Category: Guest Authors

Magic Wolf Claims Spending Cut With Higher Budget

Magic Wolf Claims Spending Cut With Higher Budget

By Leo Knepper

Magic Wolf Claims Spending Cut With Higher Budget By Leo Knepper
Magic man says he’s cutting while adding.

On Feb. 7, Gov. Wolf gave his latest budget address. Since he has his eye on re-election, this was the Governor’s most realistic budget to date. There are still a lot of problems with what he’s asking for, but it’s much less terrible that what he has wanted in the past.

 

For starters, Wolf acknowledges that there is room to cut spending and this is a step in the right direction. The problem arises when we look “under the hood, ” and then the cuts disappear. The state budget is made up of several different parts: the general fund, special funds, federal funds, and other funds. These various parts all add up to give us the total operating budget. The current year’s total operating budget is $80.1 billion. In his budget address, Gov. Wolf notes that there will be a $3 billion deficit next year. He purportedly solves the problem with $2 billion in spending cuts and “savings initiatives” and increases taxes by $1 billion to make up the difference.

Let’s direct our attention to Gov. Wolf’s spending “cuts.” If the current budget is $80.1 billion and the Governor’s proposed budget cuts $2 billion in spending, the proposed budget should be $78.1 billion. Here is where the magical math comes into play. Instead of being $78.1 billion, the Governor’s proposed budget is $81 billion, an increase in spending of nearly $900 million. How does a $2 billion cut turn into a $900 million spending increase?

The purported spending cuts turn into a spending increase due to “baseline budgeting.” In baseline budgeting, the previous year’s budget is the starting point and the next budget increases from that point by a certain percentage. In other words, politicians like Gov. Wolf can claim they are cutting spending, but in reality, they are only increasing it by a smaller percentage than they wanted. It’s the equivalent of Orwellian newspeak. Gov. Wolf and others rely on the ignorance of taxpayers to get away with it.

If the Commonwealth spent $2 billion less next year than they are this year, then there wouldn’t be any need to discuss tax increases. Please, contact Gov. Wolf and the General Assembly immediately. Tell them that cutting spending means cutting spending and not making it grow more slowly.

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

Magic Wolf Claims Spending Cut With Higher Budget

Wolf Prison Closing Political Move

Wolf Prison Closing Political Move

By Leo Knepper

As surely as night turns to day, politicians make decisions to improve their chances of re-election. For Governor Wolf, that means a proposal to close two state prisons. Just like his move to close Unemployment Compensation call centers was politically charged, Wolf’s decision to close prisons is also politically motivated, and it isn’t just Republicans who are making that complaint:

Wolf Prison Closing Political Move
Can this man do anything right?

“On Monday, another budget fight took shape during a Senate hearing in which Democratic and Republican lawmakers accused Wolf of playing politics with the safety and economic security of their communities…

“‘Why does this decision have to be made so fast?'” asked Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-Allegheny, whose district includes a prison in Pittsburgh.

“The facilities have to be empty by July 1 to to [sic] meet the full budget savings in the 2017-18 fiscal year, [Corrections Secretary] Wetzel replied.

“‘That’s the political reason,’ retorted Fontana, who said he did not believe the savings estimates if the prison employees are offered jobs elsewhere.”

Governor Wolf is trying to erase from voter’s minds his last two years of tax and spend budgets by proposing modest spending cuts. His targets thus far have been smart from a political perspective: two prisons, two mental hospitals, and reduced spending on economic development are targets that were sure to garner objections from Republican lawmakers. With a $2 billion deficit, Wolf is proposing small cuts that his opponents will object to; giving him the opportunity later to say “I tried to make spending cuts, but the General Assembly wouldn’t let me. I guess we’ll have to raise taxes.”

If we ignore the Governor’s political motivation in closing the prisons specifically, does it make sense from a policy perspective?

Although the union representing Corrections Officers would disagree, closing the prisons is the right choice from a fiscal standpoint. According to the Commonwealth Foundation, the Pennsylvania state prison system will be 92 percent full if two prisons are closed; that allows enough room for an uptick in the inmate population.

Now that the floodgates are opening for cost cutting, we hope that the next item on the chopping block is the $250 million from the “Race Horse Development Fund.”

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

Wolf Prison Closing Political Move

Trump Makes Missteps

Trump Makes Missteps

By Chris Freind Trump Makes Missteps

The heavy favorite sauntered in with a swagger that only comes from being on top. They had won the ultimate prize before, but this would be even better, as winning would shatter records and set new precedents. With the caliber of team the leader had assembled, victory seemed inevitable.

