Common Sense Weekly
Here's Commonwealth Foundation's weekly news roundup of policy issues being debated in Harrisburg and across Pennsylvania.
We hope you have a great weekend!
Josh Shapiro Lost His Own Government Shutdown
Commonwealth Foundation in The Wall Street Journal: Some herald Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as the future of the Democratic Party. But in a budget battle in his own state, he just dropped progressive demands and caved to Republicans.
State leaders refused to agree on a budget for more than four months, sending the commonwealth into a de facto shutdown. Mr. Shapiro’s refusal to compromise with Republicans left schools, nonprofits and local governments twisting in uncertainty, especially amid an overlapping federal shutdown. The result for Pennsylvanians was pain.
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As Pennsylvanians Reach for Leftovers, Shapiro Serves Up Pork
While Pennsylvanians dig into their leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner, the state finally delivered a feast of their own, passing a budget after a 135-day impasse. The deal, totaling $50.09 billion, served up more pork than typically seen during November festivities.
The long-awaited budget comes with a hefty price tag: about $9,568 per household in Pennsylvania. More than the $7,200 (or $600 per month) the average household spends on groceries.
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'Affordability First' Is Flipping the Script on Energy Policy
Clean and green is no longer the consensus as residents begin to question when the rising rates will end.
In Pennsylvania, the pivot away from carbon taxes to spur clean energy was clear when the recent state budget eliminated the years-long effort to enter the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the multistate compact that caps emissions from power producers and sells “allowances” to them.
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Setting the Table (for Students)
With today’s explosion of educational options, families are no longer limited to a single approach, just as Thanksgiving menus have evolved to include new traditions and preferences. Diversity in choices honors the varied needs and backgrounds of our kids.
Relying on just one standard—be it a turkey-only meal or a single educational choice—will not satisfy everyone, nor does it help kids thrive. Providing choices, whether at the dinner table or in the classroom, provides every child with a seat and a voice, fostering growth and opportunity.
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Why Did Ben Franklin Favor the Turkey Over the Eagle for America’s National Bird?
Thanksgiving is the time of year when turkeys get their moment of popularity. It’s also the season when a familiar piece of American myth reappears in some corner of the national conversations: the claim that Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey—rather than the bald eagle—to be the national bird of the United States.
In a 1784 letter to his daughter Sarah, Franklin expressed his disapproval of selecting the bald eagle as the nation’s emblem. He described the bald eagle as having “bad moral Character” and contrasted it with the American turkey.
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