speech

"With the Best of Intentions: School-Level Interventions and the Pursuit of Proficiency
Robert P. Strauss and Abby Clay Turner
Revised December 16, 2009
Revised Version of Paper at the Summer, 2009 North American Econometric Society Meetings in Cambridge, Mass.

"The Feasibility of Privatizing Pittsburgh's Public Authorities to Forestall Bankruptcy"
An Independent Study Project by
Lora Mae Aquinde
Andrew Bray
Sanya Gurnani
Robert Kaminski
Advised by Professor Robert P. Strauss
Spring, 2009, Revised 10/30/09
School of Public Policy and Management
Heinz Collge
Carnegie Mellon University

"Patterns of Teacher and Administrator
Voluntary and Involuntary Withdrawals
in Pennsylvania: 1990-2005"

Robert P. Strauss, Ying Chen, and Jinxiang Liu
Revised Version of March, 2007 American Education Finance Association
Annual Research Conference Paper, Baltimore, MD

"Patterns of Retirement and Return Employment of Pennsylvania's Professional Personnel: 1984-2006"
Robert P. Strauss and Jinxiang Liu
Revised June 8, 2009
A Paper Presented at Rethinking Teacher Retirement Benefit Systems
Second Annual Conference, National Center on Performance Incentives
Vanderbilt, University, February, 2009

"The Presidential Candidates' 2008 Tax Reform Proposals: A Distributional Analysis"
Marcus C. Berliant and Robert P. Strauss
October, 2008

"Alternative Approaches for Reinstating A Taxable Property Values Survey
State Tax Notes 51,4 (January 26, 2009), 247-266.

Options for Census to Reinstate Measuring Taxable Property Values
Proceedings
101st Annual Conference, National Tax Association
Philadelphia, PA (November, 2008), 208-216

Education Policy Research Papers: Online
November 12, 2008

Should Sales Taxes be Imposed on E-Commerce?
with Sami Dahklia
May 1, 2008

Classroom Teacher Hiring Practices in Pennsylvania: 1997 and 2006
Robert P. Strauss, Celeste M. Strauss, Annie Gorman and Jinxiang Liu
American Education Finance Association
2008 Annual Research Conference, Denver, Colorado

Explaining the Racial Achievement Gap
in the Pittsburgh Public Schools
A Presentation to the Pittsburgh Public Schools
Board of Education
September 10, 2007

"Fixing Pittsburgh's Finances"
A Presentation to
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's Pension Summit
David L. Lawrence Convention Center
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
April 12, 2007

"Education Policy Research and Professional Training
at SUPA and the Heinz School"
The Heinz School Review , March, 2007.

"Pennsylvania's Public Sector: Past, Present and Future"

Conference on Fiscal Federalism
Andrew Young School of Public Policy
Georgia State University
April 21, 2006, 12:30 AM
Atlanta, Georgia

"The Living Wage by the Numbers"
Does it Help or Hurt the Working Poor?

A Presentation Sponsored by the New America Foundation and
Employment Policies Insitute
Friday, September 22, 2006 12:30 pm - 2:00PM
1630 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC

"The Living Wage by the Numbers" VIDEO
Does it Help or Hurt the Working Poor?
A Presentation at the New America Foundation and
Friday, September 22, 2006 12:30 pm - 2:00PM

Rendering of "Walking to the Sky" in front of Warner Hall

"More Plop Art Coming to Carnegie Mellon
Time for A legal Defense Fund of Green Space at Carnegie Mellon?
Prepared Remarks for a Campus Public Hearing, March 8, 2006

"The Effects of Defined Benefit Pension Incentives and
Working Conditions on Teacher Retirement Decisions,"
Education Finance and Policy (Summer, 2006)
with Joshua Ferguson and William B. Vogt

"Should Teachers Know or Know How to Teach?"
with William B. Vogt
4/18/06 Revised Version of March 22, 2002 Paper
American Educational Finance Association
Annual Research Conference
Cincinnati, Ohio

