Budget Approaches Fail Taxpayer

Budget Approaches Fail Taxpayer

By Leo Knepper

On Monday, (July 10) Gov. Wolf allowed the state budget to become law without his signature despite the fact that the budget didn’t balance. The budget passed by the House and Senate spends more than the Treasury is likely to collect. The House and Senate shouldn’t have passed the budget without a clear plan to fund the expenditures. The Governor should have either vetoed or line-item vetoed the budget. As it stands, credit rating agencies may downgrade the Commonwealth again. A downgrade won’t solve our problems, and the two “solutions” under consideration won’t be good for taxpayers.

On one side: a Democrat governor who wants to raise taxes and leave a legacy of suffocating costs. On the other side: a Republican House and Senate looking to borrow their way out of trouble and leave a legacy of crushing debt. The solution nobody in Harrisburg wants to discuss? Spending reduction, which would leave a legacy of budget corrections that would eventually pay off for taxpayers.

There are ways that the General Assembly could cut costs. First, they could dissolve the Race Horse Development Fund. The Fund subsidizes “purses” for horse racing. In 2015, some of that money went to a billionaire from the United Arab Emirates.  Considering Pennsylvania’s financial needs, this doesn’t sound like the best use of resources. A second option, would be to reform the welfare code to add work requirements. In 2014, Maine added a work requirement for able-bodied childless adults. In two years the number of able-bodied childless adults receiving food stamps dropped by over 90 percent. This change not only saved taxpayers money, but it also added people to the tax rolls.

There are a number of other ways that the General Assembly could put taxpayers first. It’s up to “leadership” in the General Assembly to step up to plate to make that happen. And, based on their track record that doesn’t seem likely.

Mr. Knepper is executive director of Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania.

Budget Approaches Fail Taxpayer

Budget Approaches Fail Taxpayer  By Leo Knepper  On Monday, Governor Wolf allowed the state budget to become law without his signature despite the fact

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