Common Sense Weekly
Welcome to Common Sense Weekly! This is the Commonwealth Foundation's weekly news roundup of policy issues being debated in Harrisburg and across Pennsylvania.
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Independent Fiscal Office Exposes Shapiro’s Overinflated Revenue Projections
Tuesday, the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released its analysis of revenue proposals contained in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s 2025–26 budget proposal.
This latest report confirms Shapiro’s revenue projections as wildly overstated. The IFO report evidences the governor’s proposal has overrepresented revenue projections by billions of dollars.
Moreover, the IFO detected hyperbolized projections throughout the governor’s budget proposal, particularly revenue estimates from mandatory combined reporting, taxes from legalizing recreational marijuana, and expanded gambling—none of which has been passed by the Pennsylvania legislature.
Shapiro misrepresents the true cost of his budget proposal, hiding a much larger deficit within falsified revenue streams.
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These Pennsylvania Scholarships Help Kids Escape Failing Schools. But They Are Not Enough.
Pennsylvania once was a national leader in school choice programs. The commonwealth’s two tax-credit scholarships—the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs—were some of the first of their kind nationally.
Now, the demand for EITC and OSTC scholarships has surpassed the supply, leaving Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable students behind.
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Don’t Punish Cyber Charters for Being Fiscally Responsible
Pennsylvania cyber charter schools are under attack for – of all things – not wastefully spending taxpayer money.
The Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General recently audited a sample of cyber charter schools. After examining five of the state’s 14 cyber charter schools, the auditor general released its findings. Opponents of cyber charters repeatedly point to their operating surplus of $365 million, claiming these schools hoard public dollars. As lawmakers prepare to negotiate the 2025–26 state budget, calls to defund cyber charters have reached a fevered pitch.
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The Inconvenient Truth About Pennsylvania Natural Gas
When it comes to reducing carbon emissions, Pennsylvania natural gas doesn’t get the credit it deserves.
To some, natural gas is just another “evil” cog of the fossil fuel industry. John Quigley of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy called the increased use of natural gas
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“a setback for climate goals.”
However, climate alarmists cannot ignore one inconvenient truth: Natural gas cuts carbon emissions. And nowhere is this truth more painfully evident than in Pennsylvania.
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Government Unions Are Losing Money and Members but Not Power and Influence
Pennsylvania’s second-largest union is on the brink of collapse.
Last year, the Harrisburg-based subsidiary of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)—better known as Council 13—was in dire straits. Citing “serious financial problems,” AFSCME International took over Council 13 to right the ship on March 1, 2024.
The news of the takeover must have blindsided AFSCME 13’s members. Before the announcement, Council 13’s required fiscal year (FY) 2022–23 financial disclosure was already months overdue, leaving members guessing about the true state of their union’s finances.
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