This page was last updated on March 27, 2011.
The next time, let’s sweep them all out; Tony Mignanelli; Beaver County Times; March 27, 2011.
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“What in the world is our governor thinking? Our legislators get pay raises and then jobs are cut in the state stores and funding is cut to the schools.
“Gov. Tom Corbett said he wouldn’t raise taxes but now higher taxes are needed because state government is broke. By cutting funding to the schools, some teachers are going to be furloughed, and kindergarten hours will be shortened. An education is like building a home. If the foundation isn’t strong, the building being constructed will not stand firmly.”
[RWC] When did we ever tax our way out of budget deficits? Budget deficits result from excessive spending, not insufficient revenue. Lower economic activity can also be a factor. As I wrote during last year’s budget process, “The 2002-2003 budget was $20.7 billion and the proposed 2010-2011 budget is $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.”
For my comments regarding education funding, please read my critique of “Corbett’s priorities make no sense” (Don Skinner, 3/13/11).
“Corbett promised to eliminate state cars for legislators. Why stop there when talking about getting rid of the pork in Harrisburg? Maybe we could eliminate some state employees, too. Of course, that would make the unemployment rate higher than it already is in Pennsylvania.”
[RWC] I always supported downsizing the General Assembly and still do, but even if we could reduce its cost to zero (and we can’t) we’re talking about only 1.1% of the General Fund budget. While that’s about $295 million and is a lot of money, it’s only about 7% of our pre-budget $4.1 billion deficit. While just about every aspect of government spending needs to be cut, the really big-ticket items need the most attention. That brings us to education and health & human services funding. Even in the proposed budget, General Fund spending on education is 38.9% of the total. Health & human services is in first place with 43.5% of the total. Simple addition (82.4%) tells us no other category even comes close to these two. “Protection of Persons and Property” comes in a distant third at only 11.2%.
There hasn’t been a raise in Social Security for several years, but government employees get raises every year. Our taxes, gasoline and food get more expensive daily, but people on fixed incomes must pay the same as everyone else.
“Our politicians promise so many things to get elected, but after the elections they forget. Our only recourse is to take a broom and sweep them out of office and start all over again.”
[RWC] So far, what did Mr. Corbett promise “to get elected” that he forgot? Mr. Corbett promised no tax rate increases and no new taxes and his budget includes neither. No friend of Mr. Corbett, even the Times ran a story entitled “Corbett budget totals $27.3 billion, no new taxes.” Therefore, if his budget passes as it now exists, no one will have a tax hike. Of course, it’s possible Mr. Mignanelli will blame Mr. Corbett for local governments that choose not to cut spending.
© 2004-2011 Robert W. Cox, all rights reserved.