PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Tue, August 05, 2008by Policy Brief
For years Pennsylvania has been on an economic development spending spree. Yet all this spending has not provided the robust job growth expected from the massive outlays. In fact since 2000, job ... [View Full Article]
Fri, August 01, 2008by Policy Brief
Same story, just a new year: the Census Bureau estimates that the City of Pittsburgh's population fell once again and now stands at 311,218. That's a decline of 23,000 people (7%) since 2000. ... [View Full Article]
Tue, July 29, 2008by Policy Brief
The ongoing saga of the Pittsburgh slots casino continues to dredge up new questions about the licensing process, the proposed ownership group, and casino financing that Don Barden, Neil Bluhm, and ... [View Full Article]
Wed, July 23, 2008by Policy Brief
Is the attempt to put a referendum question to reduce the rate of the drink tax
illegal? That's the claim of the County Executive, who feels that losing the drink tax revenue would cause the ... [View Full Article]
Tue, July 22, 2008by Policy Brief
It would appear that unless the Federal Highway Administration operates in a manner imilar to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board-that is to say with only nominal regard for the laws it carries ... [View Full Article]
Mon, July 21, 2008by Policy Brief
Local law enforcement ought to be the responsibility of local government, not the state. To be sure, there are areas of law enforcement that the General Assembly has specifically delegated to state ... [View Full Article]
Tue, July 15, 2008by Policy Brief
The City of Pittsburgh is currently providing garbage pickup for the Borough of Wilkinsburg and will continue to do so through the end of 2010. The City claims it will save the Borough about a half ... [View Full Article]
Thu, July 10, 2008by Policy Brief
Amazingly, the Port Authority (PAT) continues to receive its state subsidy despite the absence of the legally required local matching funds. According to Section 1513.D of Act 44—the transportation ... [View Full Article]
Tue, July 08, 2008by Policy Brief
A recent newspaper account asserted that Pittsburgh worker pay is low compared to other metro areas around the country. The news account cited data provided by PittsburghToday which in turn was ... [View Full Article]
Thu, July 03, 2008by Jake Haulk, Ph.D.
The Fourth of July is upon us once again. The nation's most revered and meaningful non-religious holiday prompts us to view governmental actions through the lens of the ideals of our Founding ... [View Full Article]
Thu, June 26, 2008by Policy Brief
Pittsburgh's Mayor wants to see the state's system of pension aid to municipalities reformed. This should come as no surprise in view of Pittsburgh's current pension difficulties. According to the ... [View Full Article]
Mon, June 16, 2008by Policy Brief
The threat by 231 Port Authority (PAT) employees to retire early and take the current lucrative health care benefits retirees receive in addition to their full pensions—and the $500 per month ... [View Full Article]
Thu, June 12, 2008by Policy Brief
The Local Tax Enabling Act (Act 511 of 1965) is Pennsylvania's guiding statute for local taxes other than real estate. The statute sets out a list of explicitly permissible taxes as well as ... [View Full Article]
Mon, June 09, 2008by Policy Brief
Costliness, inefficiency and waste have been hallmarks of the Port Authority (PAT) for a long time. Poor management and grandiose planning with little concern for the taxpayers who fund the system ... [View Full Article]
Thu, June 05, 2008by Policy Brief
The Port Authority and the Amalgamated Transit Union are currently negotiating a new labor contract. These negotiations are
being conducted against the backdrop of the County Chief Executive's ... [View Full Article]
Tue, June 03, 2008by Policy Brief
The Governor has released a plan to invest an additional $2.6 billion in the public education system over the next six years. While this increased funding might seem like a fresh new start to parents ... [View Full Article]
Fri, May 30, 2008by Policy Brief
At a legislative hearing May 28, 2008, the County's Chief Executive and Pittsburgh's Mayor extolled the wonderful things that will happen when the two governments are merged into one. All the usual ... [View Full Article]
Thu, May 22, 2008by Policy Brief
Sold as a way to provide dedicated funding for mass transit, the Act 44 levies on drinks and car rentals have been the subject of intense debate for the last several months. This is especially true ... [View Full Article]
