This page was last updated on December 16, 2010.
Feeling our pain; Editorial; Beaver County Times; December 16, 2010.
The editorial speaks of “major spending reductions in the last two [Pennsylvania] budgets.” Keep in mind this comes from a leftist newspaper that supports just about every spending proposal that comes down the pike. Here’s what I wrote in my critique of “Do something:” “PA spending has outpaced inflation. The 2002-2003 budget was $20.7 billion and the proposed 2010-2011 budget was $29 billion. If spending increases had been limited to the increase of the CPI, the current budget would be about $25.1 billion, and instead of a $1 billion deficit we’d have either a $2.9 billion surplus or lower taxation, and lower taxation favors economic growth. In other words, without any tax increases we’d have more than enough to cover the ‘about $3.5 billion annually to fully fund the state’s transportation needs’ with nearly $2 billion left over to cut taxes.”
Should the GA get rid of its stash and cut its spending? Of course. The problem is, even if the GA worked for free, the resulting cost reduction would be a drop in the bucket. The Times picked this expense to complain about because it’s easy. When can we expect editorials advocating real spending cuts and providing details? I won’t hold my breath waiting.
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