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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.

Pittsburgh’s weak economy hampers passenger growth at PIT

Introduction: The early 21st century headlines regarding the ailing fortunes of Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) are well known. The financial woes afflicting USAirways, at the time, PIT’s major hub carrier, and its eventual bankruptcy led to an enormous drop in flights with an accompanying drop in passenger count as connecting...
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Latest from AI

Unlearned lessons from the trenches
The public policy/public safety nexus
A secret search, the minimum wage & a reassessment plan
Gaming dollars for sporting events: good public policy?
The Airport Authority’s missing metric
Proposed ordinance would mandate regular reassessments in Allegheny County

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

Pittsburgh’s weak economy hampers passenger growth at PIT

vol26
No: 13

The early 21st century headlines regarding the ailing fortunes of Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) are well known. The financial woes afflicting USAirways, at the time, PIT’s major hub carrier, and its eventual bankruptcy led to an enormous drop in flights with an accompanying drop in passenger count as connecting travel plummeted.

In 2000, PIT was the 25th busiest U.S. airport with 8.65 million enplanements. Note that the Bureau of Transportation Statistics ranks airports by the number of enplanements.  Passenger enplanements (all figures rounded to the nearest hundredth) began a steep slide over the next five years, falling to just 5.08 million enplanements in 2005, ranking PIT 40th in the nation.

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Gaming dollars for sporting events: good public policy?

vol26
No: 12

As part of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-26 state budget deal, $10 million in gaming money will go toward the NFL Draft being held in Pittsburgh next month.  The state has made policy decisions in recent years to direct tax revenue from gaming to incentivize sports-related events in Pennsylvania in the hopes of boosting tourism and economic development.

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Colin Mcnickle At Large

Unlearned lessons from the trenches

A Wall Street Journal editorial details the folly of the states of Illinois and Indiana engaging in a bidding war to see who can throw more taxpayer money at the...
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The public policy/public safety nexus

The optics have not been good for downtown Pittsburgh over the past few years. A Golden Triangle still left largely vacant by the work-from-home class even after the Covid pandemic...
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A secret search, the minimum wage & a reassessment plan

We fully understand the need for law enforcement to seal search warrants in certain investigations, citing “public cause.” That is, the secrecy can prevent investigations’ targets from destroying and/or hiding...
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Op-Ed

Shapiro’s DOA tax-&-spend Pa. budget

vol26
No: 11

Indeed, “dead on arrival” would be the most apropos way to characterize the chances of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed fiscal 2026-27 Pennsylvania budget being adopted by the General Assembly. For it is far more remarkable for the economic fallacies it promulgates than sound fiscal stewardship, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy.

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Another way PPS can save money

vol26
No: 06

Pittsburgh Public Schools, facing a multimillion-dollar deficit that will force it to draw down precious emergency money from its reserve fund, could find partial relief by overhauling its contracting processes, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy.

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In The News

Will the NFL Draft payoff make the $19M public investment worth it?
Public dollars are driving efforts to market and execute the NFL draft next month. Forecasts say those investments could reap big returns, but questions remain about who might benefit.
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Allegheny County Council to consider regular property reassessments and term limits
After decades of controversy and court battles, three members of Allegheny County Council say it’s time for the county to establish a regular schedule for reassessing property values.
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Big dreams: Pittsburgh Riverhounds owner remains committed to $175M Highmark Stadium expansion
As the Pittsburgh Riverhounds seek to repeat as champions of the United Soccer League Championship, the team is seeking a $7 million state grant as part of its effort to...
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Blog

Proposed ordinance would mandate regular reassessments in Allegheny County

At its regular meeting this week, Allegheny County Council will begin the process of considering an ordinance that would “undertake a reassessment of all properties within the County once every...
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Mayor will reopen city’s operating budget

On March 12, the mayor of Pittsburgh held a press conference to announce that the 2026 operating budget—passed by City Council but not signed by the former mayor—will be reopened...
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Shapiro’s proposed spending plan needs to be reined in

On Feb. 2, Gov. Josh Shapiro delivered his annual budget presentation to both chambers of the General Assembly. The proposal anticipates general fund revenues of $48.3 billion, while expenditures would...
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PA Gaming Revenue 2025

ByAllegheny Institute |

PPS contracting reforms

ByAllegheny Institute |

Downtown Pittsburgh Office Vacancy Rate (Q3 2025)

ByAllegheny Institute |

Pittsburgh Land Bank

ByAllegheny Institute |

Pennsylvania’s Electricity Generation

ByAllegheny Institute |

Pennsylvania Transportation Funding

ByAllegheny Institute |