Thu, May 15, 2008by Policy Brief
The past couple of months have seen a distinct pickup in the pace of 12 month gains in payroll employment in the Pittsburgh region. Impressive growth in health care continues along with large gains ... [View Full Article]
Tue, May 13, 2008by Policy Brief
Policy Brief
An electronic publication of
The Allegheny Institute for Public Policy
Robinson Township Can't Stand Prosperity
It happens quite often: communities ... [View Full Article]
Tue, May 06, 2008by News Release
On May 20th the Allegheny Institute welcomes Dr. Myron Lieberman, the chairman of The Education Policy Institute. Dr. Lieberman's talk is entitled "The Educational Morass: Overcoming the ... [View Full Article]
Mon, May 05, 2008by Policy Brief
This is the type of headline that media outlets love: "Pittsburgh has the worst air in the country". Print, radio and TV news outlets have been running this headline since the American Lung ... [View Full Article]
Wed, April 30, 2008by Policy Brief
The financial situation of PITG Gaming is looking shaky and is casting doubts on the firm's ability to construct a slots parlor on the City's North Shore. While financial concerns dogged PITG in the ... [View Full Article]
Mon, April 28, 2008by Policy Brief
The Citizen Advisory Committee's report recommending the merger of Pittsburgh's and Allegheny County's governments has reignited debate over an old and recurring issue. Their basic rationale is that ... [View Full Article]
Tue, April 15, 2008by Policy Brief
Policy Brief
An electronic publication of
The Allegheny Institute for Public Policy
With all the talk about the need for a City-County merger so ... [View Full Article]
Fri, April 11, 2008by Policy Brief
The report of the Citizens Advisory Committee on the Efficiency and Effectiveness on City-County Government has caused quite a stir by calling for the merger of City and County governments. ... [View Full Article]
Mon, April 07, 2008by Policy Brief
Policy Brief
An electronic publication of
The Allegheny Institute for Public Policy
April 7, 2008
In October of 2006, at the inception ... [View Full Article]
Wed, April 02, 2008by Policy Brief
Could Pennsylvania adopt a radically new assessment structure where the state, either through an existing or new statewide agency, takes full responsibility for assessing every piece of property and ... [View Full Article]
Thu, March 27, 2008by Policy Brief
Policy Brief
An electronic publication of
The Allegheny Institute for Public Policy
Costs for the Port Authority's North Shore Connector keep rising. Not only are the costs of ... [View Full Article]
Tue, March 25, 2008by Jake Haulk, Ph.D.
Policy Brief
An electronic publication of
The Allegheny Institute for Public Policy
View Full Article]
Wed, March 19, 2008by Policy Brief
One of the most frequently repeated distortions about education is that the Commonwealth is inadequately funding poor and underachieving districts while better off districts are receiving unfair ... [View Full Article]
Tue, March 11, 2008by Policy Brief
So much concern is focused on public education in the City with its low test scores and high costs that a local education success story goes largely overlooked. The Extra Mile Education Foundation, ... [View Full Article]
Fri, March 07, 2008by Policy Brief
On February 20th the Governor announced plans to fund schools using as the principal criterion the biggest gap between how much schools are spending per student and how much they should spend as ... [View Full Article]
Thu, March 06, 2008by Policy Brief
Still stinging from the surprise New Year's Eve delivery of gaming money, County Council has proposed legislation that will account for all future gaming revenues delivered into Allegheny County and ... [View Full Article]
Fri, February 22, 2008by Policy Brief
Pittsburgh's population continues to fall and could dip below 300,000 in the 2010 Census if recent trends continue. There can be little doubt that much of the population loss can be blamed on the ... [View Full Article]
Thu, February 21, 2008by Policy Brief
Policy Brief
An electronic publication of
The Allegheny Institute for Public Policy
View Full Article]
Tue, February 19, 2008by Policy Brief
After launching a series of expensive, underperforming projects and mismanaging itself into one of the least efficient mass transit systems in the country, the Port Authority of Allegheny County has ... [View Full Article]
Thu, February 14, 2008by Policy Brief
