Category: Guest Authors

Gift Ban Introduced In Pa House

Gift Ban Introduced In Pa House

By Leo Knepper

In late 2014 and early 2015, five current and former members of the General Assembly were charged with bribery and other charges related to their acceptance of cash “gifts” from a lobbyist. The House and Senate changed their chambers’ rules to prohibit the acceptance of cash gifts from lobbyists, but the law hasn’t changed. One of the reasons the law wasn’t changed was because banning only cash gifts could raise questions for lawmakers about the kinds of gifts they can still accept.

What kinds of gifts can they accept? Virtually anything as long as they follow the disclosure rules. Lawmakers are required to disclose gifts of more than $250 per year from any source and transportation, lodging, and hospitality worth more than $650. Over the years, those gifts have included everything from Super Bowl tickets to Turkish rugs. As long as they follow the rules, pretty much anything is fair game.

That might finally be changing. On Nov. 18, the House State Government Committee advanced House Bill 1945. Per the co-sponsorship memo:

“The legislation will prohibit public officers, public employees and candidates for public office from accepting a gift of cash in any amount. The same individuals will be prohibited from accepting any gift that has either a fair market value or an aggregate actual cost of more than $50 from any one person in a calendar year. In addition, public officers, public employees and candidates for public office will be prohibited from accepting hospitality, transportation or lodging that has either a fair market value of an aggregate actual cost of more than $500 from any one person in a calendar year…Gifts and hospitality, transportation and lodging received that attain these thresholds will be reported on the individuals’ Statement of Financial Interests along with the circumstances surrounding the receipt of the same.”

At CAP, we generally aren’t a fan of banning things or unnecessary regulations. However, given the sheer number of public officials from Pennsylvania who end up in prison, we think that enacting these changes makes a lot of sense. There is room for improvement in HB 1945, but it is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. 

We will be keeping our eye on the legislation and will keep you informed about its progress.

Mr. Knepper is executive director of Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania.

Gift Ban Introduced In Pa House
Gift Ban Introduced In Pa House

Deep State Immigration Policy Mocks Sacrifice

Deep State Immigration Policy Mocks Sacrifice

By Joe Guzzardi

Deep State Immigration Policy Mocks Sacrifice

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, about 389,000 veterans are still living, a remarkable total given that most are in their 90s or older. Among our veterans also are approximately 3.5 million Korean War vets, 610,000 Vietnam War and  hundreds of thousands more from the Gulf Wars and other conflicts.

On Veterans Day 2019, as those brave men and women reflect on their service in America’s defense, they could be forgiven for questioning whether, in light of Congress’ repeated betrayal of traditional U.S. values, putting their lives on the line was worth the risk. Congress has consistently refused to protect the homeland through border and interior enforcement. At the same time, Congress has passed legislation that subverts job opportunities for Americans. Good U.S. jobs have been offshored or given to foreign-born employment-based visa holders.

Despite President Trump’s immigration bravado, at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Paso del Norte Port of Entry press conference, it was announced that in FY 2019 illegal immigration apprehensions hit a decade-high 1.1 million, a 68 percent increase over FY 2018. Along the southwest border, family unit apprehension set another record, 474,000. Because of the flawed catch and release policy, most of the migrants are released inside the U.S., eventually disappearing into the general population. Department of Homeland Security officials acknowledge that catch and release is, in terms of good policy, a grave failure that Congress refuses to correct. Only 1.4 percent of migrant family members from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador who crossed the border illegally in 2017 have been deported to their home countries.

Congress has cataclysmically failed to protect American workers. A job is essential to maintain dignity and provide for family. But Congress has looked the other way as U.S. companies have, over the years since the Immigration Act of 1990 which expanded employment-based visas, hired millions of foreign nationals to displace Americans. Employers addicted to cheap labor, in all areas – from tech and call center operations to manufacturing and human resources – love the lower wages that they can pay the outsourced workers. Studies found, however, that if the outsourced jobs returned, they could be numerous enough to provide opportunities for unemployed Americans. Adding to the job challenges of unemployed citizens, including veterans, is the annual 1 million or more legal immigrants who receive lifetime valid work permits.

