RealClearPennsylvania Articles

During the 2021–22 election cycle, an obstinately pro-government union majority took over Michigan’s state government after the four largest public employee unions spent $2.6 million to elect politicians of their choice. And the union-backed majority has launched an attack on Michigan workers and taxpayers in the 15-months since. Before the union takeover, Michigan law prohibited the use of public resources to help unions collect dues. Now, taxpayers are paying for the collection of union dues and contributions to union political funds. Michigan lawmakers...

During the 2021–22 election cycle, an obstinately pro-government union majority took over Michigan’s state government after the four largest public employee unions spent $2.6 million to elect politicians of their choice. And the union-backed majority has launched an attack on Michigan workers and taxpayers in the 15-months since. Before the union takeover, Michigan law prohibited the use of public resources to help unions collect dues. Now, taxpayers are paying for the collection of union dues and contributions to union political funds. Michigan lawmakers...

Throughout America and internationally, Pittsburgh is recognized as the Steel City. From the namesake of our storied pro football franchise to the production of the tanks that defeated the Nazis in World War II, steel is in our DNA and remains a cornerstone of our culture. It should come as no surprise that not only Pennsylvania’s political leaders but also President Biden and former president Trump have all condemned the potential sale of United States Steel (USS) to a Japanese company. It is their opposition to the deal, however, that poses the biggest threat to the steel...

Several national pollsters have concluded that Donald Trump is leading in Pennsylvania over Joe Biden. The RealClearPolitics polling average as of April 3 shows Trump with a 0.6% edge in the Keystone State. Some pollsters even show Trump at 52% support. Susquehanna Polling and Research takes issue with some of these polls and questions their understanding of the geographic factors that make Pennsylvania a difficult state to poll. In SP&R’s recent poll, Trump trails President Biden by a 50–45 margin. The poll’s margin of error is +/-4.6%, so Biden’s support can be...

The battle to safeguard Pennsylvania’s drinking water from malicious attacks has reached a critical point. The most recent cyberattack targeting Pennsylvania’s state courts demonstrates the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to such threats. FBI director Christopher Wray made headlines recently when he told Congress that hackers linked to China are targeting our critical infrastructure, including water treatment plants. Wray warned of the “real-world harm” that these hacks could inflict on American communities, highlighting the need for...

Governor Josh Shapiro announced this month that he plans to implement what he calls the Pennsylvania Climate Emissions Reduction (PACER) Initiative, a “cap-and-trade” program that would tax carbon-emitting businesses. The tax scheme is both unpopular with voters and loaded with painful consequences for businesses and residents alike. PACER is also strikingly similar to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multi-state carbon cap-and-trade pact that Gov. Tom Wolf had previous tried and failed to unilaterally implement here in Pennsylvania. A Commonwealth Court ruled that...

There is no doubt that the natural gas industry has been an economic boon for Pennsylvania. Since producers started extracting resources from the Marcellus Shale sixteen years ago, ushering in an energy renaissance in the Keystone State, the energy industry has grown into a major economic contributor, responsible for close to 9% of gross domestic product in the commonwealth. A critical link in this energy supply chain are pipelines, which serve vital roles in getting this product to market. From large transmission pipelines that move significant quantities of fuel over vast...

January 6. Donald Trump. Abortion and IVF. Everyone knows what President Biden and Democrats will be using as election wedge issues. But apparently, Biden and the Pennsylvania Democrats aren’t sure that it will be enough to win. Because Democrats from Washington to Harrisburg, and from Montgomery County to Philadelphia, have all announced plans in recent days to use taxpayer-funded campaigning and messaging to help their party win this fall. At the White House on February 27, Vice President Harris convened a meeting of officials of federal social services agencies, along with a shopping...

Winning my first wrestling match, graduating from West Point, my first day working in the White House: none of these special moments will ever come close to the joy of becoming a father. Any parent can tell you that it’s a feeling unlike any other.  My wife Dina and I are blessed to share six amazing daughters between us, and watching them grow into remarkable young women is truly an unparalleled joy. Sadly, many families around the country aren’t able to experience that miracle. Today, roughly 11% of women and 9% of men in the U.S. struggle with fertility....

