PA Governor Challenges Call for Budget Cuts

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, who will leave office this fall after elections upon being term limited, launched into the Republican candidate for governor, Tom Corbett, about the latest call for budget cuts to eliminate the multi-billion dollar budget deficit.

“When you hear the political candidates — both Democrats and Republicans — say, ‘We don’t have to raise taxes. We can do it by cutting the budget,’ there’s no way they can do it by cutting the budget,” Rendell said."

Of course you can eliminate the deficit by cutting spending Ed. You have just been unwilling to do it because budget cuts would directly affect the non-tax-paying class of citizens that originally voted you into state office 8 years ago.

Governor Rendell challenged the Republican candidates to specifically mention what items would be reduced or eliminated in the state budget.

“One of the things I think the media should do is, when someone says that, say, ‘Where? Tell us where you’re going to cut and what the consequences of that should be. If you’re going to cut the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources 20 percent, what parks are you going to close? The citizen have the right to know. What museums and what scenic outposts are you going to close?’”

That's a fair question. Candidates for office that are proposing to reduce spending as a means of addressing budget deficits should be prepared to discuss where and to what extent items already within the budget would be cut.

But with all the fat that's built up in these budgets over the past couple of decades, that should not be a difficult challenge at all.

Pennsylvania Considers Tax Hikes

An article by the AP on PhillyBurgs.com posits that, although no consensus has emerged just yet, the Pennsylvania legislature will have to consider tax hikes in the coming year.

"At that point, a newly elected governor and Legislature may be willing to raise taxes, since they'll have a longer lead time before the next election. They may have no choice, especially after draining reserves and cutting spending to wipe out a multibillion-dollar shortfall last year."

The current problem, however, seems to be that the state and Governor have spent taxpayer money (and federal grants) as if the good times would never end.

"...he proposed pooling money from several new sources to help meet a projected $5.6 billion gap in 2011 and 2012 resulting from spiraling public pension costs and the expiration of federal stimulus budget aid."

To fix the looming, self-created budget issues, of course the best an unimaginative politician, accustomed to dishing out favors at taxpayer expense, could to do is to attempt to raise taxes.

"Rendell would lower the rate to 4 percent from 6 percent, but would eliminate exemptions _ an idea that some call a tax increase _ on transactions on 74 different goods and services, including lawyers' fees, electric bills and personal hygiene products."

With Governor Rendell leaving office within the year, Pennsylvanians would do well to install a new governor that believes in scouring budget items to bring spending in-line with current economic reality, and one that opposes new taxes.