In Truth, The PA Budget Is Still Not Done

By Marc Stier October 27, 2017 January 10, 2024 Budget, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Pennsylvania Budget

A quick take If the governor signs the tax and fiscal code bills passed this week, or allows them to become law, a funding plan for the Pennsylvania Budget for 2017-2018 that technically allows for a balanced budget will be complete. But the work of the General Assembly is not finished because this funding plan not only fails to address the long-term budget problems faced by the state, it deepens those problems. The result will be that the fiscal year beginning in July 2018 will be in deficit and that, unless the state changes direction, those deficits will no doubt increase in subsequent years. (Click the title for more) A genuine bi-partisan effort on the part of the governor, a majority of the Pennsylvania Senate, and what appears to be a majority of the Pennsylvania House sought to enact a shale tax, that is a severance tax on natural gas… Continue reading

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By Marc Stier October 19, 2017 January 10, 2024 PA Budget and Policy Center, Pennsylvania Budget, Statements

Marc Stier, director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, released the following statement on the decision by the House to cancel session days on October 23, 24, and 25: “We at the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center generally don’t comment on when the House chooses to be in session. But the decision by Speaker Mike Turzai and Majority Leader Dave Reed to cancel voting sessions next week—on October 23, 24, and 25—and to do so the day after the House Finance Committee approved a shale tax bill on a bi-partisan basis reeks of both chicanery and desperation. “For weeks, Democratic and Republican legislators in the House have been working together to devise a shale tax bill that could win bipartisan support in the House. They have been supported by a rapidly expanding group of activists who have sent thousands of letters, made thousands of phone calls, and have recently… Continue reading

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On the State House Revenue Plan

By Marc Stier October 18, 2017 January 11, 2024 PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Pennsylvania Budget, Statements

Update noon, October 18: There is talk around the Capitol that a shale tax will come out of the House Finance Committee today and coming to a vote on the House floor later this week. This legislation must be part of the budget this year. It is the difference between a budget that takes a step forward to address our long-term budget problems and one that makes those problems worse. Marc Stier, director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, released the following statement on the revenue plan passed by the Pennsylvania House of Representative last night: “The tax code bill passed by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives last night is a white flag raised by the leaders of both parties, who are evidently willing to surrender to another year of make-believe budgeting rather than fight for a solution to the state’s persistent budget shortfalls. “A shale tax, which would… Continue reading

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It had to be us

By Marc Stier October 17, 2017 October 17, 2023 Feminism, Love and Sex, Sexual and gender equality

Stop and think about it for minute: Every woman I know has said “me, too” in the last few days. In fact, it appears that every woman on FB has said, “me, too.” That’s a lot of awful treatment of millions of women. And it was not all done by Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Donald Trump, and three or four other guys. Most of us men have to be responsible for some part of it. Who else is there? Some of us may have only engaged in or tolerated the repulsive, slut-shaming that was common place when I was in college. Some of us may have asked for sex in ways that were unfair or pressured. (My book on sexuality got its start my junior year in college when I recognized that the sexual revolution gave men seeking unattached sex a new way to badger women into having sex that… Continue reading

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The Soda Tax is Working

By Marc Stier October 17, 2017 July 4, 2022 PA Budget and Policy Center, Sugary Drink Tax, Testimony

Testimony on the Philadelphia Beverage TaxSenate Local Government CommitteeScott Wagner, ChairOctober 17, 2017 Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, My name is Marc Stier. I’m the director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center. PBPC is an organization that works for broadly shared prosperity in the Commonwealth by means of research, advocacy, and organizing on public policy issues. Why we supported the Philly Beverage Tax We had intense discussion among our staff members about how to view the beverage tax. We typically oppose taxes that are narrowly focused or that fall more heavily on those with low incomes than those with high incomes. While we believe that the benefits of the programs funded by the tax—in particular, pre-k education and rebuilding community centers and playgrounds—also particularly benefit those with low incomes in the city, that was not enough for us to support it. Other taxes could be… Continue reading

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STATEMENT: On the Governor’s Plan to Securitize PLCB Profits

By Marc Stier October 4, 2017 January 11, 2024 Pennsylvania Budget

Marc Stier, director of the PA Budget and Policy Center, made the following statement after the release of the governor’s plan to securitize PLCB profits. “As he recognizes, Governor Wolf’s plan to borrow $1.2 billion on the basis of Liquor Control Board profitsis not an ideal or complete solution to the state budget crisis. It is a step made necessary by a General Assembly unwilling to meet its responsibility to pass a budget. “As we have pointed out before, it is not ideal for the state to borrow to pay for operating expenses. And this plan does not provide all the funds the state needs this year or in the future. “The plan will not provide funding to enable the state to continue to support Penn State, the University of Pittsburgh, Temple University, or Lincoln University or for the University of Pennsylvania’s Veterinary School or for Penn State’s agricultural extension… Continue reading

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GOP-Trump Tax Plan: A Windfall for Top 1% of Pennsylvania, a Tax Increase for Many Middle-Class Pennsylvanians

By Marc Stier October 4, 2017 October 11, 2017 Federal Taxes, Pennsylvania, Taxation, Uncategorized

A 50-state analysis of the GOP tax framework reveals that in Pennsylvania, the top 1 percent of taxpayers would receive a substantial tax cut worth $67,970 while many upper-middle-class Pennsylvanians would face a tax increase. This plan is bad for Pennsylvania and our country. At a time when incomes are rising for the very rich and relatively stagnant for everyone else, a plan that lavishes tax breaks on the top 1 percent, and pays for it in part by taxing others, should not be the starting point of our tax reform debate. The Washington-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy released the 50-state numbers today. While GOP leaders have pitched the plan as a tax cut for the middle class, the analysis shows that this is not true for the nation as a whole or for Pennsylvania. While most Pennsylvanians would receive a modest tax cut, on average that cut… Continue reading