Education Access Now Piggy Bank

Education Access Now Piggy Bank

By Leo Knepper

The Education Access Program (EAP) budget item has increased by nearly 600 percent since the 2014-2015 budget cycle. Initially, the EAP had a $3.95 million budget. It grew to over $23 million last year. If you dig into it a little, you’ll find that the funds from the Program have been requested and spent on projects mainly to benefit Senate Democrats. In some cases, the funds go to school districts directly, but the majority of the funds have gone to support organizations like: The Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts, The Bryn Mawr Film Institute, and The Pittsburgh Opera.

Private individuals making donations to charitable organizations is a vital part of civil society. When government forces taxpayers to support particular organizations, that is another matter entirely. Lawmakers’ ability to present giant cardboard checks to local charities is a pernicious part of the “incumbent protection” program designed to make it harder to dislodge elected officials once they are elected to office. Furthermore, over the course of recent history, we have seen members of the General Assembly direct tax-dollars to “charities” that directly benefited them financially, or organizations that were run by their campaign contributors.

Beyond the problems associated with doling out tax dollars to favored charities for good public relations, sending funds to school districts via the EAP is never a one-time deal. One of the quirks in how Pennsylvania funds school districts is a “hold harmless” provision. Essentially, the amount of money sent to a school district from state taxpayers cannot be decreased. In other words, the payments from the EAP to school districts will always be included in the “Basic Education Funding” the school receives from the Commonwealth. A $10,000 grant automatically turns into an additional $10,000 included in the next year’s (and the next, etc.) baseline funding.

Despite an insistence almost every year that the state budget is “cut to the bone,” questionable spending through the EAP and other programs illustrates that that is not the case. Too many members of the General Assembly confuse wants and needs when it comes to spending tax dollars. As we move through the budget process, our elected officials would be wise to take a closer look at where our money is actually going.

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

Education Access Now Piggy Bank  By Leo Knepper  The Education Access Program (EAP) budget item has increased by nearly

Pennsylvania Shadow Budgets Are Font Of Corruption

Pennsylvania Shadow Budgets Are Font Of Corruption

By Leo Knepper

Pennsylvania Shadow Budgets Are Font Of Corruption  By Leo Knepper  One of the only good things to come out of last year’s budget was a transfer of $300 million from Pennsylvania’s shadow budget to the General Fund to cover the overspending. The shadow budget is comprised of Special Funds
Shadowy Spender

One of the only good things to come out of last year’s budget was a transfer of $300 million from Pennsylvania’s shadow budget to the General Fund to cover the overspending. The shadow budget is comprised of Special Funds that exist outside of the normal budgeting process. Several lawmakers found over $1 billion in excess money in these accounts last year. After a great deal of public pressure, the General Assembly agreed to transfer $300 million from the shadow accounts to the general fund. The $300 million was money already collected by the state and collecting interest in a savings account. To borrow from our favorite clickbait headlines, “You Won’t Believe What Happened Next!”

Rather than taking funds from the extra $1 billion that lawmakers identified, Governor Wolf created a new special fund. For this new special fund, Wolf borrowed $200 million against the State Farm Show Complex through a “leaseback” agreement. The arrangement is basically a loan that will cost taxpayers $191 million in interest over the next twenty-nine years. But wait, there’s more.

According to reporting on the deal:

“The winner was Blackford Ventures, a Lancaster County development company that provides government entities and private businesses with cash. After Blackford won the bid, the company created a separate firm, Municipal Real Estate Funding, in December to handle the Farm Show transaction. Both Blackford and Municipal Real Estate are listed on the contract.

“The company is owned by Richard Welkowitz, a one-time Teamster laborer turned entrepreneur. Blackford’s chief executive officer is Mike Brubaker, a former Republican state senator.” (Emphasis added)

Several members of the Pennsylvania House are exploring legal options to halt the lease. True to form, the Wolf administration may have overstepped its legal authority in entering the agreement. Under the Pennsylvania Constitution, only the General Assembly must approve the issuance of new debt with very limited exceptions. The issue revolves around whether the deal is a lease or a loan. There is also the matter of Governor Wolf creating a Special Fund out of whole cloth in order to subvert the intent of the General Assembly. Given the PA Supreme Court’s recent willingness create new powers for itself, we are skeptical that they would be willing to intervene on behalf of taxpayers in this instance.