Finally, the amnesty specter never fades from the Swamp. The latest, but certainly not the last effort, is the House of Representatives’ Farm Workers Modernization Act which would grant amnesty to 1.5 million illegally present ag workers, expand the controversial and often-abused H-2A visa, add 40,000 Green Cards to the EB-3 category and mandate E-Verify across the agriculture sector. The bill would also create a new immigration category, the Certified Agriculture Worker, and will provide a citizenship path. The sponsors, led by Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Mario Diaz-Balart (D-FL), are notoriously anti-American worker, and have throughout their careers consistently voted for more employment-based visas.

Despite the bill’s title, the legislation does nothing to modernize agriculture technology through time-saving, efficient mechanization. Unlike stoop labor, robots can operate 24/7 and have been adopted by forward-thinking U.S. ag businesses in Florida and California.

Getting inside vets’ heads to learn their immigration leanings, pro or con, is impossible. But likely many vets, like so many other Americans, must wonder when Congress decided to cater to illegal immigrants and lobbyists instead of passing legislation which assures that citizens come first.

Joe Guzzardi is a Progressives for Immigration Reform analyst who has written about immigration for more than 30 years. Contact him at jguzzardi@pfirdc.org.

Stock Market More Treats Than Tricks In October

Stock Market More Treats Than Tricks In October

By Bruce Cook

Turning the calendar from October to November brought more than trick-or-treaters, pumpkins, and leaves to rake. It also brought a wave of important economic updates that delivered more treats than tricks and helped the stock markets reach new highs.

Those new highs may be causing you to feel a bit wary, however, wondering if the end is nearing for what is now the longest bull market ever recorded. Should new highs be feared or embraced? Since 1980 the S&P 500 Index historically has generated above-average returns one year after reaching a new high. New highs have been a normal by-product of bull markets, and we should expect to see more.

There are several reasons to expect this bull market may deliver more new highs in the months ahead. Overall, the U.S. economy remains on solid ground with no sign of imminent recession. Gross domestic product for the third quarter came in better than expected despite businesses’ weak capital investment related to the U.S.-China trade conflict. The consumer remains the anchor of the U.S. economy, as shown in recent strong consumer spending data. Job growth in October was solid, even when considering the General Motors strike (which is over), and wages continued to rise. 

Recent trade headlines also reflect encouraging progress. President Trump and China President Xi likely will sign a preliminary trade agreement within the next month or so. The most contentious issues will need to be worked out in future negotiations, but any de-escalation of the current trade tensions will be welcome. Resolving the trade dispute may encourage companies to invest more, which could drive stronger economic growth and corporate profits and help push stocks higher.

Doing its part, the Federal Reserve (Fed) gave investors what they were hoping for and cut interest rates for the third time this year. Stocks historically have responded well one year after cuts that were also characterized as a “gradual mid-cycle rate adjustment.”

We are entering what historically has been the best performing six months of the year for stocks. When we add that positive seasonal factor to the overall good health of the U.S. economy, support from the Fed, and progress on a trade agreement, it appears this bull market may have more left in the tank. At the same time, we cannot dismiss potential risks to markets, most notably the possible unraveling of the U.S.-China trade pact, lackluster economic growth in Europe and Japan, stalled corporate profit growth, and the potentially contentious upcoming U.S. presidential election campaign. After a relatively calm and steady stock market advance this year, a pickup in market volatility would be totally normal.

We should continue to watch for signs of excesses in the economy that could lead to a recession and bring this record bull market to an end. For now, there don’t appear to be any worrisome cracks in a strong economic foundation, and the backdrop for stocks appears to remain favorable. 

Bruce R. Cooke is a Havertown based CFP with LPL Financial.

Stock Market More Treats Than Tricks In October

Borderless USA Dem Dream

Borderless USA Dem Dream

By Joe Guzzardi

Presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) shocked most observers, including her New England neighbor and fellow White House hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), when she announced the price tag of $52 trillion for her Medicare for All proposal. Sanders’ plan for essentially the same universal coverage would come in at a comparatively modest $32 trillion.
 
Despite the mind-numbing costs, Warren, with a straight face, said her proposal would not increase taxes on the middle class “by one penny,” a point disputed by many. But most alarming was Warren’s lack of compassion when she brushed off the large numbers of working Americans who would lose jobs under her plan.
 
Laying out $52 trillion on Medicare for All, however, is just the latest unsound Warren suggestion. Her promise to decriminalize illegal border crossings and defang interior enforcement would lead to endless migratory waves from all the world’s corners with major societal consequences on domestic employment, health care, education and population growth.
 
