ABOUT THIS BOOK

The activities of state governments have always been important in the American federal system. However, recent partisan gridlock in Washington, DC has placed states at the forefront of policymaking as the national government maintains the status quo. Pennsylvania Politics and Policy, Volume 1 is designed to showcase current issues of interest to Pennsylvanians. This reader contains updated chapters from recent issues of Commonwealth: A Journal of Pennsylvania Politics and Policy on education, health care, public finance, tax policy, environmental policy, alcohol policy and more. Each chapter is supplemented by forums with arguments in support of or opposed to contested elements of state policy, discussion questions, and suggestions for further reading.

In addition, Pennsylvania Politics and Policy, Volume 1 includes a comprehensive guide to researching state government and policy online. It is designed as a text or supplement for college or advanced high school classes in American government, state and local politics, public policy, and public administration.

Contributors include: David G. Argall, Tom Baldino, Michele Deegan, Michael Dimino, George Hale, Rachel L. Hampton , Paula Duda Holoviak Jon Hopcraft, Vera Krekanova, Maureen W. McClure, Barry G. Rabe, Marguerite Roza, Lanethea Mathews Shultz, Jennie Sweet-Cushman, Amanda Warco, and the editors.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

J. Wesley Leckrone is Associate Professor of Political Science, Widener University and the Editor of Commonwealth: A Journal of Pennsylvania Politics and Policy. Michelle J. Atherton is Associate Director of the Institute for Public Affairs at Temple University. She is the Managing Editor of Commonwealth: A Journal of Pennsylvania Politics and Policy.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

The Rules of the Game: The Constitution and the Lawmaking Process (Michael R. Dimino, Sr.)

Commonwealth Forum: Should Pennsylvania Adopt Direct Democracy?

For More Information

Governor Wolf’s First Year: A Comparative Analysis (Paula A. Duda Holoviak and Thomas J. Baldino)

Commonwealth Forum: Do Businesspeople Make Good Chief Executives?

For More Information

Commonwealth Forum: Should Pennsylvania Abolish the Property Tax for Schools?

Yes, Abolish the Property Tax: It Is the Worst Tax for Schools (David G. Argall and Jon Hopcraft)

No, Keep the Property Tax: It Is the Best Tax for Schools (William A. Fischel)

Discussion Questions

Leaving Money on the Table: Pennsylvania Exceptionalism in Resisting Energy Severance Taxes (Rachel L. Hampton and Barry G. Rabe)

Discussion Questions

Commonwealth Forum: Should State Government Subsidize the Economic Development of Natural Gas Facilities?

For More Information

What Would Student-Based Allocation Mean for Pennsylvania School Districts? (Marguerite Roza and Amanda Warco)

Discussion Questions

Commonwealth Forum: Should Pennsylvania End the Practice of Hold-Harmless Funding?

For More Information

More Trouble Ahead for Public School Finance: The Implications of Generational Change in Pennsylvania (Maureen W. McClure and Vera Krekanova)

Commonwealth Forum: Should Pennsylvania Tax Retirement Income?

For More Information

The Limits of Medicaid Reform in Pennsylvania: Thinking Regionally about Access to Insurance and Health Care under the Affordable Care Act (Michele Moser Deegan and A. Lanethea Mathews-Schultz)

Discussion Questions

Commonwealth Forum: Should the State Provide Support to Rural Hospitals?

For More Information

The Issue That Will Not Go Away: Models of Public Policy Making and Four Decades of Republican Efforts to Privatize Pennsylvania’s State Liquor Monopoly (George E. Hale)

Commonwealth Forum: Should Pennsylvania Rely on Sin Taxes for Revenue?

For More Information

FMLA in Pennsylvania: Analysis of Family and Medical Leave Policy in the State (Jennie Sweet-Cushman)

Commonwealth Forum: Would Mandated Paid Leave Be a Competitive Disadvantage for Pennsylvania?

For More Information

Chapter 10: Researching Pennsylvania Online (Michelle J. Atherton and J. Wesley Leckrone)

Contributors

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