Lawmakers are exploring the option of requiring the Wolf administration to make the lease payments from the Executive Branch’s budget. We will let you know if they take that route.

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

Pennsylvania Shadow Budgets Are Font Of Corruption

 

 

Amazon Postal Cronyism And President Trump

Amazon Postal Cronyism And President Trump — President Trump, this morning, tweeted:

I am right about Amazon costing the United States Post Office massive amounts of money for being their Delivery Boy. Amazon should pay these costs (plus) and not have them bourne by the American Taxpayer. Many billions of dollars. P.O. leaders don’t have a clue (or do they?)!

Note the parentheses around “or do they.”

You don’t need to be a brain surgeon like Ben Carson to get that he is expressing a suspicion that the leaders of the United States Postal Service are taking bribes.

It is not an unfair suspicion.

Not even a week ago — March 28 — President Trump fired Dr. David Shulkin as secretary of Veterans Affairs, replacing him with Ronny L. Jackson, who had been the White House doctor and is a Navy admiral.

Shulkin last summer took his wife on a luxurious European vacation on the taxpayer dime and accepted gifts that could be construed as graft. He also was by many accounts dragging his feet on needed reforms.

So if Amazon is getting the great taxpayer subsidy via the postal service as it appears why would one not expect palms to be getting greased?

Amazon Postal Cronyism And President Trump
Amazon Postal Cronyism And President Trump

Biden Kerry Chicom News Judgement

Biden Kerry Chicom News Judgement  — The media is making a YUGE story about a sex worker saying she shagged then businessman Donald Trump 12 years ago.

Interesting we guess. Two decades ago we’d have been real upset. Totally outraged. Callouses grow though.

Two decades ago the media would have killed the story, of course, just as they are killing another far, far, far more significant one.

Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, and Christopher Heinz, the stepson of former Secretary of State John Kerry, are in business together. Their company is called Rosemont Capital. Subsidiaries include Rosemont Seneca Partners, LLC, Rosemont Seneca Technology Partners, and Rosemont Realty.

Rosemont is the name of the Heinz family estate outside of Pittsburgh.

Anyway, Rosemont has made a series of great business deals with the Chinese. These deals came on the heels of diplomatic missions directed by the principles’ parents that were puzzlingly beneficial to Beijing.

Treason doth never prosper: what’s the reason? Why, if it prosper, none dare call it treason.

Anyway, Mr. President, God bless you. We don’t care how many porn queens you shagged. You love this country and you are looking out for us, unlike the hypocrites and, yes, traitors who populate our Capital.

The Biden-Kerry corruption is described in Peter Schweizer’s new book: Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends.

Turn off CBS and the other propaganda outlets and check it.

Biden Kerry Chicom News Judgement

Biden Kerry Chicom News Judgement

 

 

 

 

 

Hansjorg Wyss Sex Assault Investigation Reopens

Hansjorg Wyss Sex Assault Investigation Reopens

(We contacted the Morris County prosecutor’s office for an update and it was explained that it was decided in 2014 that the evidence in the case was insufficient for a prosecution. New evidence was obtained in 2017 but after review it was still considered insufficient and the case was never reopened.)

With the talk about the release of the Congressional memo revealing FBI interference on behalf of Hillary Clinton and attempts to undermine the Trump Administration after The Donald’s victory, we’d like to call attention to a story not being widely reported regarding another major Clinton supporter.

An investigation into sexual assault  by Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss has been reopened by Fredric M. Knapp, the Morris County, N. J., prosecutor.

Wyss is accused of brutally assaulting former employee Jacqueline Long on April 3, 2011,  at the Governor Morris Hotel in Morristown.

Wyss  is a boardmember of the progressive Center for American Progress, founded by John Podesta, the strange man who chaired Hillary’s failed 2016 campaign.

