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Act 13 still a smart deal for Pennsylvania communities

When Pennsylvania’s Act 13 was signed into law 14 years ago, the goal of the bipartisan policy was straightforward: encourage responsible natural gas development, further strengthen environmental safeguards and ensure local communities see real, lasting benefits tied to energy production. Nearly a decade and a half later, the results speak for themselves. Since 2012, the Act 13-created impact fee – Pennsylvania’s unique tax on natural gas production – has generated over $3.1 billion in revenue for counties and municipalities across the state, with hundreds of millions ...

Inflation squeezes household spending

The Fed held rates where they were – 3.5% to 3.75% – and nobody was surprised. What actually mattered was the friction inside the room. Three FOMC members dissented, and not over some technical disagreement. They wanted the committee to stop pretending its next move is still a cut. They have a point. The “easing bias” language is a holdover from late last year, when the Fed was more worried about the labor market cracking than inflation flaring back up. In December, officials cut rates and talked about calibrating “the extent and timing of additional adjustments.” That ...

Pittsburgh is just built different

PITTSBURGH -- Art Rooney II was standing on the pitch of the brand-new U.S. Steel Community football field, located on the sprawling 178 acres where the men and women who lived in the slopes overlooking Hazelwood Works labored in the mill. It doesn’t seem that long ago when those massive steel structures were churning out steel for over 100 years, playing a significant role in building this country. Off in the distance stands the U.S. Steel Tower, the tallest building in Appalachia. Closer to the field are the skeletal remains, now repurposed to house Carnegie Mellon University and ...

Unions spending your tax dollars to pick your politicians

What if I told you that your tax dollars fund political campaigns that you probably didn’t vote for? Unwittingly, taxpayers have been subsidizing the partisan politicking of a significantly strong lobbying force in Pennsylvania politics: unions. New analysis shows that 2025 — which was supposed to be a quiet off-year election year — proved to be a boon for union political spending in Pennsylvania. Political action committees (PACs) operated by trade unions and government unions combined to spend $22.4 million on monetary and in-kind political activity in 2025. Obviously, ...

Government blocks grocery stores

Across the country, politicians are sounding the alarm about rising food prices and lack of access to grocery stores. Their solution? Government-run supermarkets. There’s just one problem: in many cases, the same policymakers proposing these taxpayer-funded stores are also making it harder for private grocers to open in the first place. That contradiction isn’t just ironic, it’s expensive. Consider what’s happening in New York City. Officials are advancing plans for publicly owned grocery stores, pitched as a way to bring down prices and improve access. But early estimates ...

Thinking about the consequences

It’s not over yet. We still have a long way to go before Donald Trump is replaced but I’ve been thinking about the consequences of his presidency. Of course the worst case scenario is that he will blow up the world. Second, I fear the movie “Terminator” was a forewarning. Barring these two outcomes, I think the next worst thing will be that no other country will trust us again, perhaps ever. A survey in nine European countries shows rising distrust toward the United States under President Trump. Nearly 48% of Europeans see Trump as their enemy. These findings come as Europe ...