State Rankings

A new report on economic freedom released this week by the Fraser Institute ranks Pennsylvania 27th among the 50 states. The report notes that states with the most economic freedom enjoyed a $55,000 average GDP per capita while the least-free states averaged just $48,000—a $7,000 difference per person.

Pennsylvania is facing a deep shortfall in revenue which, through October, stands at $565 million. Putting this in perspective, the shortfall in 2002-03—which led to increases in the state personal income and cigarette taxes, as well as a new tax on cellular phone and long distance calls—was $497 million after 12 months. The current deficit blew by that figure a mere four months into the fiscal year.

As election time draws nearer, Gov. Ed Rendell is issuing a flurry of press releases to convince voters that his administration has improved Pennsylvania’s competitiveness and economic growth. To that end, the governor is citing various publications to make his case.

The National Education Association recently concluded its annual convention in Los Angeles, gathering 8,000 delegates in celebration of the status quo in public education. When attendees weren’t offering a vigorous defense of their government-protected monopoly, they were proposing resolutions to boycott Wal-Mart, oppose Social Security reform, and ban latex gloves and balloons from NEA events, among others.

April 15 marks the first Tax Day on which Pennsylvanians will fully feel the impact of the roughly $1 billion tax increase passed in December 2003 by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Ed Rendell. Two weeks previous, the commonwealth also marked the first anniversary of the General Assembly’s passage of the governor’s multi-billion dollar “economic stimulus” borrowing plan. These two initiatives—cornerstones of Gov. Rendell’s “Plan for a New Pennsyl

Only 5 states perform worse than Pennsylvania in a national ranking of "economic freedom," according to a new study released today (in association with Forbes magazine) by the San Francisco-based Pacific Research Institute. The U.S. Economic Freedom Index: 2004 Report -- co-authored by Lawrence J. McQuillan, Ph. D. of the Pacific Research Institute, and Robert E. McCormick, Ph. D., and Ying Huang of Clemson University -- was unveiled this afternoon at a Washington, D.C. event.

Executive Summary With increasing global competition taking a toll on U.S. manufacturing jobs, and state governments and municipalities struggling to achieve greater operating efficiencies in the face of declining revenues and increasing costs, it is time for Pennsylvania policymakers to reassess the costs and benefits of compulsory unionism on the state’s economic development. The evidence suggests that the Keystone State and its citizens would greatly benefit if Pennsylvania became a &l