The True Red Chronicles: III
Humor, January 30, 2006

"Real Estate Re-Re-Re-Re Assessment in Allegheny County: II December 2, 2005
Department of Civil nd Environmental Engineering, CMU
Update of November 9, 2005 ISRI Seminar
School of Computer Science
CMU

"KDKA Talk Radio Fred Hornsberger Interview: Assessments"
Pittsburgh, PA
2PM Wednesday October 5, 2005

"Real Estate Re-Re-Assessment in Allegheny County"
A Presentation to the Men's Club
(with a statistical appendix)
Northmont United Presbyterian Church
8169 Perry Highway
Pittsburgh, PA
9AM Tuesday October 4, 2005

"Talk Radio Interview on Allegheny County Assessments"
Pittsburgh, PA
Sunday, September 17, 2005

Fixing What's Broken: An Agenda for Education Reform in Pennsylvania
Revised July 27, 2005

"The Mayor as Superintendent in Pittsburgh"
The Impossible Dream or
Every Taxpayer and School Child's Nightmare?
Streaming Video Presentation
Bloomberg's Education Reforms in New York City: An Assessment
The Brookings Institution
Washington, D.C.
June 1, 2005

Overheads of The Mayor as Superintendent in Pittsburgh:
The Impossible Dream or
Every Taxpayer and School Child's Nightmare?

Prepared Comments for Panel on
Bloomberg's Education Reforms in New York City: An Assessment
The Brookings Institution
Washington, D.C.
June 1, 2005

Exam and Answer Key to Open Book Exam
Fundamental Federal Tax Reform and
State and Local Tax Systems

Ten Things Anybody Interested in Fundamental Federal Tax Reform
Should Know about Its Effects on the State and Local Sector
May 18, 2005

State Tax Notes Interview with Robert P. Strauss
on Fundamental Tax Reform and the States
State Tax Notes, 36, 7 (May 16, 2005), 523-530.

"Income Taxes and Medical Expenses"
with Miguel Gouveia, Proceedings of the National Tax Association 97th Annual Conference, Chicago, Illinois, 232-235.

"KDKA The Editors: Allegheny County Assessments"
County Executive Dan Onorato and Professor Robert Straus
April 2, 2005
Requires MP4 Reader such as Apple Quicktime

"Improving Public Education through Strengthened Local Control"
with Roger T. Severino,

Updated Version of Paper Presented and Published in the Proceedings of the
Conference on Education and Economic Development
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio November 18-19, 2005

"Is Assessment 2005 Going to be Reform or
Allegheny County's Version of "Ground Hog Day?"
Prepared Remarks before the Allegheny County Council
Gold Room
Allegheny County Courthouse
March 15, 2005

"Commuter taxation with some representation"
Forum, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Sunday Octoer 3, 2004 pp. B-1,B-2.

"The US Individual Income Tax and the Medical Expense Deduction"
with Miguel Gouveia,
Revised Version of paper presented at
60'th Congress of the International Public Finance Insitute,
Milan Italy, August 23, 2004.

Residential Real Estate Assessment Fairness in Four Urban Areas"
with David A. Strauss,
State Tax Notes, 31, 10 (March 8, 2004), 815-820.
(Reprinted from (forthcoming) Proceedings of the National Tax Association
, 96th Annual Research Conference, Chicago, Illinois).

