This page was last updated on March 14, 2011.
Governments must plan realistically; Rebecca Deiter; Beaver County Times; March 13, 2011.
In previous letters, Mrs. Deiter told us Obamacare will be a good deal, “History will prove Obama’s worth,” claimed she was barraged by “negative untrue attacks about Barack Obama” via e-mail, defended ACORN, and lobbied for a severance tax on Marcellus shale natural gas. In another letter, Mrs. Deiter and her husband supported a charter school (“Charter school deserves a chance”, 1/6/10).
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“Teachers, county, state and federal workers need to be mindful of what’s happening in Wisconsin.
“Republican Gov. Scott Walker sought to eliminate the collective bargaining rights of public workers, to reduce the state contribution to Wisconsin schools to the tune of $500 per pupil and to lay-off 1,500 state workers if his proposals were not passed into law.”
[RWC] It’s a minor point so I can understand why Mrs. Deiter failed to mention it, but GOV. WALKER INHERITED A $3.6 BILLION BUDGET DEFICIT!
“There is no doubt that there needs to be an immediate correction and long-term corrective action regarding past practices with respect to the automatic allocations of public money to the unions and local governments.
“States can’t continue to absorb the increases every year, the underfunded pensions of the future and some of the unwarranted perks of retirement.
“The issue here is that other than cuts, this governor offers no plan for moving forward in a positive manner.”
[RWC] From here on I believe Mrs. Deiter is referring to Pennsylvania and Gov. Tom Corbett. Again it’s a minor point so I can understand why Mrs. Deiter failed to mention it, but GOV. CORBETT INHERITED A $4.1 BILLION BUDGET DEFICIT!
“Prudent government requires a defined process that details requirements for cost containment and reduction designed for implementation and oversight. It must be required of every local government, every school district and every public department.”
[RWC] Given her letter-writing body of work, forgive my skepticism of Mrs. Deiter’s apparently new-found desire for “a defined process that details requirements for cost containment and reduction designed for implementation and oversight [by] … every local government, every school district and every public department.”
“It’s no longer good enough to publish a budget without planning for the future realistically. The components of responsible financial budgeting and planning must be Pennsylvania’s first order of business.”
[RWC] Given her letter-writing body of work, by “responsible financial budgeting and planning” I believe Mrs. Deiter really means increase spending and any taxes (probably except on her) to fund the spending. As far as I can tell, Mrs. Deiter didn’t express concern for “responsible financial budgeting and planning” during the Rendell administration.
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