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Otis elevators and escalators carry two billion people daily. And that’s just Otis elevators and escalators. Other companies make the equipment too.
Most Diverse Economy Is Pennsylvania’s
By Leo Knepper
Bloomberg’s latest release, the Economic Diversity Index, found that Pennsylvania has the most diverse economy in the country. We even edged out Texas. Economic diversity is essential, because it allows the Commonwealth to avoid the worst impacts of economic downturns. It’s like the adage of not having our eggs all in one basket. Our geographic proximity to a large swath of the US population, abundant natural resources, and world-class, high-tech research should be the perfect mix for a booming economy. But, it is not what is happening. Although our growth rate is higher than many of our neighbors, we continue to be held back.
Why?
The problem can be traced to two primary sources (which as loyal readers you can probably guess): a high corporate tax rate, and over-regulation. Pennsylvania’s corporate tax rate is 9.99 percent. The second-highest in the nation. Our elected officials are quick to point out that due to various corporate welfare programs, and “economic incentives,” most businesses do not pay that rate. While technically accurate, when we look at the last fifty years, we need only ask ourselves if the legislature’s preferred approach of picking winners and loser has paid off? Judging by the shortage of newly formed businesses, and the relative loss of population, the answer is clearly NO.
The second and more pernicious source of drag on our economy is the Commonwealth’s regulatory environment. Businesses face a literal mountain of regulations. In 2017, James Broughel painted a stark picture in testimony to the Pennsylvania House Committee on State Government:
“As of earlier this year, Pennsylvania has 153,661 regulatory restrictions in its administrative code. Some of these restrictions are vital for protecting the health and safety of citizens, but others just make the code unnecessarily complicated. There are 208 restrictions governing the design and use of ladders in the state, and there are 190 restrictions setting standards for consumer packages and containers. Surely some of these restrictions are not necessary for safeguarding public health, safety, or the environment.” (Emphasis added)
The scope, and occasionally contradictory nature, of Pennsylvania’s regulations, means that small and medium-sized businesses are forced to divert their attention from the actual “business.” They spend considerable time and money focused on complying with regulations; not making money and growing. Larger businesses are by no means exempt from the regulatory burden, but their size allows them to delegate the task of compliance to dedicated staff. There is no doubt that the money larger businesses spend on compliance could be better spent, but the impact is relatively higher for smaller firms.
The practical impact of overregulation cannot be overstated. Referring back to Mr. Broughel’s testimony:
“If Pennsylvania’s economy were to grow at 4 percent per year, it would take just 18 years for its real GDP to double. This means that if a child were born in Pennsylvania today and the state grew at 4 percent per year, that child would enter college in an economy twice the size of the economy in which he or she was born. By contrast, growing at 1 percent per year takes 70 years to double real GDP, just 9 years shy of the life expectancy at birth of someone born in the year 2014. Since the year 2000, Pennsylvania real GDP growth has averaged just 1.5 percent per year.” (Emphasis added)
Cutting the corporate tax rate and the overall regulatory burden would unleash Pennsylvania’s economy. It is, unfortunately, the road less traveled in part because politicians don’t have the same opportunity to get their picture taken with a giant cardboard check.
There are currently twelve pieces of legislation waiting for action that have been assigned to the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Operations. Four of those bills have already passed the House. The Senate has an opportunity to make long-term changes in how the Commonwealth approaches regulation.
Please take a moment to contact your Senator. Ask them to take action that will encourage growth and could help make Pennsylvania the economic success story of the 21st century.
Mr. Knepper is executive director of Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania.
J Peterman of the catalog company made famous by Seinfeld was once a second basemen with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.
J Peterman William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 8-12-19
Josh Shapiro Hypocrite On Defending Women
By Pauline Braccio
If you were not in attendance, you missed a great show this past Thursday (Aug. 8). I confronted Ken Lawrence directly and his response was to put his elbows on the table in front of him, put his chin in his hands, and stare at me. It was as though he wanted to have a staring contest. Bizarre, to say the least. Victory for me? Help me decide.
As you may recall, at the June 20 meeting, Marianne Wright asked Ken if he had indeed raped me. Ken’s response was, “The allegation is false. It did not happen.” That was not a denial. He did not answer the question. In the minutes for the June 20 meeting it stated:
“General Public Comment
Ms. Marianne Wright made a public comment.
Ms. Pauline Braccio made a public comment.
Ms. Elaine Mickman made a public comment.
Commissioners’ Comments
Vice Chair Lawrence made a comment in response to Ms. Pauline Braccio’s public comment.”
This was incorrect and I had already told them at the last meeting, on July 25, that they got it wrong and that he answered Marianne, not me. They did not change the minutes. So, I brought it up this past meeting, Aug. 8.