Restoring the Public's Trust in the City of Pittsburgh's Finances>
Prepared Remarks before Pittsburgh City Council
February 5, 2004, 9AM City Council Chambers

Fixing Pittsburgh's Finances to Avoid Bankruptcy
A Problem in Institutional Design
or
Confessions of a Fiscal Social Worker
October 31, 2003
Seminar Presentation to The Martin School
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky

On Q Interview Repairing Pittsburgh's Finances
September 15, 2003
(Windows Media 9 File 10 minutes)

Does Pittsburgh Deserve PICA-West?
Prepared Testimony (postponed) before a Special Hearing of the
Pennsylvania Senate Finance Committee
Pittsburgh City Council Chambers
September 8, 2003

Pittsburgh's Pickle
Guest Column,
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
August 31, 2003

The Market for Substitute Classroom Teachers in South West Pennsylvania
Robert P. Strauss, and David A. Strauss
July, 2003

The True Red Chronicles: I & II
Humor, July 26, 2003

The Preparation and Selection of
Public School Administrators in Pennsylvania
Supply and Demand the Effects on Student Achievement
American Educational Finance Association
Sheraton World Resort
Orlando, Florida
March 29, 2003

School Finance Reform in Pennsylvania:
Out of the Briar Patch in '03?
Luncheon Speech to Semi-Annual Power Lunch
Washington County Chamber of Commerce 3/21/03
South Pointe Hilton, South Pointe Technology Park

Two topics need action before tax is raised
Real estate-assessment reform and school board accountability will help schools get fairly funded.
Philadelphia Enquirer, Sunday 1/12/03
Reprinted in Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Thursday, January 16, 2003
Harrisburg Patriot-News, Friday, January 17, 2003.

"On the Importance of Understanding True Red and Truly Classy Silver"
[Humor]
August 26, 2002

"Restoring the Public Trust in Allegheny County's Real Estate Assessments"
A Presentation to the League of Women Voters of Greater Pittsburgh
May 15, 2002
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Which Pennsylvania County has the
Fairest Real Estate Assessments of them All? (Hint: Not Allegheny)
The Voter , Newsletter of the Allegheny League of Women Voters
May, 2002

Institutional Barriers To Electronic Commerce: An Historical Perspective
with Karen Clay, The New Institutionalism in Strategic Management,
Volume 19, 245-271.

"Re-Assessment 2001/2: Keystone Comedy or Greek Tragedy?"
Prepared Remarks before the Allegheny County Democratic Delegation
and House Democratic Policy Committee
February 1, 2002, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

"What Can State Income Tax Returns Tell Us About
Migration, Household Composition, and Income?"
National Tax Association
94'th Annual Conference on Taxation,
Baltimore, Maryland
November 9, 2001
(revised 1-20-02)

"Reforming School Finance in Pennsylvania
Increasing State Taxes to:
Cut Local School Real Estate Taxes or
Cut Local School Reach Estate Taxes AND
Improve Student Learning?

Testimony before the Select Committee on
Public School Funding
Pennsylvania General Assembly
October 10, 2001
Armstrong-Indiana Intermediate Unit
Indiana, Pennsylvania

"Comments on House Bill 900:
Should Pennsylvania become a Voting Member
of the Streamlined Sales Tax Project?
Testimony before the Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs
Pennsylvania General Assembly
October 1, 2001
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

"School Finance Reform in Pennsylvania: Increasing State Taxes to:
Cut Local School Real Estate Taxes,
or
Cut Local School Real Estate Taxes and
Enable More School Board Spending
or
Cut Local School Real Estate Taxes and
Improve Student Learning?
Testimony before the Pennsylvania
State Board of Education
September 13, 2001
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

"Taxation of the Internet and Pennsylvania's Economic Climate,"
Testimony before the Pennsylvania House Committee on Commerce,
Subcommittee on Economic Development,August 23, 2001
Conference Room 1, Allegheny County Court House
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

"Further Thoughts on Federal Tax Mechanisms to Enable State Taxation of Final Consumption,"
Submitted Testimony for inclusion in the hearing record
of the Senate Finance Committee, US Congress,
August 1, 2001 Hearings on Taxation of the Internet.

