Yes, Christopher Anthony, a top-notch, A-1 Persian rug will contain as many as one million knots in every three-square feet.
— William W. Lawrence Sr.
Day: July 27, 2017
Pennsylvania Republicans Twist Thumbscrews On Taxpayers
Pennsylvania Republicans Twist Thumbscrews On Taxpayers — The Republican-controlled Pennsylvania State Senate voted today to pass a tax increase that will see heating, air conditioning and use of communications become more expensive.
The vote was 26-24. Fourteen of the 34 Republicans in the 50 member body voted yes. The guilty ones were:
Sen. Pat Browne
Sen. Jake Corman
Sen. John Gordner
Sen. Tom Killion
Sen. Tom McGarrigle
Sen. Chuck McIlhinney
Sen. Bob Mensch
Sen. John Rafferty
Sen. Joe Scarnati
Sen. Mario Scavello
Sen. Tommy Tomlinson
Sen. Randy Vulakovich
Sen. Don White
Sen. Gene Yaw
What good are these people? What does party Chairman Val DiGirogio say?
Hey did you see where Pennsylvan taxpayers are on the hook for a $477,591 public pension?
Pennsylvania Republicans Twist Thumbscrews On Taxpayers
Jerry Oleksiak Ghost Teacher
Jerry Oleksiak Ghost Teacher — Last week, Governor Wolf once again put his ideology ahead of what is best for Pennsylvania when He nominated Jerry Oleksiak to be the new Labor Secretary. Mr. Oleksiak is the President of the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), the largest teachers’ union in the Commonwealth. Making matters worse, Oleksiak also took part in one of the most tax-payer abusive practices available to union officials: he was a ghost teacher.
As a ghost teacher, Oleksiak worked full time for the PSEA, but he collected a paycheck, accumulated seniority, and pension benefits from the Upper Merion School District. Although the district was reimbursed for his salary and health benefits, Oleksiak and the PSEA still rely on the generosity of taxpayers to cover his lifetime pension benefits.
Mr. Oleksiak penned an editorial questioning the fitness of President Trump’s selection for Education Secretary because of her lack of experience in the classroom. Using experience as a measuring stick, how does Oleksiak stack up?
Has he ever dealt with the unemployment system as an employer? Has he ever had to appeal a workers’ compensation assessment? We can continue this line of inquiry for some time, and the answer would continue to show a dearth of experience on the part of Mr. Oleksiak.
In our conversations with business owners and employers, no one has ever complained to us that Pennsylvania wasn’t pro-organized labor enough. According to most recent studies, Pennsylvania ranks at the bottom of places to do business; our labor regulations are a significant reason why. A Labor Secretary with no experience in the private sector and a decade’s worth of experience advocating for policies hostile to the best interest of taxpayers would make the Commonwealth even less appealing to job creators.
Oleksiak’s nomination will go to the Senate where there is an opportunity to stop it. Republicans have a supermajority in the Senate, but so far they have not been willing to use it to benefit taxpayers. Here is a chance for Senators to remedy that mistake.
— By Leo Knepper
Mr. Knepper is executive director of Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania.
