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Rep. Brad Roae Compares School Board Members to Hitler

  By K-12 Education in PA, Legislative Politics and Rules, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts

Marc Stier | 10/19/2016 Blog This week, in a Facebook discussion with a person who seems to be one of his constituents, Representative Brad Roae (R-Crawford/Erie) felt it was appropriate to compare school board members in Pennsylvania blaming charter schools for the financial difficulties of their districts to Adolf Hitler blaming Jews for “everything that was wrong with the world.” I’m not sure whether I should be more offended as a Jew or as a policy analyst by Representative Roae’s remark.     It is, of course, morally offensive to anyone who grasps the evil of Hitler’s murder of 6 million Jews, to compare it to any other crime. A general rule of thumb about Hitler comparisons is to not make Hitler comparisons. But to compare it to a public policy choice like the opposition of school boards to charter schools would be doubly offensive if it were not so… Continue reading

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Higher Education Funding in Pennsylvania

  By Higher Education, Memos, PA Budget and Policy Center

In this press memo, dated October 14, 2016, PBPC shares some of our most recent findings about the funding of higher education in light of a strike deadline by members of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF) against the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) looming. To: Education reporters, editorial board members and columnists From: Marc Stier, Director, Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center Subject: Higher Education Funding in Pennsylvania Date: October 14, 2016 With the October 19 deadline for a strike by members of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF) against the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) looming, I thought it might be useful for us to share again with you some of our findings, and that of our national partners, about the funding of higher education in Pennsylvania. There are many important issues at stake in the dispute… Continue reading

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The Revenue Shortfall and the Budget

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Pennsylvania Budget, Pennsylvania State Taxes

Marc Stier | 10/07/2016 Blog Almost as soon as the Pennsylvania budget was passed in July, rumors swirled about the legislature coming back—either in a lame duck session in December or next year—to fix it because it was not truly balanced. The Department of Revenue’s announcement yesterday that revenues for the year to date are running $218 million below estimates, makes revisting the budget even more likely. In July, we at PBPC pointed out that estimates of some of the one-time revenuesincluded in the budget—especially those from selling licenses for internet gaming, for a second Philadelphia casino, and for the expansion of alcohol sales—were possibly over-stated. We also said that we were not confident that enough money was appropriated to meet the likely caseload for medical assistance (The Commonwealth must appropriate its share of funding for these programs to continue to draw down the federal funding for them.) Those problems… Continue reading

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Dorothy Stier 1930-2016

  By Family Stories

My mother came of age in a unique time for women. She went to college at the end of the World War II when, largely in response to the fear of unemployment on the return of servicemen from the war, women were being strongly encouraged to limit themselves to the role of homemaker. And that was perhaps especially true for college educated women. Working class women, even then, often had to work. But as the middle class expanded in the post-war years, the middle class idea of marriage became ever stronger. So women like my mother were encouraged by parents, like my grandparents, who tremendously valued education, to get a very good education. And they were then encouraged to stay at home with their children rather than enter the work world. Despite some appearances, my mother never really fit that mold. She worked almost her entire life. She was a telephone operator… Continue reading

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New Data, Good News: Health Care

  By Health Care, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Pennsylvania, US

Most news is bad news. And political campaigns are more likely to flag what is wrong with our country than what is right with it. So, it’s not surprising that in the heat of a presidential election, we are more focused on what is wrong with our country than what is right with it. But as the federal government updates its statistics on income, poverty, and health care this week, we can take a moment to appreciate the good news—government at the federal and state level has been increasingly successful at encouraging prosperity. We start today with health care. The Affordable Care Act remains controversial and even those of us who support it recognize that further reforms are needed to guarantee that quality health care remains affordable to everyone. There can be little doubt that the ACA is working in Pennsylvania and beyond. Between those who bought health insurance on… Continue reading