" Guest Lecture 1: 90-742 Ecommerce April 10, 2001"

" Guest Lecture 2: 90-742 Ecommerce April 10, 2001"

The Evolution of the IRS and Taxpayer Compliance:
Some Implications for Korea
with Jin Hyun
March 2, 2001
Keynote Address
Symposium
Commemorating the 35th
Annual Taxpayer's Day of Korea
Seoul, Korea

"Bellcurves and Babies: The Interaction between Ability, Welfare, and Non-marital Childbearing,"
with George R. G. Clarke
A Paper Presented at 93rd Annual Conference on Taxation
National Tax Association, Santa Fe, New Mexico, November 9, 2000

"Trust, Risk, and Ecommerce: 19'th Century Lessons for the 21'st Century"
with Karen Clay
A Paper to Be Presented at 93rd Annual Conference on Taxation
Session on Taxation and Electronic Commerce
National Tax Association, Santa Fe, New Mexico, November 9, 2000

"Reassessment 2000: Do you feel lucky?"
Opinion and Commentary, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, May 28, 2000

"Federal Tax Mechanisms to Enable
State Taxation of Final Consumption"
Testimony before the Subcommittee on Oversight
House Committee on Ways and Means
U.S. Congress
May 16, 2000 2:00 PM
Room 1100 Longworth House Office Building
(Reprinted in State Tax Notes, May 29, 2000 and Tax Notes, 87, 12 (June 19,2000), 1657-64.

"State Taxation of Internet Activities:
What Role for the Federal Government?"
April 11, 2000

"Distributional and Economic Effects
of Pennsylvania's Local Property Taxes"
Testimony before the Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee,
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,
Room 8EB, Capitol East Wing, 1-5PM
March 22, 2000

"Achievement, Post-Secondary Educational Aspirations, and
Peer Pressure in Three Urban School Districts."
with John Bishop, Susan McElroy, and Alicia Powers
Outline and Tables of Paper Presented at
25'th Annual Conference
American Education Finance Association
Austin-Marriott
Austin, Texas
March 10, 2000

"What's Next? CMU prof offers exacting framework for county's future,"
Opinion and Commentary, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, November 14, 1999, J1, J8.

"Effective Tax Functions for the US Individual Income Tax: 1966-89"
with Miguel Gouveia, (forthcoming), Proceedings of the National Tax Association 92nd Annual Conference, Atlanta, Georgia

Further Thoughts on State and Local Taxation of Telecommunications and Electronic Commerce State Tax Notes, 17, 17(October 25, 1999), 1113-1124.

Home Rule tax reform? Think again, says CMU prof
Tribune-Review. Commentary. Friday, Sept. 17, 1999. A7.

Systemic School Reform in Pennsylvania:
A Policy Proposal for Grades 1-8
August 28, 1999

Who Gets Hired to Teach?
The Case of Pennsylvania.
in Marci Kanstoroom and Chester E. Finn, Jr. (editors)
Better Teachers, Better Schools.
(Washington, D.C.: Fordham Foundation Press, July, 1999), pp. 175-201.

A Reverse Engineering Approach to Improving Teacher Quality:
The Hiring Decision and State Laws Governing
School Board Conduct and Ethics
Testimony before the Committee on Education and the Workforce
Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education, Training, and Life-Long Learning
U.S. House of Representatives
May 13, 1999

Improving Teacher Preparation and Selection: Lessons from the Pennsylvania Experience
with Lori Bowes, Mindy Marks, and Mark Plesko
forthcoming, Economics of Education Review
April 25, 1999

Improving Teacher Quality:
A Reverse Engineering Approach
A Presentation at the Annual Conference of Education Writers Association
Midland Hotel, Chicago,Illinois
April 17, 1999

The Implications of Electronic Commerce for State and Local Government
A Presentation at the Conference of Forecasting the Future of Taxation
Sponsored by Ohio Tax Policy Institute and the Ohio School Boards Association
Columbus, Ohio
April 15, 1999

State Laws Governing School Board Ethics
with Ruth L. Kolb
A Presentation at the American Educational Finance Association Annual Research Conference
Seattle, Washington
March 19, 1999

