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Four years after Pennsylvania said it would try to recover millions of dollars in public subsidies made to bankrupt Westmoreland County saltwater battery maker Aquion, it has little to show for its efforts, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy.
“Rather than trying to pick winners and losers and providing large amounts of money in questionable public subsidies, the commonwealth needs to address its business tax structure, its regulatory environment and generally improve the state as a place to start and run a business,” says Eric Montarti, research director of the Pittsburgh think tank.
Louis B. Ruediger | Tribune-Review
Employee Domenico Schiano-Di Cola wipes down a table Jan. 4, 2020 at J&S Pizza, Natrona Heights.
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As the coronavirus pandemic continues to loosen its grip on Pennsylvania, the state’s economy appears to be strengthening. But an analysis by scholars at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy shows the rebound has been lackluster, and prospective government policies could retard it further.
“Indeed, the latest statewide employment report for March shows there is still a long way to go and that it is incumbent upon commonwealth lawmakers not to throw more growth-stifling regulations at beleaguered business owners that will stymie a return to solid gains,” say Frank Gamrat, executive director of the Pittsburgh think tank, and Jake Haulk, its president-emeritus.
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Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald said that while he supports paid sick leave, the legislation did not originate where it should have with the county health board and likely was ripe for a court challenge. He has directed the board and Department of Health to promulgate the regulations.
But government-mandated sick leave in Allegheny County still is a bad idea, says a researcher at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. And questions abound.
“Will these proposed regulations be identical to the final version of the (vetoed) ordinance?” asks Eric Montarti, research director at the Pittsburgh think tank. “Or will they be substantially different from what the council approved?”
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Marc Mondor’s letter “RGGI will allow Pa. to be globally competitive” (Jan. 30, TribLIVE), promoting the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which is a tax on power generation in its most basic form, is a ruse in its most basic form.
With his imploring of Pennsylvania to join the RGGI, he is no different than a street corner beggar asking for money since his company relies heavily on government (crony capitalism) via grants and tax credits to exist. He just wears a suit while panhandling.
The evergreen case against prevailing wage laws | Opinion pennlive.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pennlive.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.