Susquehanna Valley Center Board Member Ed Arnold and Dave Transue of the PA Association of Community Banks disuss the financial crisis.  Also a discussion with Lynn Herman and Don
Mayer about COLAs. Maura Donley co-hosts.

Ronald Reagan was a man who had it all. It is difficult to identify an American who lived a fuller, or greater, life—what he understatedly called “An American Life.” In nearly everything he did, Reagan succeeded wildly.

As government budgets become tighter at all levels of government and increasing responsibilities and expectations are placed on local governments by delegation from Washington, D.C. and the state capitals, it is increasingly imperative to be able to recognize good government. How should local government be rated? Results, of course, are key. Above all else, there should be evidence that the local government's services are "good," in other words, they produce good results. There should also be evidence that the quality of life is high, at least relative to other local governments of similar size and resources, and that the great majority of residents have been pleased with the services for the last several years. Another consideration would be the condition of the local government's infrastructure--its streets, bridges, water and sewer mains, and its buildings.

During the last few months, Pennsylvania has seen an emerging debate that attracts little public and media attention but has dire implications for the future of the Commonwealth, its families, and its young people. That debate is the one that has been initiated by Sallie Mae, one of the largest and most aggressive for-profit corporations in the world. Sallie Mae is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and provides student loans, mortgages, and cell phones among its business offerings. Sallie Mae has offered the state one billion dollars to take over the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency’s (PHEAA) administration of the state’s student loan program.

Private property rights are increasingly being undermined and are the target of increasing assaults even though our government has a constitutional duty to preserve and protect them.

America is accepting immigrants at a faster rate than at any other time since the 1850s, according to new Census 2000 figures. Between 1990 and 2000, while the nation grew by 13%, our foreign-born population grew by more than 50%. Steven Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies estimates that immigrants and their children born here accounted for two-thirds of all population growth in the 1990s.

Private property rights are increasingly being undermined and are the target of increasing assaults even though our government has a constitutional duty to preserve and protect them. Who is leading the charge against the preservation of private property rights? Ironically, it is the government itself. Environmental regulations that, in most instances, were drafted with good intentions have stripped many property owners of everything but the simple title to their land.

If Govenor Rendell has his way, soon every daughter and son of Pennsylvania will not only be able to play the slots legally in the Keystone State, but they will also be able to appear in newspapers from Osaka, Japan to London, England. Better yet, they will be able to star in

HBO documentaries about their lives and their adventures! Since the Administration and the vast majority of the state press corps proclaim slots in Penn's Woods to be inevitable, we can only wonder and speculate over how many Pennsylvanians will be as lucky as Mr. Buddy Post of Oil City, Pennsylvania.

On July 4, 1776, a courageous group of 54 men banded together to pledge their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor in order win American independence from the British Crown. The declaration that they signed and issued to the world declared that the 13 British colonies were now free and independent states.

How Gov Rendell and Lawmakers can build a better State budget.

Many Americans believe that we do not have to be defenseless in this battle. They believe that the Second Amendment holds its own message: That in any such struggle, we should all be free to fight back. While we cannot transform America into a military fortress/prison in order to attempt to protect every possible target of terrorist activity, we can take the offensive in the fight against terrorism on the home front. At this time in history, it is surely the job of every American to assist combating this movement directed at destroying our nation and our civilization.

What has the gambling industry been up to lately? Almost everyone is aware of the efforts of the industry to invade Pennsylvania with expanded gambling venues centering on slot machines, the most profitable form of gambling for casinos or other venues devised by man.

This invasion comes in many guises, including saving the racing industry and property tax reform, but at its lowest common denominator, it will merely make the millionaires of the gambling industry into billionaires.

Bishop's bill would force insurance companies to divulge how much money they made from the slave trade. Bishop maintained that "In the 19th Century, slaves were treated like buildings, like animals, like property....Insurance companies knowingly took advantage of African-Americans by taking the blood money of slave owners and investing it to make more money for themselves."

Taxation and Wireless Services by the Susquehanna Valley Center for Public Policy

Realty Transfer - Whitepaper

By Charles E. Greenawalt II, Ph.D. Senior Fellow

White Paper by Charles Greenawalt, Ph.D.

The Yellow Brick Road Really is Gold: The PA Turnpike and Transportation in the Commonwealth

The US Economy - by Charlie Greenawalt, Ed Arnold, Christine Constable

The intellectual and spiritual godfather of the American conservative movement, William F. Buckley, Jr., died at his Connecticut home on Wednesday at the age of 82. His quiet end stands in stark contrast to a full life lived with high purpose and high achievement. He was found in his study working on yet another book - a man of action and intellectual dynamism to the end.

The Relationship Between The United States and England - Charlie Greenawalt, Ed Arnold, Christine Constable