Governor Wolf Handshake Dishonorable by Sen. Scott Wagner
Governor Tom Wolf delivered his 2016-2017 budget address for Pennsylvania, Feb. 9.
The Governor’s budget address was delivered on the back of an unfinished 2015-2016 budget.
Governor Wolf did not mince words when he placed all of the blame for the 2015-2016 budget mess on House Republicans.
I must confess that I was taken back by the Governor’s comments and arrogance – during his budget address he made this statement to PA House Members – “If you won’t take seriously your responsibility to the people of Pennsylvania – then find another job.”
The Governor directed blame towards the House Republican Leaders for the budget impasse.
Governor Wolf stated, “We had a deal. And then the House Republican leaders walked away.”
How ironic – I had a similar personal experience with Governor Wolf.
On Dec. 20, I attended a holiday Open House at a home in Southeastern PA – Governor Wolf showed up at the Open House – after a brief period I was approached by a Democratic Senator to ask if I would have a discussion with the Governor – a discussion took place with another Republican Senator, the Democratic Senator, the Governor and me.
I was asked if I would help the Governor and consider talking to Republican House Members that I have relationships with about the budget and help bridge the gap.
I agreed to meet with the Governor and the other two Senators on Tuesday – Dec. 22 – I asked the Governor to clear three hours of time so we could have the discussion and come up with various resolutions – the Governor looked me in the eye, shook my hand and said “we have a deal.”
When we arrived on Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. for our meeting at the Governor’s office, I immediately sensed that something had changed – the Governor commented that he had another meeting in 35 minutes – so much for the three hour hand shake deal.
The Governor was quick to let me know that he knew that I was focused on reining in out of control spending – he stated, “I have to get this budget done and then next year in January we can meet to discuss spending controls” – January has come and gone – no call from the Governor – in the private sector business world when someone shakes my hand and says we have a deal, I take that gesture as a gesture of honor – Governor Wolf broke that gesture of honor.
My prediction is that Governor Wolf is going to play the same hostage game as he did last year with schools and non-profit agencies.
Yesterday afternoon (Feb. 11) a mass email was sent by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party to readers kicking sand into the faces of Republican House and Senate Leaders, two other House members, and myself for saying no to Governor Wolf’s tax increases.
I can only speculate that as a child Governor Wolf was picked on at his elite boarding school – little rich bullies run up and kick sand in the other kids faces and run away – Governor Wolf is attempting that same technique with the legislature and then running to his public sector union friends to defend him, and then asking them to give him millions of dollars collected from their members paychecks to fund negative TV ads and mailers in Republican House and Senate Districts slamming those members, and now yesterday’s email blast directed towards leaders and members of the legislature because they didn’t vote for his tax package.
Governor Wolf has quickly driven a wedge into any relationships that might have been possible with House and Senate Republicans – to be clear – Governor Wolf has gone toxic – and he has burned many bridges and may have lost any opportunity to have a positive outcome with his remaining time in office.
It is also worth pointing out that most Democratic House and Senate Members do not want to vote for any tax increases either – these same Democrats are being thrown under the bus by their own Democratic Governor – many Democrats will secretly agree with my assessment but their leadership is keeping them in line with intimidation tactics.
I have a different perspective of the budget and the Pennsylvania economy – very different from the perspective of Governor Wolf.
As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I along with other Senate colleagues, both Democrat and Republican, will begin to participate in budget hearings over the next six weeks with all state agencies.
I have an advantage coming from the private sector – I continue to operate several business so I get to see first-hand the current business climate.
I continue to see massive amounts of waste and out of control spending in Harrisburg – if you have been regularly receiving my emails you will know I have not changed my opinion on this.
Many businesses in Pennsylvania are laying off employees because of weak business conditions.
The oil and gas industry in Pennsylvania, and the rest of the country, has been clobbered because of historic low oil and gas prices – the ripple effect to suppliers and service providers of the oil and gas industry have also been affected.
Click here for one example: http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-air-products-posts-quarterly-earnings-20160129-story.html
Governor Wolf and his administration have not delivered any sizable cost reductions or efficiency savings over the last year – Governor Wolf cares about one thing – raising taxes on Pennsylvanians.
It is time to “Restructure Harrisburg” – the time is now, not next week, next month, or next year.
The bad news is that Governor Wolf will not do any “Restructuring” while he is office – so the next three years are going to be tough for everyone – especially Pennsylvania Taxpayers.
Sen. Wagner represents the 28th District in the Pennsylvania Senate.
I respect Senator Wagner.
From his description here it sounds like Gov Wolf studied at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave University
Yep. Keystone Obama.