Category: Politics

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Diverse Coalition of Organizations Launch “PA’s Choice” Budget Campaign

  By John Neurohr, PA Budget and Policy Center, Political Organizing, Press release

A diverse coalition of groups from across the state, including education advocates, community service organizations, faith-based groups, environmental groups and labor organizations launched the “Pennsylvania’s Choice” campaign today to bring attention to the devastating consequences of budget cuts across the commonwealth and to advocate for a Pennsylvania budget that best serves the people. If Pennsylvania continues to enact unbalanced state budgets, the commonwealth will run a deficit that grows every year. Without new tax revenues, Pennsylvania will not be able to maintain the needed funding for education, human services, the environment, or community and economic development. “Pennsylvania’s Choice” partners will be organizing in areas across the state, bringing together community members to make clear to elected officials that, if the state cannot secure new revenues, these communities will face devastating cutbacks to programs in these and other areas that are critical to Pennsylvanians every single day. Utilizing earned media events,… Continue reading

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#Namethecuts

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Budget

Originally published at Third and State, April 4, 2016 It appears that some elements in the Republican Party of Pennsylvania have one and only one goal – to not raise taxes. It doesn’t matter if spending in our classrooms, and especially in the classrooms in our lowest income communities, have not recovered from the Corbett cuts of 2011-12; they won’t raise taxes. It doesn’t matter if waiting lists for mental health and intellectual disability services grow; they won’t raise taxes. It doesn’t matter if tuition keeps rising for our colleges and universities. It doesn’t matter if the budget is “balanced” with smoke and mirrors; they won’t raise taxes. It doesn’t matter if the ratings agencies can see through the smoke and mirrors and plan to downgrade our credit again; they won’t raise taxes. And now that all the special funds have been raided, all the bills have been put off… Continue reading

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The Responsibility for Trump

  By Politics, US

Even today 20% of American believe Obama was born outside the US and 29% of them believe he is a Muslim. (43% of Republicans believe he is a Muslim.) And my Republican / conservative friends, most of whom are reasonable and moderate, if conservative, people, still want to insist that opposition to Obama is just to the policies he puts forward and not the result of bigotry. I’ve got one thing to say to you: If you would have stood up and beat this back when you had a chance, instead of taking advantage of it, you would not be dealing with Trump’s imminent takeover of your party and the electoral devastation that is going to follow in November. And I predicted all of this, by the way. I told you that you would regret being quiet or, even worse, putting up all those stupid memes that echoed talking points… Continue reading

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Thoughts on March 15

  By 2016 Presidential race

It’s Over With Hillary’s victories in at least four and most likely five of the primaries today, she has effectively won the Democratic nomination for president. Barring a collapse of unprecedented proportions, which could only come about because of some major unexpected event, her pledged delegate lead of 300 is insurmountable. Like Clinton did eight years ago, Sanders will win some caucuses and primaries between now and Pennsylvania. But he’s totally unlikely to win by large enough majorities to overcome or even get that close to Clinton’s pledged delegate lead. And if he can’t do that, he won’t convince many super-delegates to switch to him. It’s over. Sander’s Impact on Our Politics Sanders’s campaign has had a major impact on this race and will have a major impact on the Democratic Party in the future. He’s brought the issue of inequality to the fore in a way that is now… Continue reading

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Wolf, Legislators, and School Advocates Must Stand Together for PA Education

  By Education, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Budget

Originally published at Newworks, March 16, 2016 We are heading into a critical time in the seemingly endless Pennsylvania budget crisis. This is the moment when Pennsylvanians must stand strong for a budget that is not only done but done right. And that means a budget that finally, after years of deep cuts and shallow restorations, begins to fund education at levels that meet the needs of our children. Many of us want to attain that aim. But to know how to get there, we have to understand the forces, inside and outside the Capitol Building, that oppose us. They would rather see devastating cuts to education rather than increase taxes. Education advocates vs. extremist forces Some of those who take this view believe, falsely, that much education spending is useless and wasteful. They don’t grasp, as most Pennsylvanians do, that the money we spend on education is vital not only… Continue reading

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Silver is a Big Loser Which Means Sanders Wins Bigger

  By 2016 Presidential race

The big loser is Nate Silver (and other pollsters). Silver is they guy who kept saying that Trump would collapse and gave Hillary a 99% chance of winning Michigan. That he is the big loser means that Sanders win is Michigan becomes far more important. Sanders supporters have been claiming, wrongly, that the mainstream media is biased against him. It isn’t. But the media has long believed, on the basis of the initial contests and polls, that Sanders had no chance of winning the nomination and assumed, not unreasonably, that he is too far to the left to do so. And Sanders reinforced that notion by calling for a political revolution. If you say you can only win with a political revolution, you better start showing people that you can make one. Losing the base of the Democratic Party, Blacks, by huge margins while failing to cut far into the… Continue reading

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The Trouble with Donald

  By 2016 Presidential race

The Republican establishment is still so upper-class WASP. They’ve been happy to run on racism and sexism and militarism for years. But they insisted on being polite about it, using the appropriate code words and deniable symbols like Willie Horton. Their problem with Trump is not his racism and sexism and militarism. It’s his vulgarity and bad manners. He doesn’t know which fork and knife to use when he’s skewering Black people to secure the votes of white working people for the corporate elite. Continue reading

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How Low Will They Go?

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

Originally published Third and State Blog, March 4, 2016 The majority of Pennsylvanians believe that every child in Pennsylvania deserves a high quality education. We believe that the best education for everyone is central to creating economic opportunity for individuals. And we believe that economic growth is only possible with a highly educated work force. And we know both of these aims can only be attained if we provide adequate and equitable funding to each of our schools. So when legislators or advocates on the right challenge the demand for adequate and equatibale funding we sometimes find it hard to understand what they want. How little funding are they prepared to give students in poor communities Pennsylvania before they will say it’s too low? How low will they go? A recent op-ed by the Commonwealth Foundation gives us the beginning of an answer. And it’s extremely disturbing. To judge by… Continue reading

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The (Right) Choice We Made

  By Politics, Progressive Politics

What many of Bernie’s supporters don’t understand about our politics is that there are other forms of oppression besides economic inequality and that fighting for civil rights, women’s rights, and the rights of the LGBT community is the main reason that Democrats lost control of Congress, and that it is the loss of control of Congress, far more than corporate influence on Democrats, that is responsible for the inability of the US to reduce economic inequality. I wouldn’t trade the Civil Right Acts or Roe or Obergefell for a $15.00 minimum wage today. And, that’s exactly the deal Democrats of my father’s generation and my own made. History will look back and say we were right to do so. And Bernie is right that economic inequality is a core issue we must focus on today (even if it is isn’t the only one.) Continue reading