In an effort to improve and maintain the facilities and programs in its parks, Allegheny County will explore opportunities with the private sector. The hope is that improvement of key assets will ... [View Full Article]
Wed, February 13, 2008by Policy Brief
Are there enough young people in Allegheny County going to performing arts and cultural events? If there are not, is that a problem? These questions were raised in a recent newspaper article. On ... [View Full Article]
Thu, February 07, 2008by Policy Brief
In a response to calls for cuts in Pennsylvania's business and income taxes, the Governor said, "now is not the time", alluding to the slowing economy and his proposed "tight" budget. This ... [View Full Article]
Wed, February 06, 2008by Policy Brief
Policy Brief
An electronic publication of
The Allegheny Institute for Public Policy
View Full Article]
Tue, January 29, 2008by Policy Brief
When Allegheny County received a $22.4 million payment from the State's Tourism and Economic Development Fund in the afternoon of December 31, 2007, the County Executive claimed that most of the ... [View Full Article]
Fri, January 25, 2008by Policy Brief
Pennsylvania's monthly source of information about the Commonwealth's job situation, the Department of Labor and Industry press release, grows ever more fanciful. The January edition, (which reports ... [View Full Article]
Fri, January 18, 2008by Policy Brief
Dick's Sporting Goods has announced plans to move from its current headquarters location to another site near Pittsburgh International Airport to accommodate a growing need for space. This will be ... [View Full Article]
Wed, January 16, 2008by Policy Brief
To the great surprise of everyone, including County Council members, on the afternoon of December 31, 2007, Allegheny County received a $22.4 million wire transfer from the state's Gaming Economic ... [View Full Article]
Thu, January 10, 2008by Policy Brief
A great deal has been written and said about the December enactment of two new taxes in Allegheny County. The case against levying the new drink and car rental taxes was exceptionally strong; the ... [View Full Article]
Thu, January 10, 2008by Policy Brief
UPMC's conditional pledge of $100 million over ten years to the Pittsburgh Public Schools for use as a college scholarship fund raises many questions. Setting aside the issue of UPMC's ... [View Full Article]
Thu, January 03, 2008by Policy Brief
Policy Brief
An electronic publication of
The Allegheny Institute for Public Policy
The Governor's Mid-Year Budget Briefing brags that the number of non-farm jobs in ... [View Full Article]
Fri, December 21, 2007by Policy Brief
An electronic publication of
The Allegheny Institute for Public Policy
We have noted on many occasions that economic growth—as measured primarily by private, non-farm employment and ... [View Full Article]
Tue, December 11, 2007by Policy Brief
One of the principal reasons Port Authority drivers have the highest cost-of-living adjusted wage rates in the country and one of the most generous retiree packages to be found is their right to ... [View Full Article]
Thu, December 06, 2007by Policy Brief
Pittsburgh City Council is caught up in a dispute between a union seeking to organize workers at a soon to be constructed hotel and the developer of the project, who is the recipient of a tax ... [View Full Article]
Fri, November 30, 2007by Policy Brief
Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato signed an Executive Order on November 26 that backs up his promise to withhold money from the Port Authority (PAT) unless the transit agency reduces ... [View Full Article]
Tue, November 20, 2007by Policy Brief
Not wanting to miss out on a chance to be thankful at this time of the year, the Chairman of the Allegheny Conference used the platform of the Conference's annual meeting to tell the Pittsburgh ... [View Full Article]
Fri, November 16, 2007by Policy Brief
The Pennsylvania Board of Education, with authorization of the Legislature, spent $650,000 on yet another education study, this time to figure out how much money would be needed to bring every ... [View Full Article]
Tue, November 13, 2007by Policy Brief
Pittsburgh Public Schools have failed to meet federal standards for student achievement and could be in danger of being taken over by the state's Department of Education. Academically the District ... [View Full Article]
Thu, November 08, 2007by Policy Brief
Pennsylvanians have spent billions of dollars on so-called economic development programs so far this decade with promises of thousands of jobs and untold spin-off benefits. Yet this investment is ... [View Full Article]
Thu, November 01, 2007by Policy Brief
