Month: April 2016

No comments

How to Play the “Hillary is a Republican” Game

  By 2016 Presidential race

Here is how the “Hillary is a Republican” game is played and why it so absurd. (h/t Nick Alpers whose post got me started and from which I borrowed much of Step One.) Step one: Ignore all the ways that Hillary Clinton breaks with proposals that almost all Republicans support but that are anathema to Democrats: repealing Dodd-Frank; repealing the ACA; block granting Medicaid; turning Medicare into a voucher program; cutting food stamps by 60% and instituting a work requirement to get them; overturning Roe, banning abortion and opposing women’s rights across the board; destroying unions and all workers’ rights; freezing or even eliminating the federal minimum wage; privatizing social security; denying the reality of global warming and opposing cap and trade, a carbon tax, and President Obama’s clean energy plan, instituting Voter ID; reversing pretty much all civil rights legislation; overturning Obergefell and eliminating all protection for the the… Continue reading

No comments

Those Feeling the Brunt of the Soda Tax Will Also Feel Benefits

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, Philadelphia, Published Op-Eds, Sugary Drink Tax

Originally published as Those feeling brunt of soda tax will also feel benefits, Philadelphia Daily News, April 19, 2016 THE SUGARY-DRINK tax proposed by Mayor Kenney, also known as the “soda tax,” is controversial because it takes a greater share of the income from poor families than rich ones. And since we at the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center are fundamentally committed to economic justice, we are always inclined to be suspicious of taxes that do that. So it may come as a surprise that we have concluded, overall, that the sugary-drink tax proposed by the mayor is a good idea. Though the costs fall more heavily on those with low incomes, for two reasons, more of the benefit of the tax will go to low-income Philadelphians, as well. The first benefit of the tax flows from how the new revenue will be spent – on pre-K education, community schools, and… Continue reading

No comments

Who Benefits from the Philadelphia Soda Tax?

  By Sugary Drink Tax

The tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) proposed by Mayor Kenney, also known as the “soda tax,” is controversial mainly because, like other sales taxes, it takes a greater share of the income of poor families than rich ones. However, while the costs of the soda tax fall more heavily on those with low incomes, more of the benefit of the tax will go to low-income Philadelphians. This report examines those benefits. Click here to read full-screen or print.  Continue reading

No comments

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

No comments

#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