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Not Necessarily Corrupt

  By Philadelphia

I don’t know any more than anyone else does of the FBI raids on Local 98 offices, the home of John J. Dougherty, and the office of Councilman Bobby Henon. Which is to say I know nothing, just like everyone else. And that’s why I’ve objected to the rush to conclude that any of those raided must have done something wrong or that Local 98 is corrupt. And even more, I’ve objected to people saying that this is one more example of the corruption of Philadelphia politics or of Philadelphia labor unions that “everyone knows about,” as one reporter put it today. We don’t know any of that and saying it doesn’t make it so. Is there some corruption in Philadelphia city government? I have no doubt there is. But I’ve got no reason to think it’s worse in Philadelphia than in any other big cities not to mention in smaller… Continue reading

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Your Activism (and C3 Dollars) at Work

  By Budget analysis, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Pennsylvania Budget

This is the second in a series of blog posts assessing the 2016-17 budget and the budget negotiation process from PBPC and its allies. Politics takes patience. Victories take time. And that goes for small victories as well as big ones. While the 2016-17 Pennsylvania budget leaves much to be desired, it does close about half of the structural deficit this year with recurring revenues; that is, revenue that the state will receive year after year. And that revenue mostly comes from a series of good proposals that we at the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center have championed over the years. One is the provision to close the sales tax vendor loophole. Stores, including big box retailers like Wal-Mart and Home Depot, have up until now been allowed to keep a portion of the sales tax revenue they receive from customers. That provision in the tax law in Pennsylvania and… Continue reading

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Victories

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Pennsylvania Budget

This is the first in a series of blog posts assessing the 2016-17 budget and the budget negotiation process from PBPC and its allies. It’s hard to be a progressive in Pennsylvania. We think of ourselves as a modern, Northeastern state on a par with Massachusetts and New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. But when it comes to state politics, we find ourselves looking with envy at those states with their progressive taxes and higher (and much more equal) spending on education and human services than here at home. And it’s gotten worse in recent years as right-wing extremists have taken hold of one of our political parties. This year is no different. I’ve already complained about an appropriations bill that does not invest enough in education and human services and the environment and a tax bill that relies too much on one-shot rather than recurring revenue and makes some… Continue reading

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A Budget Balanced in Name Only

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Pennsylvania Budget

Finally, with the passage of a revenue bill to fund the appropriates bill passed last wee, we can say the 2016-2017 budget is done. But whether it was a success or not, is very much in doubt. The budget deficit is, technically closed. New projected revenues of $1.3 billion have been enacted. But as the following table shows, over half of the new revenue is non-recurring. That is, it is one-time revenues that will be available only this year and not in future years. That means we will start the 2017-2018 budget year already more than $700 million in deficit. New Revenue in 2016-17  (in millions of dollars) Recurring Revenue Non-recurring revenue Cigarette Tax 431 Tax amnesty 100 E-Cigarettes 13 Internet gaming 100 Smokeless Tobacco 48 Liquor licenses 149 Roll you own 3 Casino license fee-Philadelphia 50 Cap sales tax vendor discount 56 Table games license fee 25 Sales tax… Continue reading

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Statement On the General Assembly Passing a Revenue Bill (HB 1198)

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, Pennsylvania Budget, Statements

Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center Director Marc Stier made the following statement on the General Assembly Passing a Revenue Bill (HB 1198): “The General Assembly finally acted today to meet its constitutional responsibility by voting to raise the $1.3 billion in revenues needed to fund the recently passed appropriations law. But while the revenue package may technically balance the budget for 2016-17, in three respects it does not solve the long term fiscal problems of Pennsylvania.   “First, too much revenue ($709 million) comes from one-time rather than recurring sources ($627 million). As a result, the state’s long term structural deficit has not been closed. Next year will bring another debate about how to fund the government over the long term. “This problem is exacerbated by a second one: the revenue package relies too heavily on dubious sources. Expected revenues from liquor privatization, internet gaming, the license fee for a… Continue reading