Flooding of the “Mon Wharf,” along the Monongahela River, has historically made parking in Pittsburgh difficult. But with the current state of Pittsburgh’s downtown, floodwaters now impose other costs: displacement of homeless people living in tents at this riverside location. A homeless man recently made a near-miss escape from a watery death there, demonstrating the perils of the situation. Homelessness in Pittsburgh rose 23% in 2022 and has likely not improved much since, pending the results of Allegheny County’s annual point-in-time count conducted in January. Many...

In Pennsylvania, as the AP recently reported, the conversation among residents visiting a food pantry at Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley in Bethlehem focuses on the high cost of groceries and difficulties finding affordable housing.  Meantime, in Athens, Ga., friends, acquaintances, and classmates of Laken Riley are wondering if their campus is safe after Laken’s murder, allegedly at the hands of an illegal immigrant who had a previous arrest record.  In Democratic strongholds like Denver, Chicago, and New York, city services are at risk due to the influx of thousands of...

Up to now, states have utilized three ways of selecting judges: appointment, election, and merit selection via a judicial nominating commission (JNC). Most Americans are familiar with the appointment system, which the president and many governors use. Residents of Pennsylvania and some other states elect judges, while several other states have JNCs. But no state elects its JNCs. That needs to change. The idea of electing judges took off in the 1830s. As Sandra Newman and Daniel Isaacs point out, “The Jacksonian populist idea of an elected judiciary, based on the concept that a judge...

I generally take polling data with a grain of salt, especially after 2022’s failed red wave. But as we approach the general election this fall, it’s interesting to examine polling data and compare it with the betting markets as well as actual primary results. Donald Trump was projected by many pollsters to defeat Nikki Haley on Saturday night in the South Carolina primary by between 25% and 30%. As of Sunday morning, with almost all the votes tabulated, he held a 23-point lead (61% to 38%). It was slightly less than expected, but still impressive when you consider South Carolina...

In 1984, as a South Philadelphia native and junior at St. Joseph’s University, I cast my first ballot for president – enthusiastically – for Ronald Reagan. My parents voted for him, too. Reagan was the first Republican presidential candidate for whom they had ever voted. My father was the son of Italian immigrants, and my mother was the granddaughter of Irish and German immigrants. They had always been Democrats. I was part of the Reagan Revolution. Though Millennials and Gen Z may find it hard to imagine today, Reagan was beloved on college campuses. Students voted for him...

School District of Philadelphia superintendent Tony Watlington has made it his mission to turn city schools around by following “what the research tells us.”  This commitment is bolstered by the recent Accelerate Philly five-year strategic plan, approved by the Board of Education in June 2023. It cites hundreds of academic papers and policy briefs to support current and future district initiatives, from overhauling curricula to replacing security equipment.  But not all research is created equal. As academic Steven Hoffman and journalist Julia Belluz write,...

We’ve all heard about the Great Resignation: employees quitting their jobs in great numbers over the last few years. But in Pennsylvania, that’s not the whole story. The Pennsylvania Workforce Development Association, where I am executive director, has produced a series of reports to better understand the workforce conditions in our Commonwealth, with an eye toward developing responsive policies and interventions. Our most recent report found a job market in flux. Pennsylvania’s topline economic numbers look good, with unemployment at record lows. Our Workforce Trends report...

Gov. Josh Shapiro thinks mass transit is too big to fail. In his recent budget address, Shapiro pitched sending roughly $300 million every year from Pennsylvania taxpayers to bail out failing urban transit agencies. If the governor isn’t careful, this bailout could derail his 2024–25 budget negotiations. Pennsylvania mass transit agencies – namely, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) – rely on scare tactics to lobby for more taxpayer subsidies. Reporting a $240 million budget shortfall, SEPTA is...

As Gov. Josh Shapiro prepares to deliver his second budget address tomorrow, he is widely expected to take a major step toward delivering on his campaign promise to fully fund Pennsylvania’s public schools with a proposal to invest billions of dollars over the next seven years. This plan, outlined in a recent report from the Basic Education Funding Commission that the governor supported, responds to a February 2023 Commonwealth Court ruling that Pennsylvania’s current approach to funding public education is unconstitutional and discriminates against students in...

“I believe every child of God deserves a shot here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said last year, “and one of the best ways we can guarantee their success is making sure every child has a quality education.” Referring to the issue of school choice, he has said, “I’ve been very clear that I’m open to that concept that you described.” Amen. As Gov. Shapiro prepares his second budget address, let’s take him at his word. Shapiro tried to pass Lifeline Scholarships, also known as the Pennsylvania Award for Student...