RealClearPennsylvania Articles
America at 250: The Post-War Years: Prosperity with Growing Pains
After World War II ended, people around the globe were ready for a break from seemingly endless bloodshed. The two major conflicts which occurred from 1914 to 1945 primed Americans for a return to something they had long yearned for: peace with prosperity, jobs with rising incomes and more comfortable lifestyles unencumbered by shortages and bread lines. The industrialization of the wartime economy set the stage for a consumer-driven economic boom which revolutionized every layer of society.
Newfound Wealth - and Places to Spend It
Millions of servicemen and women returned home from overseas...
In Second-Degree Murder Cases, the Punishment Should Fit the Crime
Simple common sense tells us that violent, dangerous criminals who present a serious threat to our communities belong behind bars.
It’s a shame common sense doesn’t seem to be too common in some corners of the state Capitol Building these days.
In March, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled mandatory life sentences without parole in second-degree murder cases were unconstitutional because they didn’t consider an individual’s level of responsibility for the crime.
Second-degree murder is a killing that takes place while committing a violent felony, such as robbery,...
Data Centers Can Bolster Revenue, Help Local Residents
Lackawanna County taxpayers recently received a painful surprise in the form of a 33% property tax increase. This massive tax hike was apparently put into place to help pay down the county’s nearly $30 million projected deficit. But worsening the affordability crisis will only drive people away and further shrink the tax base.
To make matters worse, some local groups and policymakers are chasing away productive investments such as data centers—shunning much-needed tax revenue and ensuring that residents are left holding the bag for increased government spending. Gov. Josh Shapiro...
Don’t Squander Pennsylvania’s AI Future
Gov. Josh Shapiro recently signed an expansive executive order restricting future data center development unless facilities pay for all of their electricity costs, source a significant portion of their power from clean energy, and meet a number of other regulatory requirements. Most notably, the governor removed data centers from his Fast Track permit program, which has expedited new construction in recent years.
The executive order comes on the back of Silicon Valley U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna’s pressure campaign against data center construction in Pennsylvania. The congressman has traveled...
Did Trump Create 200,000 Millionaires in Pennsylvania?
Did President Trump create 200,000 millionaires in Pennsylvania? It sounds like political hyperbole, but compound interest says it is at least possible.
More than six million American children have enrolled in Trump Accounts, new child savings accounts that launched under the 2025 tax bill. Pennsylvania represents roughly 3.5% of America's child population, suggesting more than 200,000 Pennsylvania children are enrolled.
Trump Accounts allow families, employers and others to contribute money while a child is growing up. Children born from 2025 through 2028 are also eligible for a one-time...
Science Should Decide the Future of Psychedelics--Not Politics
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) appears closer than ever to approving psychedelic drugs like psilocybin and MDMA for medical use. But as political momentum builds in Washington and in the states, the evidence supporting these drugs deserves more scrutiny, not less.
Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration released its first finalized guidance on psychedelic drug development, explaining how these drugs should be studied for potential medical approval. The document marks a turning point. After decades of resistance, the FDA is signaling that psilocybin and MDMA are now on a...
Polling Lessons from the Michigan, Wisconsin Races
Francesca Hong was supposed to win the Democratic Party nomination for governor of Wisconsin by 20 points – she lost by 0.4%. The Polymarket trading showed Hong’s likelihood of winning was at 92%. Meanwhile, Abdul El-Sayed was supposed to win the Michigan Democratic Party nomination for U.S. Senate by 15 points—and he won by 1%.
Why were the “experts” so wrong?
It’s too soon to give a pinpoint explanation, but to those who have seen these types of trends before, there are some key elements that help explain the huge mistakes.
There’s a volatile,...
Pennsylvania Can Turn Moms Into Millionaires
Leave it to a Pennsylvanian to speak truth to power.
Recently, when receiving an award in New York City, the Philadelphia investor and philanthropist Jeff Yass gave Mayor Zohran Mamdani some good advice.
Yass said to Mamdani: why don’t you make New York City moms into millionaires? It wouldn’t be that hard. The Big Apple already spends about $42,000 per public-school student. Yet for such a massive investment, the city gets horrible results. The overwhelming majority of students can’t read or do math at grade level. Black and Brown students are the furthest...
School Choice Saves Families Struggling with Affordability
Jeri Penrod and his family — his wife and their four children, Chloe, Andrew, Clara, and Ananias — faced financial ruin. But a few timely scholarships provided the family not only with a solid education but also with the financial stability they needed to persevere.
For the past five years, the Penrods have been on the move. As a United Methodist pastor, Jeri has moved his family several times, as his denomination has appointed him to communities in need of his spiritual guidance.
But this mobile lifestyle hit a brick wall in 2023. Jeri’s appointment unexpectedly ended,...
America at 250: WWII, America’s Rise to Greatness
“You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months… The eyes of the world are upon you… The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you…” -General Dwight D. Eisenhower
By the 1930s, the phrase “the war to end all wars” used to describe World War I had proven to be false. Some political leaders in Germany felt betrayed by the Treaty of Versailles. One - named Adolph Hitler - led efforts to overthrow the government there and was eventually appointed chancellor in 1933. In...
