Category: Pennsylvania

No comments

What the Infrastructure Bill Does for Pennsylvania

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

Under the formulas contained in the bill, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will bring $17.8 billion in new spending to Pennsylvania or over $1,400 for each resident of the state. (The state will be able to apply for additional funds as well that could bring the total of spending in Pennsylvania up to $50 billion.) Funds will be allocated roughly as follows: Roads and bridges. Based on the formula alone, Pennsylvania will receive $11.3 billion for federal-aid apportioned highway programs and $1.6 billion for bridge replacement and repairs. Pennsylvania can also compete for funds under the $12.5-billion Bridge Investment Program for economically significant bridges as well as for the $16 billion dedicated for major projects that will deliver substantial economic benefits to communities. These funds are critical. Our state has 3,353 bridges and more than 7,540 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by… Continue reading

No comments

PA Republican Logic: Reject The Needs of Pennsylvanians and Democracy As Well

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

Flush with $10 billion in $7.3 billion in federal funds and a $3-billion, current-year surplus—all of which comes from our taxes—the Republican majority enacted a budget that neither provides much relief from the pandemic nor includes public investments to reduce our state’s glaring economic and racial inequity. And while ignoring those problems, the Republican majority passed legislation to make voting more difficult. The inaction on the budget and the actions taken to make it harder for people to vote are connected. An overwhelming majority of the public, including a substantial number of Republicans, want American Rescue Plan funds to be invested in the people of Pennsylvania. There are many opportunities for such investment: One-tenth of the funds available this year could have been used to fund Governor Wolf’s bold $1.3-billion proposal to take a major step toward reducing our worst-in-the-nation inequality in K-12 school funding. (The $300 million in new education… Continue reading

No comments

On Juneteenth: White Supremacy Survives in Pennsylvania

  By Pennsylvania, White Supremacy and Structural Racism

Juneteenth, the newest federal holiday, is a day to remember. It’s a day to remember the end of slavery in the United States. It’s a day to remember the stain of the enslavement of Black people in the United States. And it should also be a day to remember that we haven’t overcome the white supremacy that was an integral part of slavery; that was maintained by segregation, the terror of lynchings, and the all too frequent destruction of middle-class Black communities; and that is found in too many of our public policies. Pennsylvania officially recognized Juneteenth in 2019, proclaiming it a state holiday, but those anti-Black policies continue in Harrisburg today. Here are three examples: First: The Federal CARES Act gave states funds to provide emergency rental assistance. Our recent report shows that counties with a higher percentage of Black people were severely shortchanged in the distribution of those… Continue reading

No comments

The Trouble with TABOR

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

UPDATED April 12: The Republican leadership of the House of Representative is poised to bring a dangerous  constitutional amendment, the so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), HB71 tomorrow, April 13, 2022. This amendment, which has been championed in states all over the country by the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council, would limit the growth in PA General Fund spending to the previous year’s level adjusted for the sum of (1) the average percentage change in the U.S. Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers (CPI-U) over the preceding three calendar years plus (2) the average of the percentage change in the resident population for the preceding three calendar years. Adopting this constitutional amendment would be a terrible mistake for many reasons. General Fund spending has not been growing faster than TABOR rates. First, even if one believes that the growth in state spending should be restrained, it is unnecessary. Over… Continue reading

No comments

Pa. is in the throes of a COVID-19 recession. Wolf, lawmakers need to step up for working families

  By COVID-19, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Budget, Published op-eds

Originally published at the PA Capital-Star November 17, 2020 By Marc Stier No matter where we live, what we look like, whether we are native–born or immigrants, or whether we are struggling or getting by, the COVID-19 recession is a threat to all of us. We need the state government to do more for families and small businesses to meet that threat. Yet the recession will cost the state at least $3.3 billion in revenues—and perhaps more—over two years. Squaring this circle would be difficult at any time, but the General Assembly must act by Nov. 30 when the stop-gap budget enacted in May, covering about about half of the General Fund,  runs out. Democratic and Republican senators appear close to a compromise that avoids a budget impasse at this dangerous time even as it leaves many problems unresolved. Our understanding is that it would fund a full-year General Fund budget at the same level as in fiscal 2019-2020 with some adjustments… Continue reading

No comments

Why The Republicans In Harrisburg Won’t Fight COVID-19

  By COVID-19, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Pennsylvania

Originally published by KRC-PBPC here. COVID-19 cases are rising again across the country and in our state. Cases in Pennsylvania are averaging 1,552 per day in October, almost double the 787 average per day in September and above the 1,364 average per day in April. And, the best evidence we have is that it is not just due to expanded testing. We are testing an average of 15,514 in October, a bit more than in September (13,847 per day) and far more than April (5,996 per day). But the percentage of tests that are positive is also increasing from 7% in September to 9% in October, though far below the 23% found in April. Deaths from COVID-19 have only risen by a small amount in Pennsylvania. But while better treatments should keep us from the disastrous numbers of April, we know that the rise in deaths typically lag the rise… Continue reading

No comments

Why Pennsylvania Needs a State Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

  By Economic Justice, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State Taxes, Policy reports

By Diana Polson and Marc Stier Originally published by KRC-PBPC here. If one thing has become clear during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is that workers who do essential things like providing care for the sick, stocking shelves at grocery stores, and cleaning facilities to keep our buildings clean and safe are undervalued in our society. Despite their hard work, many Pennsylvanians earn such low wages that it remains difficult to pay for rent, food, childcare, transportation, and other necessities. We must raise wages and strengthen worker protections for low- and middle-income workers. In addition, there is another easy step Pennsylvania can take to support low-wage workers. That is a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which has been effective at reducing poverty in more than half the states across the country.  Continue reading