In recent years, erasing the border has become an increasingly popular goal among elites. In fact, Congress has repeatedly demonstrated more concern about Syria’s border than the shared U.S. border with Mexico where neglect has festered for decades. With only token resistance, the U.S. has ceded border control to criminal operations, including the Sinaloa Cartel, that wreak havoc along and inside Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California.
 
Last month, President Donald Trump defended the United States’ troop withdrawal from northern Syria by saying that “it’s not our border” and that “we shouldn’t be losing lives over it.” Congressional Democrats and many Republicans roundly condemned the president. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell objected forcefully to President Trump’s action. In a Washington Post op-ed, McConnell called the troop withdrawal “a grave strategic mistake.” McConnell said that pulling out of Syria leaves the U.S. homeland more dangerous and encourages our terrorist enemies.
 
If only McConnell and his congressional colleagues were as concerned about the U.S. Southwest border crisis where the drug war is ongoing, with powerful cartels pushing their deadly products stateside. Why Congress continues to ignore the mounting chaos at the southern border is a question Americans should be asking of their elected representatives. Acting Citizenship and Immigration Services director Ken Cuccinelli said that savvy northern Mexico cartel bosses – “the most evil, vicious, awful people in the western hemisphere” – have turned the border “into a toll booth.”
 
Experts on the front line describe how the cartels have taken over. Jackson County, Texas Sheriff Andy Louderback explained that every minute of every day cartel lords perpetrate human and drug trafficking, among their many criminal activities. They also are responsible for a record 33,341 murders last year alone in Mexico that are a signature method of maintaining control over their methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine and heroin distribution centers in key metroplex areas, including Phoenix, Los Angeles, Denver and Chicago. Other local authorities concur. Otero County, New Mexico Sheriff David Black said that lax enforcement has given the cartels “the green light” to continue their deadly criminal behavior.
 
Yet Congress remains mostly mum about inadequate enforcement, especially as it applies to asylum seekers traveling with minor children, who the cartels are particularly adept at manipulating. While some border security improvements have been initiated, others have remained in limbo since the Secure Fence Act of 2006.
 
But even excluding the cartels’ deadly dominance, open borders is a horrible, indefensible policy. The Census Bureau predicts that if the status quo remains, by 2060 U.S. population will hit an unmanageable 404 million, up from today’s 330 million. If Warren and other candidates who champion open borders get their way, over the next five decades, today’s population of 330 million people is likely to approach a nightmarish 500 million.
 
 
Joe Guzzardi is a Progressives for Immigration Reform analyst who has written about immigration for more than 30 years. Contact him at jguzzardi@pfirdc.org.

Borderless USA Dem Dream

Halloween in 1984

Halloween in 1984 “As told to” Mary Hickey

So this wasn’t that weird a day until right after dinner, when two kids from the neighborhood knocked on our front door. That was normal enough, since they sometimes come to play with my brother and me. But this time, they were dressed in strange clothes and had second faces over their real faces. Scary looking faces, too! I only knew who they were from their voices.

Then instead of staying to play, they asked for “trick or treats”, and Mom and Dad gave them each the choice of a book or an old tennis ball. They took the tennis balls, which is what I would have done also. But then, I’m only ten months old and I can’t read yet.

Dad wanted to go “trick or treating”, but he’s too old for it. I guess this is just for kids, though I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because they need to have the grown-ups hand out the trick or treats? Dad asked my brother if he wanted to go out with him, but he said no, he’d rather watch all the kids come in their costumes.

So what does Dad do? Put me in a brown sleeper and a groundhog face cover that he called a “mask”. They bought them for pictures in case I was born on Groundhog Day, which was my due date. I wasn’t, I got here early, which hasn’t been my habit since then—more about that some other time.

Then we went outside and he carried me around from house to house, telling people, “Look, I caught a groundhog!” They all laughed and threw candy and other treats into a bag he was carrying. It got dark quickly, but we kept on going until his bag was almost full. Then we went back to the house, but Mom said I shouldn’t eat anything from Dad’s bag. She mashed up a banana for me, which I ate because I like those things even though I haven’t figured out how to peel them yet.

