Republicans claims that government has been getting larger and larger in Pennsylvania and that Democrats want it to grow bigger still. They are wrong on both counts. Government in Pennsylvania is smaller than it has been in decades. And Democrats only seek to restore it to the size it averaged over the last 20 years. Continue reading
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
This week, Governor Tom Wolf announced that, through executive order, he would require Pennsylvania state workers under his jurisdiction and employees working on future state contracts to be paid at least $10.15 an hour. Prior to his action, these workers making the minimum wage, many of whom who are heads of household, were often not making enough money to live above the poverty line. None of them were making enough money to have what economists call a living wage — the wage rate required to meet minimum standards of living in a given area. In many places across the state, a living wage for workers with a family is well more than even the $10.15 an hour that this executive order raises wages to. You can see MIT’s calculations for living wage by family by Pennsylvania county and metro area here. We have a moral obligation to ensure those working… Continue reading
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
The Independent Fiscal Office’s projection that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania faces a $1.8 billion structural deficit for the fiscal year beginning July 1 is now beyond dispute. And we at the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center (PBPC) believe that there are only two ways forward. One path leads to a relatively small tax increase that closes the deficit and restore funding for education and human services. The other path leads to devastating cuts in education and human services. In response to that stark choice, Senator Corman has decided to change the subject by focusing on pension costs in his column in Pennlive. Senator Corman must know this is a complete fantasy. PBPC has analyzed various pension “reform” proposals over the years and we’ve shown not only do they barely reduce expenditure in the short term, they also don’t save much money in the long term. We’ve also demonstrated that pension… Continue reading
Originally published at Third and State, February 9, 2016 Pennsylvania is at a crossroads. We face a stark and profound choice between two different paths. The first path would build on the broad consensus about public policy that animated our politics for generations. That consensus, forged by both Democrats and Republicans, recognizes that without good public education, our kids won’t succeed and our economy will stall. It accepts responsibility for taking care of the disabled, ill and aged who, through no fault of their own, need our help. It seeks no more, but also no less, taxation and government necessary to attain these critical goods. And it places the tax burden on those who can afford it most, corporations and the wealthy. The other path, which abandons common sense and is contrary to the experience of most Pennsylvanians, tell us that government never works. It falsely proclaims that our schools… Continue reading
Originally published in the Allentown Morning Call, February 6, 2016 If we in Pennsylvania are to avoid another billion-dollar cut in education spending plus a billion-dollar cut in spending on health care and human services, the taxman is going to have to knock on someone’s door. It’s time the knock comes on the doors of corporations and the wealthy, not those of the middle class and working people. The state’s Independent Fiscal Office recently projected that if no changes were made to current policy and taxes, the state of Pennsylvania would run a deficit of $318 million during the current year. That deficit would rise to $1.8 billion or more in the fiscal year beginning July 1. And that is the deficit before any new spending. If Gov. Wolf and the General Assembly reach an agreement on education spending, but not on how to raise the revenue to pay for… Continue reading
Originally published in NewsWorks, February 5, 2016 In 1966, Senator George Aiken returned from a trip from Vietnam with the recommendation that the United States “declare victory and bring the troops home.” It wasn’t entirely clear that the U.S. had won the war at that point, but we also hadn’t yet lost the war (as we would after another eight years of suffering and death). It’s a very different context, but I’m inclined to give the General Assembly similar advice: Finish the work on the bipartisan budget, declare victory, and go home. Last year, an appropriations bill that implements the bipartisan budget framework, SB1073, passed the Senate by an overwhelming vote of 43-7. It was one roll call vote short of passing the House in December, having already been approved by a narrow, yet bipartisan, majority on second reading. The General Assembly should return to that bipartisan approach now and then… Continue reading
This Reports and Briefing Papers compares the three budget propasls comimng out of Harrisburg: Governor Wolf’s budget proposal, the Republican budget, and the bi-partisan budget. The report focuses especially on the differences and similarities among these three budgets with respect to proposed General Fund spending as a share of the state economy and spending on two key components of the budget, Pre-K-12 education funding and human services funding. Click here to print or read full screen. Continue reading
Originally published in the York Daily Record, January 13, 2016 It’s always funny and sometimes sad when national entertainment trends filter down to our local communities. The rapper or metal band in our community may have picked up some of the moves and rhythms of the big stars, but they seem to be pale imitations at our local venues. That’s how Rep. Seth Grove’s diatribe against Governor Tom Wolf comes across. Grove wants to sound like one of the agitated and aggrieved conservative radio stars or Republican presidential candidates (who are hard to tell apart these days). Like them, he seeks to shock us and motivate his followers with personal attacks. Like them, he seeks to create a rhetorical whirlwind that hides inconvenient facts. But his performance seems off-key here in Pennsylvania. (And, to his credit, he doesn’t seem entirely comfortable with it, either.) Gov. Tom Wolf is not some distant, high-handed… Continue reading