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Why I voted ‘No’ on fiscally irresponsible state budget

I grew up the son of a farmer. From a young age, everyone in our home, including my five brothers and I, knew that balancing the budget was the key to our family’s survival. We all worked, we all contributed, we all scrimped and saved when we had to — and we never spent more than we could sell or what Mom and Dad could make in other income. The bottom line was just that and we all respected it. This week I come home from Harrisburg fresh off the heels of my first experience working with fellow lawmakers on our state budget for the next fiscal year. It is a fascinating process, for ...

Wage hike would hurt small businesses

It seems as if lawmakers in Harrisburg have quickly forgotten about steps taken by the Wolf administration during the COVID-19 pandemic that crippled many of Pennsylvania’s small businesses and ultimately forced far too many to close their doors entirely. Right now, the Pennsylvania General Assembly is debating another move that could once again crush the commonwealth’s greatest job creators — a minimum wage increase to $15 an hour. As a small business owner, it has been difficult to listen to the tone-deaf arguments of those who support raising the minimum wage. The reality is ...

The dark money message lurking behind the assault on school choice

Pennsylvania lawmakers who are being told to oppose school choice at the behest of a pressure group wedded to failing public schools would be well advised to follow the money trail. A group calling itself Education Voters of Pennsylvania is encouraging state residents to email the governor and state lawmakers asking them to oppose “Lifeline Scholarships” that enable school choice for low-income students. Susan Spicka, the group’s executive director, argues that the scholarships would undermine public schools “by funneling state funding into unaccountable private and ...

Trump can give US a course correction

The past two and a half years under the Biden Administration have been damaging to our nation’s national security, economic strength, and public safety. Since the Biden Administration took office, they had the U.S. give up in Afghanistan, which caused the loss of American lives and resulted in leaving behind $80 billion in American military equipment that is now being used by the Taliban. This disgraceful episode in American history sent a message to every potential adversary in the world, including China, that the Biden Administration has no interest in maintaining the United ...

ESG, net-zero policies and a more expensive Fourth of July

July 4th is almost here. It’s time to celebrate freedom, independence, and America’s birthday with new environmental, social, governance (ESG) policies and federal regulations to make your hot dogs, hamburgers, and backyard fireworks more expensive. Ironically, just as Americans gather to remember our declared independence from King George’s overreach, the Biden administration will be embracing new European-style climate-control rules that have proven just as tyrannical. Under President Biden’s proposed rule, U.S. companies must issue annual ESG reports for shareholders. The ...

Stand up to the teachers’ unions

By following through on his campaign commitments to expand school choice, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro can distinguish himself from other elected officials cowed by the teachers’ unions, according to education policy analysts. But he only has a few weeks to make good on his pledge to increase the supply of scholarship funds available to students in failing schools since lawmakers will potentially finalize the 2022–23 budget on June 30th. If Shapiro can persuade some of his fellow Democrats to embrace school choice initiatives as part of the ongoing budget negotiations, he could ...