So now it’s much later, and I’m in my crib. I have time to wonder now why every time I think I’m getting things figured out, something odd happens as if to tell me I may never know it all. Maybe life is like that for my brother, too, and even for Mom and Dad, who knows?

I’m feeling a bit sleepy now, so I guess I’ll sign off. Good night, and Happy Halloween!

Halloween in 1984
Halloween in 1984 “As told to” Mary Hickey
Digital StillCamera

Wolf Executive Action Crushing Pa. Economy

Wolf Executive Action Crushing Pa. Economy

By Gregory R. Wrightstone

Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf’s executive action to impose a Cap and Trade system on carbon dioxide emissions is easily his most harmful act in his two terms as chief executive of the state. As one of the most liberal governors in the nation, his progressive impulses have, until now, been constrained by a GOP-controlled House and Senate. His move to bring the Keystone State into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and impose a costly and economically crippling carbon trading system is an attempted end-run around the GOP to implement a tax without legislative approval.

Wolf Executive Action
But he gets to keep his lifestyle.

On Oct. 3, Wolf signed an executive order that began the process of adding Pennsylvania to a group of northeastern states that constitute what has been called the “first mandatory market-based program in the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” It is now up to the Department of Environmental Protection to draft the proposed regulation and then go through possibly two years of a legislative comment period. According to news reports, the legislature does not have veto power, although we expect to hear disagreement on that point.

In short, the program would establish a market through which electricity providers purchase “emission allowances” to offset their CO2 emissions. The current market rate for purchasing these carbon offsets is $5.20 per ton of CO2 emitted. According to the most recent statewide data (2016) from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) these energy providers emitted 82 million metric tons which would have generated about $400 million in revenues.

The overall goal of the plan is to make electricity derived from fossil fuels more expensive and, hence, renewable energy more competitive.

According to the RGGI, the state would “invest” the money generated into “energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other consumer-benefit programs.” That would likely include subsidies for wind and solar projects, home and office weatherizing and expansion of public transportation programs in the state’s largest urban areas to name a few beneficiaries.

That nearly half-billion dollars in costs would not be absorbed by the power generators but would be passed on to consumers in the form of increased energy costs. Not only would this make Pennsylvania a more expensive place to live, it would render the state less competitive for energy intensive businesses compared to neighboring Ohio and West Virginia and other locales that have no plans for artificially inflating electricity costs.

A review of the effects of the RGGI last year revealed that member states saw a 12 percent drop in goods production and a 34 percent drop in production of energy-intensive goods. This is likely attributable to a 64 percent increase in electricity prices in RGGI states between 2007-2015.

Additionally, according to the study, the cost of wind and solar power has averaged two to three times the megawatt-hour rate as compared to existing conventional fuel sources. Any increase of renewable energy supplies would necessarily further the price increases to consumers.

An important but overlooked factor in the decision-making process for the state is just how much or how little effect a reduction in the state’s CO2 emissions would have on future temperature changes. The overarching goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is to lower the future temperature of the Earth, so how much temperature rise would be averted by eliminating all of Pennsylvania’s CO2 emissions from coal and natural gas-fired sources? Using the calculations for predicting warming from the National Center for Atmospheric Research, if 100 percent of the state’s electricity generation emissions were eliminated, only 0.001 degree Fahrenheit in warming would be averted by the year 2050. This difference is well below our ability to measure global temperature.

This extremely small — and immeasurable — effect should not be overlooked in discussions of whether to impose the significant burdens of Governor Wolf’s proposal on the state and its citizens. How many lost jobs is a reduction in temperature measured in thousandths of a degree worth?

In short, the governor would infringe on the freedoms of people and make them significantly poorer for virtually no advancement of his stated intention to avert global warming. The legislature, the business community and all right-thinking citizens should stand against his economically crippling proposal.

Mr. Wrightstone is the author of Inconvenient Facts: The science Al Gore doesn’t want you to know

Wolf Executive Action Crushing Pa. Economy

Charles Mitchell Heritage Honor

Charles Mitchell Heritage Honor

Charles Mitchell Heritage Honor— Charles Mitchell, who is president and CEO of Commonwealth Foundation, is a recipient of the prestigious Heritage Foundation Distinguished Alumni Award, old friend Jen Stefano tells us.

Jen is vice president of Commonwealth Foundation, which is a Pennsylvania-based think tank dedicated to preserving economic and civil liberty, and opposing government corruption and waste.

