News
No Easy Answers to Public Pension Woes
Regardless of any additional reforms, executives from the state’s two big public pension funds are telling state lawmakers that adequate employer contributions are essential. In this case, the state is the employer and its taxpayers are the ones footing the bill. As it stands, the combined unfunded liabilities of the State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS) […]
Sequestration Cuts to be Triggered on Friday
Congress still has a few days to act, but compromise on a federal deficit-reduction plan appears to be less likely by the hour. Radio PA’s Matt Paul caught up with US Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Tuesday, to discuss the so-called sequester:SEQUESTER Casey’s reference to 78,000 lost jobs in the Keystone State is based on a […]
Liquor Board’s Balancing Act on Display at Budget Hearing
As the battle lines are being drawn on Governor Tom Corbett’s liquor privatization plan, the legislative debate may come down to privatization vs. modernization. But the issues can be mutually exclusive. Peppered by repeated questions from the Senate Appropriations Committee, Liquor Control Board Chairman Joseph Brion said he is not personally opposed to privatization. “I […]
Sequestration Cuts Loom Friday in Washington…and in PA
Little, if any, progress is being reported out of the talks to head off those automatic spending cuts known as “sequestration.” Without a deal between Congress and President Obama, the cuts kick in on Friday. The latest salvo in the war for public opinion and support comes from The White House, as the administration released a state-by-state […]
Lawmaker Wants Vehicle Buyers Notified of Data Recorders
You’ve heard of the “black boxes” in planes and trains that investigators retrieve after crashes to learn more about what happened. But did you know you may have a similar device in your car? Motor vehicle event data recorders collect information about speed, seat belt use and brake application according to state Representative Ted Harhai […]
Radio PA Roundtable 02.22.13
On this week’s Radio PA Roundtable, Brad Christman and Matt Paul bring you the latest from state legislative budget hearings, which included questioning on topics ranging from state pensions to guns. And, as budget season kicks into high gear, what’s the latest on the pension crisis? Radio PA Roundtable is a 30-minute program featuring in-depth […]
Should Family Businesses Pay the “Death Tax”?
Family farms are now exempt from the Pennsylvania inheritance tax under a new state law enacted last year. Now there appears to be bipartisan support for doing the same thing for family businesses. “When we tax these assets in a small business… at the death of one of the principle owners, oftentimes what happens… is […]
Lottery Debate Dominates Several Budget Hearings
As Governor Tom Corbett mulls his next steps, Revenue Secretary Dan Meuser spent the bulk of his House budget hearing defending the recently-rejected Lottery contract. Meuser remarked that the premise for much of the opposition is wrong. “There’s no plan to sell the Lottery. We cannot by federal or state law. There is no plan […]
Budget Hearings Kickoff with Medicaid Debate
The Governor’s Office and Senate Democrats aren’t on the same page when it comes to expanding Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act. Based on the exchanges that played out on the opening day of state budget hearings, they may not even be reading from the same book. When pressed for answers as to why […]
Institute Offers Awards for Work to Promote Love and Forgiveness
The Fetzer Institute was founded to promote the power of love and forgiveness More than 200 non-governmental organizations worldwide have entered the institute’s competition for two 25 thousand dollar grants to continue their work on projects that do just that. One grant will be awarded to an organization in the United States and the other […]