been cautiously, or in some cases not so cautiously, supportive of it. Some who have argued that the proposal itself is problematic have held that passing it in the Senate is a necessary step to reaching a better bill. I’m reluctant to create divisions among people who are generally allies, but I want to make clear that I believe the Folmer redistricting proposal is not only deeply flawed but is in no way a step forward for those of us who want to see a fair, nonpartisan process of drawing congressional and… Continue reading

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MEMO: Analysis of the PA Senate Redistricting Commission Plan and the Folmer Amendment

  By Legislative Districts, Memos, Redistricting

This memo outlines how the Folmer proposal is worse than the process we have now in four important respects. The redistricting process created by Senator Mike Folmer‰’s version of SB 22 passed by the Senate State Government Committee last week does initially look like a move toward nonpartisan redistricting, and for that reason some reform groups have said it is a step forward. But while we at the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center support the goal of a nonpartisan system of drawing Congressional and state legislative districts lines, the process that would be put in place by the Folmer plan is so far from desirable that we urge the full Senate to reject it and start over. Continue reading

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It’s Not Really About Work: Why Pennsylvania Should Reject Work Requirements

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, Policy reports, Work requirements

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The Trump Tax Bill Wasn’t For You

  By Federal Taxes, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Taxation

By Sean Kitchen It’s Tax Day 2018, and you know what that means?  The country’s wealthiest Americans are about to experience long-term gains from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.  The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center is concerned about the effects of the tax cut law and legislation that would make temporary tax cuts permenant after 2025.    A new report from the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy shows that the top 1% will receive more federal tax dollars than the bottom 60% in 47 states, and the top 20% will gobble up the majority of returns from the temporary tax provisions that were baked into the bill as tax cuts for the middle class. The top 20% will also receive a larger and more disproportionate tax cut in relation to their income. The report published by the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy explains that those in the top 20%… Continue reading

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PreK-12 Education Funding in Pennsylvania: Where Do We Stand?

  By Diana Polson, K-12 Education in PA, PA Budget and Policy Center, Policy reports

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Governor’s 2018-19 Budget Overview

  By Budget analysis, Diana Polson, PA Budget and Policy Center, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Budget, Stephen Herzenberg

With Diana Polson and Stephen Herzenberg In 2018-19, Governor Wolf has presented another austere budget that, within the political limits of Harrisburg, makes progress on issues critical to Pennsylvanians. But because of those political limits- and through no fault of the governor- it does not make fast enough progress. This document presents an overview of the Governor’s proposed 2018-19 budget, and how we believe it continues to move Pennsylvania forward despite difficult circumstances. Continue reading