Wyss donated $5 million to the Clinton Foundation in 2013 to support “the progress women and girls have made in the 20 years since the UN Fourth World Conference on Women.”

Hansjorg Wyss Sex Assault Investigation Reopens
Really Hansjorg, stay away from barbells.

The Wyss Foundation also gave $110 million to progressive activist groups in 2014 and 2015. It should be noted that Podesta sat on the board from 2009 to 2013.

Wyss also was the architect for an aggressive $100 million “Democracy Program” in 2016, which sought to create a “surge of registration,” as reported by The Daily Caller.

Wyss’ company Synthes Inc had to pay a $23.8 million fine in 2011 after it was found to have conducted illegal human experiments that resulted in the deaths of three elderly patients.

Hey Hansjorg a little friendly advice: Stay away from windows and  barbells.

Hansjorg Wyss Sex Assault Investigation Reopens

Usual Republican Suspects Stop Anti-Corruption Bill

Usual Republican Suspects Stop Anti-Corruption Bill  — On Dec. 12, the usual Republican suspects in Chester and Delaware counties voted against a bill that would have banned political contributions from automatically being deducted from the paychecks of public employees.

There is no morally justifiable reason for a nay vote.  You doubt this? Name one. Give us one reason why money promised to a person for his labor should be taken without his consent and given to back a cause with which he may not agree.

SB 166 was an extremely mild bill. It only applied to public employees and allowed for deductions for union matters including salaries.

And it still couldn’t pass.

The usual Republican suspects are, from Delco,  Steve Barrar (R-160), Nick Miccarelli (R-162), Jamie Santora, (R-163),  Alex Charlton (R-165), and Chris Quinn (R-168), and. from Chesco, Harry Lewis​  (R-74) Becky Corbin (R-155)​ and Duane Milne (R-167).

The Usual Republican Suspects sounds like a great movie. Maybe we can get Bryan Singer to direct it.  Who would Kevin Spacey play? Maybe Val DiGiorgio. We can call him Keyser So So.

By the way, if you care about the labor movement and if you care about workers — which union bosses obviously do not — crusade to end automatic deductions for union fees for everyone.

Automatic paycheck deductions hurts labor . Why do the massive amount of money obtained from these involuntary deductions go to causes and candidates such as lobbying for unfair trade pacts and stopping pipelines, which are obviously against the interests of labor?

Hmmm?

Without this guaranteed income the union leaders would actually have to heed the will of those they claim to represent.

The most successful lobbying group in America is the NRA. Suppose if its officials got paid no matter what it did? You think they’d work as hard?

They’d work about as hard as the union bosses do for their constituents, and private access to firearms would have long ended.

Usual Republican Suspects Stop Anti-Corruption Bill

Usual Republican Suspects Stop Anti-Corruption Bill

 

Barrar Charlton Save Corrupt Dem Piggy Bank

Barrar Charlton Save Corrupt Dem Piggy Bank — The Republican-controlled Pennsylvania House, yesterday (Dec. 12), squashed a senate bill that would have stopped the automatic deductions of money used as political contributions from state worker paychecks.

The contributions overwhelmingly go to Democrats and left-wing causes. SB 166 would have ended the practice.

Every Democrat present voted nay as did 26 Republicans including the Delaware County contingent. That would be you Steve Barrar (R-160), Nick Miccarelli (R-162), Jamie Santora, (R-163),  Alex Charlton (R-165), and Chris Quinn (R-168).

What is even the point of voting Republican? These guys certainly don’t seem to be trying to make our lives easier. Their own, yes, but not ours.

Barrar Charlton Save Corrupt Dem Piggy Bank
Barrar Charlton Save Corrupt Dem Piggy Bank
Piggy bank saved for another day.

Trump Audits Pentagon, Trillions May Be Missing

Trump Audits Pentagon — The Pentagon is to be audited reports ZeroHedge.com. It is something that has never been done. It will be conducted by 2,400 auditors from independent public accounting firms.

How much missing money will be found?

“According to some estimates we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions,” Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said on Sept. 10, 2001 in response to a whistleblower report.

