Too Big to Trust? Banks, Schools and the Ongoing Problem of Interest Rate Swaps
Philadelphia, like many cities, has faced serious financial difficulties in recent years. These difficulties have forced the city government...
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Philadelphia School Funding Agreement Comes with Strings Attached
The Philadelphia School District will receive new state funding, but with strings attached that leave some key decisions in...
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Transportation Funding Options
Funding for public transit tops the legislative agenda at the start of this week, and both Governor Rendell and...
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Local Cigarette Taxes: Improving Public Health and Investing in the Community
This report reveals how several American cities have raised cigarette taxes as a public health measure and to generate...
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A Strong State Commitment to Public Education, A Must Have for Pennsylvania’s Children
This report examines school funding in Pennsylvania, focusing on the city of Philadelphia and on other low-income school districts....
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Who Benefits from the Philadelphia Soda Tax? All Philadelphians, and especially those with low-incomes
The tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) proposed by Mayor Kenney, also known as the “soda tax,” is controversial mainly...
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Fuzzy Math in Philadelphia: Edison Overstates Savings Possible Through Outsourcing School District Maintenance and Operations Work
Under contract to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Edison Schools Inc. prepared an 80-page assessment to the Philadelphia schools and...
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The Job Gap in Pennsylvania: Are There Enough Living-Wage Jobs?
Many Pennsylvanians believe that anyone who looks hard enough can find a “living wage” job- a job that supports...
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State of Working Philadelphia 2018
The Keystone Research Center’s “State of Working Philadelphia” report finds that despite healthy job growth, a majority of...
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BRIEF: Rethinking Philadelphia Taxes to Fund Education
Last year, Mayor Jim Kenney boldly called for the School Reform Commission (SRC) to be disbanded and for control...
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Facts, Not Hysteria, About the Soda Tax
Co-authored by Diana Polson. The reaction of the beverage industry to the Philadelphia soda tax continues to be self-centered,...
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Early Returns Look Good in Philadelphia’s Nation-leading Fight for a Soda Tax
I wasn’t surprised by the substantial revenues that the soda tax is bringing in, even while there is some...
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