The District of Columbia's Individual Income Tax:
Structure, Characteristics, and Policy Recommendations in D.C. Tax Revision Commission, Taxing Simply, Taxing Fairly
January, 1999

Sales and Property Taxes at the Millenium: Storm over Troubled Waters for State and Local Governments?
A Presentation at the California Tax Policy Conference
Palace Hotel, San Francisco
November 12/13, 1998

Teacher Preperation and Selection in Pennsylvania
Robert P. Strauss
A Research Report to the Pennsylvania State Board of Education
Pennsylvania State Board of Education: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

The Income and Household Composition of City-County Migrants in the 1990's
with Tomohiro Nakamura, Proceedings, National Tax Association-Tax Institute of America (November, 1998), Austin, Texas, pp.

(Reprinted in State Tax Notes, 16, 5 (February 1, 1999), 327-338.)

The Political Economy of the Property Tax: Assessor Authority and Assessment Uniformity,
with Sean R. Sullivan, Proceedings, National Tax Association-Tax Institute of America, (November, 1998) Austin, Texas, pp.

(Reprinted in: State Tax Notes, 15, 25 (December 21, 1998), 1603-1610.), and Tax Notes, 82, 1 (January 4, 1999), 119-130.)

Teacher Preparation and Selection in Pennsylvania:
Ensuring High Performance Classroom Teachers for the 21st Century
Report's Tables and Appendices
A Research Report to the Pennsylvania State Board of Education
with Lori R. Bowes, Mindy S. Marks, and Mark R. Plesko
July 15, 1998 (ERIC Number TM029186).

One Economist's Perspective on Taxing Electronic Commerce
Outline of Remarks before the
Institute for Professionals in Taxation
Annual Conference, Reno, Nevada
June 23, 1998

Is Senate Bill 2 True Local Tax Reform? or
Will Buffy (the Property Tax Slayer)
Slay You, Me, and the Pennsylvania Economy?
Speech before the Pennsylvania General Assembly March, 1998 Budget Breakfast
418 Main Capitol
March 31, 1998
(Revised April 21, 1998)

"A Primer on Changing Information Technology and the Fisc,"
National Tax Journal, 50, 3(September, 1997), 607-621.

"Administrative and Revenue Implications of Alternative Federal Consumption Taxes for the State and Local Sector," The American Journal of Tax Policy, 14, 2 (Fall, 1997), 361-452.

The Assessment of Residential Property in Allegheny County:
Report 2: : Sources of State Variation in Assessment Quality
A Report to the Allegheny Board of County Commissioners, October 15, 1995.

The Assessment of Residential Property in Allegheny County: Report 1: Sources and Quality of Data .
A Report to the Allegheny Board of County Commissioners, September 28, 1995.

Childern as Income Producing Assets: The Case of Teen Illegitimacy and Government Transfers with George R. G. Clarke
Southern Economic Journal , 64, 4, 827-856.

School Finance Reform: Moving from the Property Tax to the Income Tax Proceedings, Annual Conference of the National Tax Association: 1995

"Who Should Teach in Pennsylvania's Public Schools?"
Modeling Teacher Supply and Demand, Curricula, &
High School Seniors' Post-Secondary Plans"

"Taxation, Equity and Growth: Exploring the Trade-off Between
Shareholder Dividend Tax Relief and Higher Corporate Income Taxes,"
with Serge Nadeau, National Tax Journal , XLVI, 2 (June, 1993),
161-75. [PDF Landscape Format]

"Tax Policies and the Real and Financial Decisions of the Firm: The
Effects of the Tax Reform Act of 1986," with Serge Nadeau,
Public Finance Quarterly, 19, 3 July, 1991 , 251-292. [LANDSCAPE PDF]

"Overhauling the Federal Aid System:
Redesigning General Revenue Sharing and Counter-cyclical Aid Programs,"
National Tax Journal, 29, 3 (September, 1976), 341-55.