But a funny thing happened.

In a shock to the nation, the vaunted Alabama Crimson Tide – national champions riding a whopping 26-game winning streak – fell to underdog Clemson at the very end, a stinging loss that no one saw coming. Sound familiar?

Sure, there were some questionable calls that hurt the favorite in the razor-thin contest. But that’s part of the game, so no excuses. Bottom line: On the only day that mattered, the Clemson Tigers were better.

Many disappointed Tide fans are still scratching their heads, wondering how their destiny was ripped away. But none is crying foul, nor are any protesting the outcome, since Clemson won fair and square. Doing so would be the sour grapes behavior of spoiled brats.

So how is it then, that if we can accept the results of a sporting event, we still have people rejecting the legitimacy of President Trump? And why all the protest marches now? The time to protest Donald Trump was Nov. 8, so it remains unclear what these people are protesting.

Since it’s been an unusually eventful inaugural week, here are some of the more interesting developments:

1. We’ll start with the administration. Self-inflicted errors, exacerbated by ego and inexperience, got the Trump team off on the wrong foot. The administration, already at war with the media, began by admonishing the press for its “incorrect” reporting of the inauguration crowd size – despite tweeting a photo that just happened to be from President Obama’s 2009 inauguration. How that mistake was made, if it was a mistake at all, is incomprehensible.

The president’s spokesman berated the press for not reporting that the inauguration was the most attended in history. Despite facts showing it was not (comparative photos, ridership on the Metro, etc.), the administration doubled down, and looked more foolish by the minute. The icing on the cake was when another spokesman stated that their position was based on “alternative facts.”

Too bad they haven’t yet realized that living in an alternative universe isn’t the best way to get a new administration rolling.

Most important, who cares how many people attended the inauguration? It is absolutely meaningless. OK, so fewer people attended this one than the last. Does that somehow make President Trump less of a president? Does that delegitimize his win, or at least knock it down a few pegs?

Maybe some didn’t attend because of weather, or watched on their smartphones, or just didn’t feel like going. Who cares?

Those making it an issue are grasping at straws, attempting to undermine the president’s credibility. Newsflash: It won’t work. People are concerned about their health care, Social Security and jobs – not crowd size.

That said, when will the president learn? Mr. Trump will never be the most popular figure, nor the world’s richest man. But he needs to understand that what he does have – and indeed, who he now is – trumps everything else. Donald Trump, as president of the United States, is the most powerful man on earth. Given the Republican Congress, he is poised to effect more change than perhaps any leader in American history. It is time, once and for all, for him to rise above the pettiness by not acknowledging irrelevant issues that can derail him.

For President Trump to be successful, he must start acting, well … presidential. Instead of worrying about crowd sizes or “Saturday Night Live” or any other extraneous topics, the president should heed the words of Martin Sheen’s character in “The American President:” “You fight the fights that need fighting.”

2. Since when did President Obama become the yardstick for everything? From the number of votes to inauguration crowd sizes to the pace of cabinet confirmations, the media seems obsessed with comparing the two men. Why? They, and the political environment in which they governed, are apples and oranges. No offense to President Obama, but it’s time to look ahead, not back.

3. Speaking of not looking back, it is astounding how many Republicans continue to blame President Obama and Hillary Clinton for so many things. Three points: A) President Obama accomplished virtually nothing over the last six years because the Republicans dominated Congress; therefore, much of that GOP blame is misallocated; 2. Republicans justifiably criticized President Obama for his near-constant blaming of George W. Bush; it is hypocritical for them to now do the same; and 3. the past is just that: The past. It is time to forge ahead with bold new ideas to jumpstart America. Those mired in the past are doomed to repeat its mistakes.

And, while admittedly a generalization, the only people who seem angrier than the Clinton losers are the Trump winners. As victims of discriminatory, double-standard policies, many have justifiable reasons to feel that way. However, they must understand that arguing with logic and compassion will always trump anger and vindictiveness. If the country is to ever unify, all sides need to grasp that lesson.

4. The fact that 66 congressmen boycotted the inauguration, social media backlash caused entertainer Jennifer Holliday to withdraw from festivities, and vile comments were directed toward a 16-year-old girl over her decision to sing the National Anthem at the inauguration, illustrates why our society is so divisive. Shame on them and their horrendous message that boycotts, threats and insults, even toward the young and innocent, are acceptable when things don’t go your way.