Act 44, the transportation funding plan of 2007, has given Pennsylvanians reasons to be very concerned and upset with its provisions to: (1) toll Interstate 80 in order to raise funds for road and ... [View Full Article]
Wed, October 31, 2007by Policy Brief
Should Pittsburgh's three professional sports teams be making voluntary payments to help the City with its financial problems? That's the argument made by the most recent audit of the City ... [View Full Article]
Fri, October 26, 2007by Policy Brief
It is conventional wisdom that Allegheny County has a population that, when gauged in terms of median or average age, is significantly higher than the nation and certainly many other states. And in ... [View Full Article]
Thu, October 18, 2007by Policy Brief
In a recent debate, the Mayor stated that since City garbage workers won a bid against two private hauling companies and the Borough of Wilkinsburg is now paying the City to collect its garbage, the ... [View Full Article]
Tue, October 16, 2007by Policy Brief
In his drive to get approval of a ten percent poured alcoholic drink tax and a $2 per day rental car fee, County Executive Onorato has made some forceful statements. First, he asserts the new levies ... [View Full Article]
Fri, October 12, 2007by Policy Brief
Will government officials ever learn that lavishing tax dollars on firms is not an antidote for market trends? It seems a simple lesson, but one that permanently escapes them. The Pittsburgh region ... [View Full Article]
Wed, October 10, 2007by Policy Brief
In a move likely to go down in the annals of City Council missteps, eight members have decided to freeze the parking tax rate at 45 percent and prevent its rollback to 35 percent by 2010. Despite ... [View Full Article]
Mon, October 01, 2007by Policy Brief
Many strong objections have been raised to the plan (contained in Act 44) to have the Turnpike Commission lease I-80 and make it a toll road. Among these: It would be severely damaging to the ... [View Full Article]
Wed, September 26, 2007by Policy Brief
Spin doctors charged with reporting on jobs and business climate in Pennsylvania continue their tireless effort to put a happy face on unpleasant facts. In the latest labor market situation press ... [View Full Article]
Fri, September 21, 2007by Policy Brief
In his study "Labor Unions: A Corporatist Institution in a Competitive World", Professor Michael L. Wachter of the University of Pennsylvania, chronicles the rise and fall of private sector ... [View Full Article]
Fri, September 14, 2007by Policy Brief
Very soon the City of Pittsburgh will be submitting preliminary budget numbers for 2008 and the years beyond to the oversight board. Based on its 2007 submission to the board, the City's projections ... [View Full Article]
Thu, September 13, 2007by Policy Brief
Pennsylvania's 2007 transportation funding plan (Act 44) could be in serious trouble. The key component of the plan, tolling Interstate 80, is getting opposition from members of the U.S. House as ... [View Full Article]
Tue, September 04, 2007by Policy Brief
Supporters of the Port Authority have long argued loudly and strenuously for a dedicated source of revenue for the transit agency notwithstanding the Authority's well documented history of excessive ... [View Full Article]
Wed, August 29, 2007by Policy Brief
Legislate in haste, repent at leisure is a very apt adaptation of the old adage about overly eager nuptials. On the long and shameful list of hastily thrown together bills in Pennsylvania, the ... [View Full Article]
Wed, August 22, 2007by Policy Brief
On June 6 of this year Judge Wettick ruled Allegheny County's base year assessments unconstitutional. In his lengthy decision, the Judge examined assessment statutes from the other 49 states and ... [View Full Article]
Mon, August 20, 2007by Policy Brief
In their masterpiece of misleading pronouncements regarding the state's employment and economic situation, the Governor and his press release writers have elevated governmental humbug to heights ... [View Full Article]
Fri, August 17, 2007by Policy Brief
Like Pittsburgh's population, the enrollment in City schools continues to slide dramatically. Census figures show the City losing 3,480 people from July 2005 to July 2006 to stand at 312,819. That ... [View Full Article]
Thu, August 09, 2007by Jake Haulk, Ph.D.
The Chief Executive of Allegheny County and a majority of County Council members take it as axiomatic that property taxes in Allegheny County are higher than surrounding counties because other ... [View Full Article]