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The Lead StoryNational Housing and Credit Crisis Damages PA EconomyThe year-old national economic crisis triggered by rising mortgage foreclosures, falling home prices, and severely stressed financial institutions has already damaged the economy in Pennsylvania. The economic stagnation experienced by typical Pennsylvania families since 2001 represents a return to the polarizing economic trends that began in the 1970s and that were only briefly interrupted by the shared prosperity of the second half of the 1990s.  Recession is Likely Already Upon PA While a recession has not yet been officially declared, the numbers suggest one is already here. More » Wage Stagnation Continues as Economy Expands In 2007 the wages for typical Pennsylvania workers were still below what they were making in 2001. More » The Guilded Age Returns -- Incomes Are Rising Only at The Very Top of the Income Distribution The latest data show that the incomes of the very richest Pennsylvanians--the top 0.01%--grew by 47% between 2001 and 2005. Income inequality is higher than in any recent period since 1986. More » Poof!--The Burst Housing Bubble Evaporates the Main Source of Middle Class Wealth Since the first quarter of 2007, inflation-adjusted housing prices in Pennsylvania have fallen by 4%. More » The Promise of Economic Deregulation Has Failed Many of the economic issues Pennsylvania faces today can be traced to the failure of deregulation. More »  A New Deal for the New Economy
At the national level, especially, the thrust of policy during the past 30 years has been deregulation. Financial markets have been liberalized. The impact on the labor market of public policy (e.g. through the minimum wage) and of unions has been weakened. Measured by per capita national spending levels, social programs—such as welfare, unemployment benefits, and employment and training investments—have eroded. Industries have been deregulated (trucking, airlines, and telecommunications circa 1979; energy industries in the 1990s). Finally, trade policy has liberalized the flow of goods, services, and investments across U.S. borders. After this three-decade national experiment, the jury—at least if it’s made up of typical, American middle-class families—is surely in. The verdict: deregulation has not worked. It's time to try something different. More »  The Prescription for Prosperity Most Pennsylvanians know that the link between a strong economy and the well-being of the many has been broken. They also understand why. The economic world has changed, most visibly due to globalization and the fall in manufacturing jobs. Many families have been the victims of these changes. How can the challenges of globalization be answered in Pennsylvania? The Prescription for Prosperity outlines a number of innovative policy responses. An Agenda for Rural Pennsylvania If rural Pennsylvania receives the focus and the resources that it needs, it has rich assets that provide a basis for a new era of vitality: natural beauty, gorgeous small towns, a strong work ethic, and strong communities in which, more than in urban Pennsylvania, everyone remains “in it together.” With smart investment in the future, rural Pennsylvania already possesses the human and social capital needed for future prosperity.  Rural Pennsylvania is at an Economic Crossroads Released in June 2007, The State of Rural Pennsylvania takes a look at the health of the commonwealth's rural economy by reviewing 20 years of change. More » |
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