PBPC Podcast

Marc Stier, Director of the PA Budget and Policy Center, joins the podcast to give us an update about state budget negotiations and what PBPC and other partners are doing in the next few months to advocate for a budget that puts people first. Get more info about budget actions across Pennsylvania here: www.PAChoice.org/BudgetAction

Marc Stier, Director of the PA Budget and Policy Center, joins us to talk about the U.S. House passing Trumpcare and what it means for the health care debate moving forward.

Mark Price, Labor Economist for the Keystone Research Center, joins us to talk about his new report, released jointly with the PA Budget and Policy Center, about institutions of higher education promoting economic mobility for Pennsylvania students – most specifically the schools that are part of the PA State System of higher Education. Find the new report here: http://bit.ly/2onZP6y

Marc Stier, Director of the PA Budget and Policy Center, joins us to talk about the latest version of the House Republican health care plan, a bill that we expect to see introduced as early as next Wednesday. Marc breaks down the reported changes, which actually make affordable health insurance LESS attainable for the most vulnerable Americans.

Mark Price, Labor Economist at the Keystone Research Center, joins the podcast to talk about his report that provides the first estimates of the impact of property tax elimination proposals on families in Pennsylvania (HB/SB 76). The short of it? Property tax elimination would increase taxes by $334 per family per year on average. Read the full report here: http://bit.ly/2o78B7r

Stephen Herzenberg, Executive Director of the Keystone Research Center, talks about retirement security and how Congress is attempting to block two Obama Administration Department of Labor rules that made it easier for states and cities to set up retirement savings programs for private sector workers. Learn more: www.keystoneresearch.org

Marc Stier, Director of the PA Budget and Policy Center, talks about the new "Fair Share Tax Plan," which would raise $2 billion a year while cutting taxes or keeping taxes level for 85% of Pennsylvanians. The idea was introduced as legislation this week by PA Senators Vince Hughes and Art Haywood.

Marc Stier, Director of the PA Budget and Policy Center, talks about the Republican healthcare bill, the CBO score for the bill that came out this week, the direct impact here in Pennsylvania if the bill ends up becoming law, and what happens next.

Marc Stier, Director for PBPC, and Jeff Garis, Outreach and Engagement Director for PBPC, join us for a wide-reaching conversation, touching on how budgeting is done in PA, how the conversation about budgeting in the state has been oversimplified, and how talking about the role of government in very concrete terms could change the possible outcomes of budget season.

Marc Stier, Director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, gives his initial reaction to Governor Tom Wolf's proposed 2017-18 state budget.

Anisha Singh, Campaign Manager for Legal Progress at the Center for American Progress, joins us to talk about the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court and how extraordinary times call for extraordinary resolve from advocacy groups and our Senators. More information about Why Courts Matter: Twitter: https://twitter.com/whycourtsmatter Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhyCourtsMatter/ More information about Why Courts Matter - PA: Twitter: https://twitter.com/courtsmatterpa Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhyCourtsMatterPA

With state budget season about to kick off, Jeff Garis, Outreach and Engagement Director at PBPC, talks about the launch of the 2017 Pennsylvania's Choice campaign, an effort to change the narrative about the budget and convince legislators to pass a budget the invests in our communities so they can thrive, not a bare-bones budget that leaves the state stuck in neutral. Learn more at www.pachoice.org.

As Congressional Republicans move forward with repealing the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) without a replacement plan, PBPC Director Marc Stier discusses his new report detailing the dire consequences for Pennsylvania of repealing the ACA without an adequate replacement plan.

One of the best ways to make sure working Pennsylvanians can make ends meet is to expand a very simple tax credit called the Earned Income Tax Credit beyond just those who have children. Marc Stier, Director of PBPC, explains how that might work and why it could be a place of bipartisan cooperation in 2017. Find contact info for your legislators to tell them to expand the EITC here: http://bit.ly/2inHnDz

Anisha Singh, Campaign Manager for Legal Progress at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C., joins us to talk about federal court vacancies, the Supreme Court vacancy, and why we all should care about the federal courts. Read more from Legal Progress here: www.americanprogress.org/projects/legal-progress Find out more about the national Why Courts Matter campaign here: www.whycourtsmatter.org. And find out more about the Pennsylvania Why Courts Matter coalition here: www.whycourtsmatterpa.org.