The is only the fourth time the award has been bestowed with other recipients being Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.); Marjorie Dannenfelser, who is CEO of the wonderful pro life group Susan B. Anthony List; and federal District Court Judge Neomi Rao.

Congratulations Charles Mitchell.

Charles Mitchell Gets Major Heritage Honor

Tom Mehaffie Is Best Republican Dems Have In Harrisburg

Tom Mehaffie Is Best Republican Dems Have In Harrisburg

By Leo Knepper

Nothing frustrates voters more than being told one thing when a candidate is running for office and then getting something else entirely after they take office. A fantastic example of duplicity is on display in Representative Tom Mehaffie (R-106) Here is the lead statement from his campaign website:

Tom Mehaffie is the endorsed Republican candidate running for Pennsylvania State House of Representatives in the 106th District. Tom is running to fight against the massive tax hikes being advocated by the current administration, implement reforms to make government more effective and efficient and to work to ensure we have the best schools possible to educate our young people.

Here is his actual record:

Rep. Tom Mehaffie

In 2017, Mehaffie voted against tapping the “shadow budget” and protecting taxpayers. He also sided with the Democrats when he voted against paycheck protection legislation. The paycheck protection legislation would have prevented government unions from using taxpayer resources to collect political contributions directly from workers’ paychecks. 

In this legislative session, Mehaffie has sponsored a litany of terrible legislation. He is the prime sponsor of pro-union “card check” legislation, which would eliminate the secret ballot and give union organizers the personal information of employees. He is the prime sponsor of the failed nuclear power bailout that would have cost Pennsylvanians an extra $500 million per year in higher electric bills. 

Rep.Mehaffie has also sponsored legislation to advance Governor Wolf’s priorities. His sponsorships include an increase in the minimum wage for teachers, and Governor Wolf’s proposal to impose additional taxes on the natural gas industry to fund “infrastructure” projects. Mehaffie is also the prime sponsor of a bill that would give unelected bureaucrats at the Fish and Boat Commission the ability to set fees. 

In 2019, he also voted against a package of legislation that would have streamlined and improved the Commonwealth’s regulatory environment, and make Pennsylvania more economically vibrant. One of the bills in this package, HB 1055, would have required, among other things, the repeal of two old regulations for every new one instituted, similar to a wildly successful policy established by President Trump and the federal level.

We could extend this list for several more paragraphs, but you probably get the gist at this point. Actions speak louder than words. Rep. Mehaffie’s actions do not match up with the pro-taxpayer rhetoric he offers. His voting record and list of sponsored legislation are nearly indistinguishable from your garden variety Big Government liberal.

Mr. Knepper is executive director of Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania.

Tom Mehaffie Is Best Republican Dems Have In Harrisburg

Restore Pa Repeats Mistakes Of Old

Restore Pa Repeats Mistakes Of Old

By Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Restore Pa Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill

This past summer, the top officials for state agencies were dispatched to all corners of Pennsylvania, including here in York County, to sell the Governor’s plan to bond $4.5 billion to pay for a lengthy wish list of projects.

Long-term borrowing would provide a short-term cash infusion for infrastructure improvements including, but not limited to, blight remediation and improved flood controls, parks and trails, and expanded access to high-speed internet.

On the surface, some may say this sounds reasonable and responsible. As the Chair of the Senate Communications and Technology Committee, I have spent my summer conducting a series of public hearings on the issue of expanding access to high-speed broadband internet for more Pennsylvanians. This is an important issue to many residents throughout York County, where internet may be slow to non-existent.

However, as the lead proponent for this issue in the Senate, I believe it is important that we have clearly defined the size, scope, and magnitude of the problem, identified the steps necessary to address the problem, and have a reasonable cost estimate to resolve it. None of which has been verified by the administration.

Early on in this endeavor, as I looked at how we could close our state’s digital divide, the initial estimates from the Federal Communications Commission indicated we had around 800,000 Pennsylvanians lacking access to high-speed internet. A recent Penn State study shows that number is closer to 11 million.

Now the governor wants to borrow money to address this problem. Yet again, the problem has not been fully defined nor quantified.