Before I go on, I must mention Joseph. Joseph is a young man that I have never met nor even seen before. This young man, who is 18 years old, stood up at the podium and spoke masterfully about the 1st Amendment and Free Speech. Josh Stein tried to shut Joseph up, to no avail. In fact, it was Joseph who shut Josh up! At the end of his remarks, Josh called for the deputy to remove Joseph. But Joseph confidently finished speaking and calmly sat down.
Think about this: Ken Lawrence was 18 when he raped me. Joseph is 18 and came to the meeting solely for me, to stand up for me. He told me after the meeting that he came to speak because he has been watching how they have treated me and had to do something.
Thank you, Joseph. You are an amazing young man.
When I took my turn at the podium, I asked Ken to answer me directly, then I gave the rest of my 5 minutes to wait for his response. Val and Josh (county solicitor) called for the deputy sheriff to remove me from the room. This has now become routine. I did not leave and the deputy sheriff and the head of public safety respected me enough to let me sit down. Valerie told the deputy to sit behind me to make sure I did not speak again. Then she said I should show respect. I answered, “You are not respectable. I have no respect for you.”
Before the meeting ends, Valerie asks if the commissioners have any closing comments. Ken said, ‘Let the minutes show that I responded to Pauline’s comment.” Really? Does silently staring at me constitute a response?
Since Attorney General Josh Shapiro still has his fangs sunk into Montgomery County, here’s my invitation to AG Josh Shapiro:
Hey, Shapiro! Why don’t you come to your old stomping grounds in Montgomery County? I am inviting you to the Commissioners’ meeting on Sep 5. You know, you were the chair before you and DA Steele pushed Kathleen Kane out of office and into prison.
Come to the meeting and explain to me how you could make a PSA about believing and respecting women who have been raped. Commissioner Ken E. Lawrence, Jr., your golden boy, raped me and I have been disrespected and treated like I am the criminal. Ken Lawrence is a federal felon — he raped me on federal land. This past meeting, Aug 8, (to which I had invited you) I asked Ken point-blank to answer me. He could not do it. Instead he acted in a very bizarre way and just sat there with his chin in his hands staring at me. To do what? Stare me down? I asked him: So you’re just going to stare at me?
The fact that he could not answer shows that he did rape me. He cannot lie to my face, he does not want to be a man and own up to it, so he says nothing. It was a circus that meeting. You need to come to the next one and control your out-of-control puppets. They are not listening to their puppet master, Josh Shapiro. You do not have the control you think you have.
The video of the meeting has not been posted yet. It will be interesting to see how they butcher it to make it less damaging for your little puppets: Valerie Arkoosh, Ken E. Lawrence, Jr, and County Solicitor Josh Stein.
The next meeting is on Sep 5. Can’t wait to see if the circus comes back to town.
Ed note: What puzzles us is the silence by Montco GOP Chairwoman Liz Havey and Republican commissioner candidates Joe Gale and Fred Conner. You would think they would be demanding Lawrence give a detailed explanation to Ms. Braccio’s very credible charges simply due to political self-interest even if they lacked a desire for justice.
A baboon named Fred would stake out the road to Cape Point in South Africa and enter stopped cars to raid them for whatever snacks the motorists might happen to be carrying.
Jeffrey Epstein Craig Spence — Pervert to the powerful Jeffrey Epstein died about 7 a.m., this morning, Aug. 10 after apparently hanging himself in his New York jail cell.
Was it a suicide or an Arkancide? We can’t rule out suicide. The death of Craig Spence is pretty much accepted as a suicide after all.
We started writing about Epstein in 2010. Here is our archive of Epstein stories.
Martin Luther King Jr. once applied for a gun permit. He was turned down because Alabama was run by Democrats who had passed arbitrary gun control laws.
The Dutch called Liberty Island where the Statue of Liberty stands Great Oyster Island. That was in the 1600s.
Progressivism equals domestic terrorism — Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Somilia’s hate-filled gift to the 5th District of Minnesota, tweeted this Aug. 6:
Ilhan sure seems to be doing some wishful projecting. It was at white folk that Stephen Paddock was aiming when he attacked that country music concert in Las Vegas.
Dayton murderer Connor Betts was a supporter of open-border backer Elizabeth Warren. Even Snopes concedes that.
James Hodgkinson, who committed the June 14, 2017 terrorist attack on Republican congressmen, was a Bernie Sanders fan.
Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik did not target minorities when they massacred co-workers at a Christmas party in San Bernadino in 2015.
Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnev — may the death penalty come quickly — were certainly not “white nationalists”.
Democratism equals domestic terrorism, love.
For kicks, search “list of Christian terrorist attacks” on Wikipedia. Go down far enough and you might find a dry, academic article about Christian terrorism.
Now search for “list of Islamic terroristic attacks”. Hey Illhan, what’s up with that?
To make the point even stronger, go to the article and click the category for the 2010s.
Yeah, Islam is not a value system sane people want, either.
The FBI was started by Napoleon’s grand-nephew.