This page was last updated on February 11, 2010.
Recipe for disaster; Editorial; Beaver County Times; February 11, 2010.
If you sensed the Times is treating a $734 million tax increase (plus yesterday’s tax increase proposal) more favorably than “even deeper cuts than were made in this year’s much-delayed budget,” you were paying attention. Since at least 2004, Times editorials told us our taxes aren’t high and implied we’re selfish for not wanting tax increases. The only exception I recall is when it comes to so-called business taxes that may directly affect Times operations. Since Times editorials support just about every spending proposal that comes down the pike, it can’t look favorably on spending cuts.
As for the so-called “deep cuts,” not exactly. The 2009-2010 budget of $29.1 billion is about $800 million higher than the 2008-2009 budget and approximately $8 billion higher than when Mr. Rendell took office. If there were no additional spending except for inflation, the 2009-2010 budget would be “only” about $25 billion. Keep in mind lefties treat slower than “normal” spending increases as “deep cuts,” “draconian cuts,” et cetera.
As for Mr. Rendell’s sales tax proposal, I oppose it. I can pretty much guarantee that within a few years -- after the additional taxable items are added -- the tax rate would eventually bump back up to 6%.
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