Think about it this way: you go to the bank to take out a loan to buy a car. You do not know if you are going to buy a used Ford Focus or a brand new Chevy Corvette. Both good cars, but very different price tags. You would not do that with your own borrowing, but this is exactly what Restore PA pledges to do.

And Restore PA is not an isolated issue. We have found ourselves in this mess before, because a problem was not thoroughly vetted or defined.

During Governor Tom Ridge’s administration, the state entered into a contract to deploy a telecommunications network to be used by the State Police, other law enforcement agencies, and first responders. The goal was to build out a statewide infrastructure that would provide reliable and stable communications, especially during times of emergency.

To date, the state plowed over $800 million— more than four times the original estimated cost—into this program and it still does not work.

Since taking office, Governor Wolf has pursued new taxes on the natural gas industry. While York County has no active drilling, it has been a beneficiary of revenue the state collects from drilling. In fact, York County has received over $3.1 million in impact fee revenues since 2011 and more than $485,000 last year alone.

Pennsylvania’s impact fee raised more money than West Virginia, Ohio, Arkansas and Colorado combined, despite these four states combining to produce more natural gas than the Commonwealth.

To tack on additional energy taxes in Pennsylvania to throw funding toward an undefined problem is irresponsible and repeats the same mistakes of old.

As someone who is working through the issue of getting more Pennsylvanians connected to the internet, we need to go through the process methodically and systematically. Like any state issue, you can throw all of the money in the world at a problem and it will still never be enough.

We need to be efficient, good stewards of taxpayer dollars.

In the Senate, I have had two resolutions receive the support of the entire state Senate that lay out our game plan on addressing this long-standing issue.

First, my Senate Resolution 47 requires a special legislative commission to be formed and made up of key stakeholders – from both the private sector and public sector – to look at the delivery of high-speed broadband services to unserved and underserved areas of the state.

My Senate Resolution 48 requires an investigation and an audit into taxes you and I paid back in the late 1990s and early 2000s through our phone bills that were dedicated to the deployment of high-speed internet. It will ensure those taxes we paid did what we were told they would do – connect more people to the internet.

We have seen the failures of throwing hard-earned tax dollars at a problem without a real strategy. We cannot repeat the mistakes of old and expect a different result.

Kristin Phillips-Hill represents the 28th District in the Pennsylvania Senate.

Wolf Attack On Popular Charter Schools

Wolf Attack On Popular Charter Schools By Nate Benefield

I watched, Sept. 16, as hundreds of charter school students flooded the Capitol and dozens of parents spoke out against Gov. Wolf’s attacks on charter school families. After they rallied in the Capitol rotunda, 1,700 letters were delivered to Gov. Wolf—letters from parents and students fearful of losing this critical educational opportunity.

The event was organized by our friends at the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools and comes at a desperate time. Gov. Wolf is taking unilateral executive action that would seriously threaten these public schools of choice as an educational option for parents.

In August, Gov. Tom Wolf proposed cutting funding for Pennsylvania charter schools, capping charter enrollment, and banning new cyber charter schools. Then, Gov. Wolf—without legislative authority—imposed new fees on charter schools.

At the rally, the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools again asked the governor to visit a charter school. While touting his “Schools that Teach Tour” since he entered office, nearly 5 years later, his tour has visited 167 schools across the state, but not a single one was a private or charter school.

Yet he seems to think he singularly knows best how their students should be treated.

By ignoring the 140,000 students attending public charter schools and 240,000 enrolled in private schools, Wolf is treating nearly 25 percent of Pennsylvania students as second-class citizens.

We need your help protecting educational opportunity for these kids. Legislation that would address charter school transparency and financial accountability has already passed the Pa. House, while legislation to create a commission on charter school funding has passed the Senate. These bills would address problems in the charter school law without taking educational opportunity away from students.

For reasons he alone knows, Gov. Wolf has chosen to ignore these legislative solutions and go his own way.

Commonwealth Foundation will continue our intellectual leadership on all types of educational opportunity, be it charter schools, tax credit scholarships, or public school funding. And we’ll keep sharing our message across the state via TV, radio, social media, and print.

Please reach out to your lawmakers to ask them to stand up for charter schools, and against Wolf’s unilateral action, by taking action on these positive steps.

You can do so here.

Nate Benefield is vice president and COO of Commonwealth Foundation.

Wolf Attack On Popular Charter Schools
Wolf Attack On Popular Charter Schools