| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Politix |
| Rendell Tax Plans Would Kill Pennsylvania |
| 2009-09-10 |
| Despite a constitutional requirement that a budget be in place by June 30, the impasse remains, giving Pennsylvania the distinction of being the only state without a fiscal plan. After 67 days, why can't our elected officials figure out a solution? This rift between Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell and the Senate Republicans is as simple as is gets. One side truly cares about the welfare of Pennsylvania citizens, and the other cares about his legacy. The Senate, which happens to be the only Republican legislative body north of Virginia and east of Ohio, has done a stellar job of adhering to its Party principles by refusing to raise taxes. Period. Its leaders, including Sens. Dominic Pileggi, Joe Scarnati and Jane Orie, have stood stronger than most political analysts predicted, and continue to win the support of the people because of their convictions. These leaders have articulated the position that government, just like Pennsylvanian families, must tighten its belt, especially when times are tough. Of course some cuts are tough to swallow, but in large part, many spending programs should have never been passed in the first place. Over-bloated budgets, increased bureaucracy, and reckless spending all have to be reigned in, and that's exactly what the senate is doing. Its bottom line is that restoring fiscal sanity to Harrisburg must be the cornerstone of any budget deal. Most important, the Senate innately understands that you cannot tax your way out of a recession and into prosperity. It's that simple. And that idea, anathema to Ed Rendell, is why there is no budget deal. Mr. Rendell sees it differently. His vision is to further burden his constituents by increasing tax rates (he wants to raise the personal income tax by 16%), expand existing taxes (he has proposed widely expanding the scope of the sales tax), and enact new taxes (he had proposed high taxes on natural-gas extraction of what could be Pennsylvania's next booming industry -- the Marcellus shale fields). Oh, and he wants to increase revenue by allowing video poker and table games throughout the state. What Mr. Rendell doesn't get is that the way to increase revenue for state coffers is by creating a business-friendly state. Instead of trampling on the backs of already-weary Pennsylvanians, which only causes more flight of our best and brightest people and companies, he should be pushing to attract business and the high-paying jobs that come with it. But when a state has the reputation of having one of the worst business and legal climates in the country, the facts speak for themselves. Pennsylvania was once the leading industrial powerhouse in the country, a magnet for companies to locate here, and with them, the best and brightest workforce America had to offer. Our children were educated here, and actually stayed in Pennsylvania because of the jobs that were created by a booming economy. But now our biggest export is our children. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 the gov sounds like a Washington State (or Oregon) Politician, he should take a lesson |
| Posted by: 746 2009-09-10 12:45 |