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Marc Stier: We Need a Budget for All Pennsylvanians

  By Budget, PBPC Blog posts, Pennsylvania Budget, Published op-eds

Originally published at the TribLive.com on July 6, 2022. The last few weeks of public debate in Harrisburg have been deeply revealing of the different approaches of the two parties. One of those parties has been trying to bring people in our state together. The other has been trying to divide us. One party has seriously addressed real issues we all care about. The other has been making issues up so they can turn Pennsylvanian against Pennsylvanian. All Pennsylvanians share some common interests; no matter where we live in the state, what we look like, how rich or poor we are, or what work we do, we want jobs to be created and wages to grow. We want to be able to afford the necessities of life — food, clothing, shelter, health care and transportation to get to work, do errands, and see family and friends. Our well-being doesn’t just… Continue reading

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STATEMENT: We The People – PA on the State Budget Negotiations

  By Budget, PA Budget and Policy Center, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Budget

It appears that state budget negotiations are continuing and we may have some announcement of a budget deal in the next day or so. We The People – PA will release another short statement when we have some details. But today we want to comment on the last few weeks of public debate in Harrisburg because it’s deeply revealing of the different approaches of the two parties. One of those parties has been trying to bring people in our state together. The other has been trying to divide us. One party has seriously addressed real issues we all care about. The other has been making issues up so they can turn Pennsylvanian against Pennsylvanian. All Pennsylvanians share some common interests; no matter where we live in the state, what we look like, how rich or poor we are, or what work we do, we want jobs to be created and… Continue reading

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The Fourth of July and Frederick Douglas

  By Philosophy, Racial Justice, White Supremacy and Structural Racism

I’ve re-read and posted Frederick Douglas’ essay, What To The Slave is the Fourth of July, every year for the last seven or eight years reasons I explain below. It’s one of the most important pieces of political writing by any American. It’s never been more important as a reminder of the original sin of our country, racism. But this year, I’m sad to say that it’s also never been more questionable because the end of Douglas’s piece is a paean to the ideals of the Enlightenment and their power to overcome the darkness of racism and bigotry. That power is fading before us. We need to do everything we can to restore it, before it is too late. I’m going to leave the rest of what I usually write about the text here, even though I’m far less confident than I’ve ever been that we can live up to… Continue reading

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Meeting another Wild Thing Trumpet Player

  By Trumpet playing

A few weeks ago I was in New Orleans hanging out listening to Marty Peters and the Party meters at the Spotted Cat. It was busy and it wasn’t easy at first to see all of the band. Then I heard the trumpet player, who I learned was Jeff Kreis, take a solo which was really wonderful…inventive and swinging. And the sounds  was great–lovely broad, resonant sound with a lot of color. Then I thought, it sounds really familiar. So I started craning around others to see the player and the horn. Even at a distance and angle, looking at the bell flair and shape I was pretty sure it was Wild Thing. And so it was. I chatted for a bit with Jeff Kreis during a break and we talked about the trumpet which of course he loves. You might think that a Wild Thing is the optimal horn… Continue reading

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My New Practice Mute

  By Trumpet playing

My new practice mute at my Harrisburg house. With Olds Ambassador cornet. I got it so I could practice quietly late in a row home. To my surprise though, it has a nice sound and feel reminiscent of a Harmon mute (which is the one Miles used for most of his career.) So it’s a good way to practice technique with a Harmon, that is, getting a variety of sounds out of it depending on volume and attack. (And it is that variety you can get with it is the reason, I believe that Miles and Roy Eldridge both used it.) I always wondered why trumpet players look so serious when they play. And then look at me. It really does take concentration! Update on my playing: Ihaven’t given updates on my trumpet recently because, sadly, the combination of too much work and my shoulder and back problems cut down… Continue reading

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Tax Relief for Working Poor Pennsylvanians in the Next Budget

