Welcome to Common Sense Weekly! This is the Commonwealth Foundation's weekly news roundup of policy issues being debated in Harrisburg and across Pennsylvania.
PA Dems are upset Republicans aren’t tougher on election integrity — kind of. Not really.
If you read the text message straight — no reading between the lines — one would have to believe Democrats in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives are upset that Republicans aren’t pushing harder for legislation requiring voter ID.
Take, for example, this text Democrats sent to constituents in Republican State Rep. Martina White’s district in Philadelphia.
“This week in Harrisburg, your State Rep. Martina White voted against bringing election integrity to our voting systems by requiring ALL voters to show ID at the polls. Can we count on you to vote AGAINST Martina White next year?” the message says (emphasis original).
PA food supplier warns Americans getting squeezed by inflation are becoming 'resistant' to higher prices
As the Keystone State saw inflation last year dig deeper into residents’ wallets than any other state, one Philly-based food supplier is warning that the fight may not be over yet.
"We're concentrating all the time on having enough product and the right product for our customers," TMK Produce’s buyer-sales lead Mike Watson told FOX Business’ Jeff Flock during an appearance on "Varney & Co." Monday. "And, we can see that they're resistant to some of these higher prices as they continue."
"The volume may tighten up a little bit. It's what we see as our customers are buying more often, [but] less at each purchase," he continued.
The Philadelphia-based produce supplier has been caught between higher input costs and consumers struggling to pay for inflationary prices. According to ConsumerAffairs, Pennsylvania saw the highest grocery inflation rate of any state in 2023, at an 8.2% increase year-over-year.
Why Government Unions Love Funding the Left
Lisa: What connections have you made between the unions and political influence?
David Osborne: Unions are the most powerful players in every state house. They really dominate not only their sphere of influence — so think teachers' unions affecting educational policy. They affect nearly everything from election reform to taxing and spending.
David Osborne works with the Commonwealth Foundation, which advocates for less government involvement in the economy.
Osborne co-authored a report revealing how those unions spend their membership dues and discovered politics dominates the equation.
Osborne: It turns out that about 60% of overall union political spending comes from membership dues.
Lisa: Is it supposed to be that way?
Osborne: So, that old union political line about membership dues not going to politics is officially dead. Union dues are used for politics all the time, everywhere from local political spending on school board races, on governorships, and house races. Not only that, but they also use it and send it to super PACs and dark money groups who are interested in affecting elections all throughout the country.
Tired of politics? Stand by these values.
Leading up to a likely Trump vs. Biden face-off for the presidency, a Pew Research Center report released in the fall found that most Americans — 65% of us — are exhausted by politics.
Some politicians are playing on this weariness to subvert democratic norms, simply to get a “win” for their party. We must resist the urge to bless this behavior, even when it suits our politics.
The U.S. House of Representatives’ use of its impeachment powers in recent years has become so de rigueur, one would think an impeachment vote is part of Congress’ ceremonial duties. Former President Donald Trump’s detractors wielded impeachment against him twice, in 2019 and 2021. He was acquitted both times, including on charges of inciting an insurrection. But that didn’t stop Democratic-controlled Colorado and Maine from throwing the former president off of their states’ ballot for 2024, citing the Constitution’s insurrection clause. You cannot protect democratic norms by subverting them.
Shapiro Budget Math Doesn't Add Up
When Gov. Josh Shapiro gave his Feb. 6 budget address, he said it would include more than $46 billion in revenue collections. But the number crunchers in the state’s Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) put a damper on Shapiro’s lofty projections this week, dropping those projections by more than a billion dollars.
“The IFO’s projected revenues for 2024-25 are $825 million lower than the Shapiro administration’s, and a whopping $8 billion lower over five years, guaranteeing massive tax hikes or sweeping program cuts in the future,” state Senate Republicans said in a statement.
“We just have a different take [than the Shapiro administration],” IFO Director Matthew Knittel told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Feb. 20. “One is more optimistic than the other.”
The deficit numbers were even worse, said Knittle. “We have a larger deficit of about $1 billion at the front end, and by 2028-2029, the deficit is $4.5 billion.”
Shapiro's energy tax flip-flop
Governor Shapiro is breaking with his campaign promises and appealing a court decision blocking an illegal tax that would increase your electric bills by a staggering 30%. Tell Shapiro to keep PA out of RGGI!
