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Defending the Pittsburgh area taxpayers and businesses against the burdensome taxation and regulation of Big Government

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Mission Statement

The Allegheny Institute is a non-profit research and education organization. Our mission is to defend the interests of taxpayers, citizens and businesses against an increasingly burdensome and intrusive government. To that end, we will formulate and advocate public policies that roll back the size and scope of local government as well as create a more accountable government. Our efforts will be guided by the principles of free enterprise, property rights, civil society and individual freedom that are the bedrock upon which this nation was founded.

Pennsylvania academic achievement from 2015 to 2025

Introduction: This Policy Brief examines statewide student scoring on the Keystone exams given to 11th-graders. Several Allegheny County school districts’ results are also reviewed with emphasis on Pittsburgh Public School District (PPS).  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2019 to 2025 changes The review begins with a look at the 2019 to 2025 comparison of...
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Latest from AI

That smelly NFL Draft ‘private town hall’
Pittsburgh City Council wants a reassessment
The shame of Pittsburgh Public Schools
Analyzing Year 2 of the K-12 school spending ‘reboot’
Past time to ‘pencil out’ public subsidies for private developers
Stop this insanity

Accomplishments

Marcellus Shale

We have been studying the economic impacts of natural gas exploration in the Marcellus Shale formation for many years. We released a study gauging the economic impact in July 2011 (Policy Brief, Volume 11, Number 38 ) following up with...
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Turnpike Commission Debt

We weighed in on the Turnpike Commission’s plans to issue $450 million of new debt annually to cover mandated payments to the Department of Transportation. To cover the added debt service, the Commission anticipates significant, regular toll increases. Our analysis...
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PRT/Port Authority

In a Sunday feature editorial we commented on the new Port Authority contract with its union. In exchange for small concessions from the union, the Governor has pledged a bailout of the agency. This approach does nothing to end its...
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Property Reassessments

Our research into Allegheny County property reassessments goes back many years and included a full-length report on assessment standards and practices in Pennsylvania and other states. Research efforts continued to analyze and report on the progress of the 2012 reassessment...
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Education

The most recent Pennsylvania assessment exams showed a drop in the percentage of students scoring at the proficient or higher level. Education system apologists predictably pointed to declines in funding as the culprit while state officials claimed heightened security amid...
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Pittsburgh Area Employment

We continue to be one of the area’s leading experts and commentators on the Pittsburgh area’s employment picture. Research has culminated in Policy Briefs (Volume 12, Numbers 18, 34, and 47, and Volume 13, Numbers 2 and 7) that among...
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Policy Briefs

Pennsylvania academic achievement from 2015 to 2025

vol25
No: 40

This Policy Brief examines statewide student scoring on the Keystone exams given to 11th-graders. Several Allegheny County school districts’ results are also reviewed with emphasis on Pittsburgh Public School District (PPS).

The review begins with a look at the 2019 to 2025 comparison of achievement results since 2019 was the last year before COVID and its deleterious impact on educational achievement.   At the state level, Keystone results for all three exams—math (Algebra 1), biology and literature (the stand-in for English) —all fell significantly from 2019 to 2025.

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Analyzing Year 2 of the K-12 school spending ‘reboot’

vol25
No: 39

A 2024 Policy Brief (Vol. 24, No. 8) discussed proposed K-12 state spending following a Commonwealth Court decision and the recommendations of the Basic Education Funding Commission. The approved fiscal year (FY) 2025-26 state budget increases spending from the basic education subsidy and the supplements through the Ready-to-Learn block grant.

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Colin Mcnickle At Large

That smelly NFL Draft ‘private town hall’

The National Football League (NFL) needs to get its head out of its tight end. So to speak. And VisitPittsburgh needs to remember who slathers that thick layer of butter...
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The shame of Pittsburgh Public Schools

We are heartened to see that the editorial page editor of a local newspaper has called for the state to take over Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS). That, after a majority...
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Past time to ‘pencil out’ public subsidies for private developers

This is truly an alarming public policy statement regarding economic development in downtown Pittsburgh. It comes from the Nov. 22 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Right now, there’s an imbalance between the cost...
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Op-Ed

Revitalizing the Pittsburgh Land Bank

vol25
No: 38

 

Allegheny County, the City of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Public Schools signed an intergovernmental cooperation agreement (ICA) on Nov. 19 designed to breathe new life into the long moribund Pittsburgh Land Bank (PLB).

And while the agreement grants the land bank broad new powers, including access to sheriff’s sales, a researcher at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy says there’s still much work to be done to effectively address the city’s “unproductive property” problems.

“The PLB has potential to more efficiently process existing blighted, vacant and abandoned properties,” says Alex Sodini (in Policy Brief Vol. 25, No. 38). “But it must be used in a manner which truly benefits the city and ensures taxpayers are getting the most bang for their buck.”

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Keeping the AI revolution powered up

vol25
No: 34

There’s no doubt that Pennsylvania will have to up its game to meet the massive increase in electricity generation required to power the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution now a full step in the front door.

How best to do that, however, remains the paramount question, says Frank Gamrat, executive director of the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy.

“But time is running out as the demand for artificial intelligence in computing is growing rapidly,” he stresses (in Policy Brief Vol. 25, No. 34).

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In The News

Sure bet? Impact of property tax relief from gambling revenue clouded by outdated formula
Before casino floors across Pennsylvania were filled with the clatter of slot machines and the flashing lights of jackpots, supporters of legalized gambling promised the expected revenue would be a...
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Organization raises concern about declining enrollment at Pittsburgh Public Schools
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New York developer in talks to buy Liberty Center in deal that could test office market’s recovery
A prominent Downtown skyscraper is on track to change hands before the end of the year in a sale that could indicate how the corridor’s struggling office market is faring...
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Blog

Pittsburgh City Council wants a reassessment

On City Council’s agenda for December 9th is a “will of Council” that “urges the Allegheny County Council and the Allegheny County Executive to begin the process of a comprehensive...
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Farewell to an Allegheny County school district?

A provision in the state budget could explore consolidating the Duquesne School District with another school district.   Act 47 of 2025 states “if sufficient funds are available, the Secretary...
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Commonwealth budget piles on NFL Draft spending

A recent Policy Brief detailed spending by the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County for the 2026 NFL Draft. The combined $4 million (plus “the value of various in-kind City...
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Pennsylvania’s Electricity Generation

ByAllegheny Institute |
November 11, 2025

Pennsylvania Transportation Funding

ByAllegheny Institute |
October 3, 2025

Pittsburgh’s Paid Sick Leave Policy

ByAllegheny Institute |
September 5, 2025

Office Vacancy Rate 3

ByAllegheny Institute |
August 5, 2025

Can Pennsylvania’s Energy Supply Keep Up with Demand?

ByAllegheny Institute |
July 10, 2025

Pittsburgh’s 2024 Finances: A Review

ByAllegheny Institute |
June 5, 2025