PA Ended Mandatory Life for Felony Murder — And Created a Big Mess
In late July, Pennsylvania missed a deadline to replace a sentencing law the state’s highest court struck down, and roughly 1,100 inmates may now ask to be resentenced. The history of the constitutional provision the court relied on cuts the other way. Two justices in the majority described the decision as too broad and too unclear.
In October 2014, Leonard Butler was attacked in the basement of his home by a man named Derek Lee. Lee beat Butler severely and then left the room. In the struggle for accomplice Paul Durham’s handgun, Butler was fatally shot by Durham. Both Lee and...
Obamacare Is Pricing Out Pennsylvania's Middle Class
39,000 Pennsylvanians dropped their Obamacare coverage this year. The shocker is that the largest drop in coverage came from middle-income families earning over $132,000.
The decline is not due to job loss or ineligibility. Rather, it appears that middle-income families simply can no longer afford the Affordable Care Act. That statistic challenges the popular image of someone who depends on government assistance. Or more important, who is forced onto it.
They are teachers married to engineers, small business owners, sales representatives, nurses, and police officers. In addition, they...
Navigating the Obscene, but Not Illegal, in Modern Politics
When calling on my more than four decades in the campaign trenches to help decipher it to the outside world, I’ve settled on this basic premise: neither rank-and-file voters nor professionals and activists need or benefit from partisan wishful thinking. Blunt, and to the point, that’s what’s needed – a simple dose of objective reality. And the reality staring at us now is sobering.
It forces us to confront an uncomfortable question plaguing our political system: How are we expected to react when political behavior of both parties is not necessarily illegal, but clearly...
Trump’s Perilous Numbers in PA and Elsewhere
When thinking of President Donald Trump, a famous line from Coppola’s The Godfather may come to mind. At one point, Michael Corleone asks his father, as he’s being counseled: “Is it better to be loved, or feared?”
With Trump, it’s both depending on one’s perspective. It’s an understatement to say that MAGA loyalists firmly control the Republican Party, both operationally and organizationally, and they (still) have profound adoration for him. In recent primary elections across the nation, Trump-endorsed candidates defeated nearly a dozen state...
Warning Signs for Philadelphia Mayor Parker
Since the dust settled on the 2024 campaign, I’ve been concerned that Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s re-election in 2027 was not a sure thing.
In conversations with Democrats, both on-air and off-air when I’m a commentator on Philadelphia television news programs, I’ve raised my concerns. Candidly, I raise them not only as an analyst, but as someone born and raised in Philly, with family and friends still living there – and as someone who respects Parker’s approach.
We see the alternatives across America.
Look to New York, Portland, and Seattle,...
Pennsylvania Can’t Afford Philadelphia’s Tort Tax
Pennsylvanians are struggling with an affordability crisis. Groceries, insurance, housing, health care, and basic services all cost more than they used to. Yet many may not know that there is one hidden cost that never appears on a receipt, even though families and small businesses pay it every day.
The Commonwealth has become ground zero for the “tort tax” created by excessive litigation. Last year, the American Tort Reform Foundation ranked the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court as the nation’s No. 1 “Judicial Hellhole,”...
The Smartest Energy Policy Is Already in Bucks County
One of the largest natural gas power plants in America is in Bucks County.
Tucked away in Falls Township, the Fairless Energy Center is the third-largest natural gas-fired generating station in Pennsylvania and one of the twenty largest in the United States. Each year, it produces approximately 8.7 terawatt-hours of electricity, enough to make Bucks County the seventh-largest electricity-producing county in the Commonwealth.
In fact, Bucks County is among the top 130 energy-producing counties nationwide which places it in the top 6% in the country.
Yet when people think of Bucks County, they...
Prior Authorization Should Never Stand Between Seniors and Care
For many Americans across the nation, navigating approvals for necessary health care can feel as challenging as the illness or condition they are treating.
Together, we — a U.S. Representative representing Western Pennsylvania and the president and CEO of The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, which represents more than 235 hospitals and health systems across the commonwealth — regularly hear from families and providers about barriers to timely care for patients who are seeking high-priority treatments. For the 35 million American seniors enrolled in...
America at 250: The War to End All Wars
“Over there, over there,Send the word, send the word over there…That the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming… we’re coming over… and it won’t be over ‘til it’s over over there.” -George M. Cohan, “Over There,” 1917
On June 28, 1914, an event occurred that eventually would spur involvement of nations from North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Sparked by ethnic hatred of a European monarch, long standing rivalries led to the outbreak of a conflict the scope of which had never been seen before. A shot fired from...
PA's Energy Advantage Should Lower Bills, Not Get Trapped by Poor Decisions
Energy affordability is top of mind across America, but in Northeast Pennsylvania it is especially personal. After living in the region for close to 20 years, I know that when energy costs rise, families feel it in heating bills, electric bills, groceries, travel, and nearly everything else.
Pennsylvania has an advantage most states envy: abundant natural gas from the Marcellus Shale. Life would be more expensive today without it. But that advantage only matters if policy allows energy to be produced, moved, and used.
In a recent letter to the Pennsylvania Senate Consumer Protection and...
