BCT Editorial – 4/2/08

This page was last updated on April 2, 2008.

A bad climate; Editorial; Beaver County Times; April 2, 2008.

The editorial subtitle is “Important projects go without funding because of state’s political environment.”

I’ll focus on a few comments.

The editorial states, “Politicians should not be borrowing from tomorrow to pay for these projects.” I agree 100%.

Then we read, “However, the problem in Pennsylvania is that the politicians in Harrisburg also don’t want to fund today’s much-needed projects today. They refuse to raise taxes to pay for important economic development and infrastructure projects, and they also balk at cutting spending in other areas to underwrite these efforts. The end result is a political stalemate. Meanwhile, our roads and bridges continue to decline, our water and sewerage systems continue to age and worthwhile economic development projects go unfunded or underfunded.”

First, the government has no business getting into so-called “economic development” projects. This amounts to turning taxpayers into venture capitalists and is merely a tool for politicians to garner more power via our tax dollars. “Economic development” project is doubletalk for bribing businesses to set up shop where they would not if they were spending their own money. If we didn’t have a screwed up economic environment, there would be no perceived need for these bribes.

Second, what business does the commonwealth have to do with “water and sewerage systems?” These are the responsibility of local communities.

Third, let’s remember the Times idea of “important … infrastructure projects” includes building a light-rail system from Oakland to Pittsburgh International Airport.

Fourth, the comment about politicians balking at cutting other spending is a joke. Despite our overall tax rate being near its historical high, Times editorials constantly tell us our taxes are OK and we’re wrong to balk at paying even more.