  By Pennsylvania, Poverty, Public Policy, Statements, Taxation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:   June 30, 2022 Contact: Kirstin Snow, snow@pennbpc.org To: Members and staff of the General Assembly, editorial board members, and political writers From: Marc Stier, Director and Diana Polson, Senior Policy Analyst, PA Budget and Policy Center Re: Tax Relief for Working Poor Pennsylvanians in the Next Budget Some discussions about providing tax relief for low-income working Pennsylvanians appear to be part of the current budget negotiations. We want to strongly encourage the General Assembly to take such action by instituting a state version of the federal earned income tax credit. This is especially imperative if the General Assembly is likely to cut corporate tax cuts now. If there are funds to cut taxes for many of the richest Pennsylvanians, there should be funds to cut taxes for low-income, working Pennsylvanians. As we have extensively demonstrated, the PA tax system is unfair, with low-income families paying state… Continue reading

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New PBPC Poll on Taxing Corporations and the Ultra-Rich and the Minimum Wage

  By Corporate Taxes, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Taxes, Polling

PBPC commissioned Data for Progress to do a poll of likely voters on a limited number of issues that are at play in the current budget negotiations. The polling memo is below. Three things to note. First, there is overwhelming support (73%) for putting the minimum wage on a path to $15 per hour over four years and thereafter having a yearly cost of living increase (77%). Second, there is overwhelming opposition to cutting corporate taxes. Seventy percent of voters prefer tax increases for billionaires and corporations; only 25% want to see them cut. More than 78% of likely voters want to see the Delaware loophole closed so that multinational corporations can no longer hide their Pennsylvania profits from our Corporate Net Income Tax. And when asked whether some of the $12 billion accumulated state surplus should be devoted to cutting taxes on corporations and the wealthy, only 2% said… Continue reading

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Remembering my Teacher Jeremy Zwelling

  By People Who Made A Difference

 I was very sorry to hear of the recent death of one my teachers, Jeremy Zwellng. I took a great books course with him my first semester at Wesleyan. He was a rigorous teacher who also had tremendous rapport with the small class of students he lead in intense discussions. At the same time he was charming and truly humorous. He had a big laugh. He was a keen critic of our papers and the comments he gave me (and a couple of early Cs), taught me to work harder, think more deeply, pay closer attention to the texts, and write more clearly. (To this day I have some memory of papers I wrote for him and of how much I struggled to go deeper when re-writing them for him.) Most importantly, he taught great books not as pieces of history but as brilliant literature from which we might be… Continue reading

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Our rights and democracy are at stake

  By Democracy

The threat of SCOTUS approving the the independent state legislature doctrine is so great that it is absolutely imperative that the filibuster be overturned and federal law protecting our elections be passed NOW! (And of course we have to end the filibuster to embed Roe in federal law, too.) If we wait and Democrats lose the majority in the House and Senate, the 2024 election will be over before it begins. Republican state legislators, including possibly in Pennsylvania, will choose the electors. Our rights and our democracy are at stake. Continue reading

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Make a PA Earned Income Tax Credit Part of the Budget

  By Inequality, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Pennsylvania State Taxes, Taxation

To: Members and staff of the General Assembly, editorial board members, and political writers From: Marc Stier, Director and Diana Polson, Senior Policy Analyst, PA Budget and Policy Center Re: Tax Relief for Working Poor Pennsylvanians in the Next Budget Date: June 29, 2022 Some discussions about providing tax relief for low-income working Pennsylvanians appear to be a part of the current budget negotiations. We want to strongly encourage the General Assembly to take such action by instituting a state version of the federal earned income tax credit. This is especially imperative if the General Assembly is likely to cut corporate tax cuts now. If there are funds to cut taxes for many of the richest Pennsylvanians, there should be funds to cut taxes for low-income working Pennsylvanians. As we have extensively demonstrated, the PA tax system is unfair, with low-income families paying state and local taxes at twice the… Continue reading