Of course, priorities changed the next day and it is reasonable to believe the number has become much larger.

The national debt  (12:11 p.m., 12/11/17) is $20.596 trillion.

Trump Audits Pentagon, Trillions May Be Missing

Trump Audits Pentagon, Trillions May Be Missing

Pennsylvania Gift Ban Never Happened

Pennsylvania Gift Ban Never Happened

By Leo Knepper

Pennsylvania Gift Ban Never Happened
The swamp can sure look purdy

In late 2014 and early 2015, five current and former members of the General Assembly were charged with bribery and other charges related to their acceptance of cash “gifts” from a lobbyist. Despite a flurry of legislation at the time to ban cash gifts, it never happened. The House and Senate changed their chambers’ rules to prohibit the acceptance of cash gifts from lobbyists, but the law hasn’t changed. The law hasn’t changed because banning only cash gifts would raise some very uncomfortable questions for lawmakers about the kinds of gifts they can still accept.

What kinds of gifts can they accept? Virtually anything as long as they follow the disclosure rules. In order to comply with Pennsylvania’s lax ethics laws, lawmakers are simply required to disclose gifts of more than $250 per year from any source and transportation, lodging, and hospitality worth more than $650. Over the years those gifts have included everything from Super Bowl tickets to Turkish rugs.

At CAP, we generally aren’t a fan of banning things and unnecessary regulations. However, given the sheer number of public officials from Pennsylvania who end up in prison we think that enacting a commonsense “gift ban” makes a lot of sense.

CAP member Representative Rick Saccone introduced HB 39 in early 2017 to accomplish that goal. Many attempts at banning gifts to lawmakers are impossible to enforce because they are written in a way that is overly broad and includes activities that could be genuinely related to lawmaking. Rep. Saccone’s legislation does not fall into that trap.

Despite being introduced and assigned to the House State Government Committee in January of this year, there has never been a hearing on this or any other gift ban related legislation. Citizens of the Commonwealth have been victimized by corrupt politicians of both parties for years and rightly have a low opinion of their government. We believe that passage of this legislation would certainly show that lawmakers are getting the message and are willing to take concrete actions to get their house in order.

Please take a moment to email your Representative. Ask them to become a cosponsor of HB 39. Encourage them to speak to the Chairman of the State Government Committee, Rep. Daryl Metcalfe about scheduling a hearing and a vote on the measure. It is going to take a lot to restore people’s faith in Pennsylvania state government, but this is a step in the right direction.

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

Pennsylvania Gift Ban Never Happened

Trump Scandal Brennan Operation Says Seymour Hersh

Trump Scandal Brennan Operation Says Seymour Hersh — Noted journalist Seymour Hersh is claiming that the “scandal” pumped by the press for the past year alleging collusion between President Trump and the Russians can be laid entirely at the feet of the deep state.

“It was a Brennan operation,” Hersh says (5:50) “It  was American disinformation.”

John Brennan was director of the CIA from March 8, 2013 to Jan. 20, 2017.

“They were back-briefing the press,” Hersh said. “The head of the NSA was telling the press, that f—cking, c-cksucker Rogers  was telling the press that we even know who in the G-area of Russian military intelligence service leaked it. All bullsh-t.”

Why would they do this?

“I can tell you right now, Brennan ‘s an a–hole,” Hersh said (4:50) “I’ve known all these people for years. (Director of National Intelligence James) Clapper is sort of a fair guy but not a rocket scientist, the NSA guy (Rogers) is a f-cking moron. The trouble with all those guys is the only way they are going to make it to a board or two . . . to deliver some . . . contracts is if Hillary stayed in. With Trump they are gone.”

And that’s what We the People are facing.

Hersh also said that the late Seth Rich was the source for the Wikileaks revelations about the DNC  albeit he think his murder in July 2016 was a robbery gone wrong and not an assassination.

Listen to Hersh’s interview below. Obviously it contains salty language:

 

Hat tip ZeroHedge.com.

Trump Scandal Brennan Operation Says Seymour Hersh

 

Trump Scandal Brennan Operation