5. And then we have the protests. To quote former Eagles running back Ricky Watters: “For who? For what?”

From the anti-capitalists who smashed their way into a Starbucks (no doubt to grab a smoked butterscotch latte to fuel their violence), to the Women’s March organizers, none has yet provided clarity on what they were protesting. And when liberal feminist commentator Cokie Roberts agrees with that point, you know it’s bad.

Was it to protest the election result? Sorry, but that ship sailed, especially since many more of them could have voted, but didn’t. Was it rebelling against the electoral college and Hillary winning the popular vote? Ditto. How about Donald Trump’s sexist and insulting comments? Yeah, that was hashed out over the last 18 months in that thing called a presidential campaign. So, what then? Was it to send Mr. Trump a message that woman cannot be ignored? Try again, since many women were unwelcome on the march because they were pro-life. Inclusive, the march was not. Or was it the stagnant economy? Gee, that’s great. Blame the guy who’s been on the job for one day.

The real reason for the protests is what this column has frequently discussed: Protesting has become America’s new pastime. The “coddled generation,” which has been raised to believe it’s entitled to everything, sprang into action because it felt “offended” that Trump won, facts be damned.

Bingo.

Sure, protesting is the people’s right. So is stupidity. When the two go hand in hand, the result isn’t pretty.

If America is to move forward, it’s time for the grown-ups – on both sides, starting with the president himself – to take charge. Because as Michael Douglas’ presidential character says, also in “The American President:” “We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them.”

Time to get cracking. Together.

Trump Makes Missteps

Wayne Langerholc Temptation Test

Wayne Langerholc Temptation Test

By Lowman S. Henry

As the saying goes you never get a second chance to make a first impression.  That is very bad news for freshman State Senator Wayne Langerholc who arguably has made the worst first impression of any legislator in the history of Penn’s Woods.  

Wayne Langerholc Temptation TestLangerholc is one of three Republican senators who captured seats in last November’s election formerly held by Democrats.  Their election has given the GOP a veto proof majority in the state senate helping to further tilt the scales in Harrisburg against the big spending policies of Governor Tom Wolf.

But the champagne corks were put back into the bottles when Langerholc decided to renege on a key campaign pledge even before being sworn into office.  The result has been an uproar not seen since the rebellion over the middle-of-the-night pay raise a decade ago.

First some background:  Langerholc began 2016 as a challenger to long time State Senator John Wozniak in a district sandwiched between Johnstown and Altoona.  The district had been trending Republican giving rise to GOP hopes of a pick-up. Wozniak himself realized the hopelessness of his situation and bailed out of the race long before Election Day.

Early on Langerholc made a pledge to the Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania (CAP), a Harrisburg-based pro-growth PAC that he would not accept a pension if elected.  CAP generally requires such a pension declination of its candidates because it supports pension reform that would move away from the current defined benefits to a defined contribution (401k) style system.  (By way of full disclosure I serve on the board of CAP PAC’s affiliated nonprofit.)

Having declined the pension and otherwise fitting the profile of a CAP candidate the PAC invested over $15,000 in Langerholc’s general election campaign including sending a glossy mailer to voters in his district highlighting his pledge not to take the state pension.

But then he did.

Langerholc’s reason for breaking his pledge to the taxpayers of his district is clear as mud.  As the uproar over his apostasy went viral he offered various explanations.  The wayward senator claimed he still supports pension reform and told a Harrisburg television station that he wants all legislators and newly hired state employees in a 401k-style retirement system.

So why not lead by example?  Langerholc then offered up another statement employing pretzel logic that resembled John Kerry’s infamous “I voted for the bill before I voted against it” comment by claiming he had to sign up for the pension in order to eventually join a 401k-style system.  To justify that position he cited provisions in proposed legislation.

But the bottom line is whatever the requirements will be for those currently in the state employees retirement system to move into a 401k-style plan the law will be written by the legislature which, for the moment at least, includes Senator Langerholc.  He has quickly learned an old Harrisburg trick: claim to be captive of the very laws you write.

The initial ABC27 report on Langerholc’s pension pledge violation quickly spread with the senator’s subsequent interviews on the subject becoming more and more convoluted.  His response included everything except an admission that he lapped up a perk which many consider to be unconstitutional in the first place.  The result was not only a media firestorm, but a viral reaction on Facebook with the senator being called many names not suitable for recounting here.

This dust-up brings into focus the larger issue of candidates for legislative seats signing pledges or responding to candidate questionnaires.  The vast majority of organizations from local TEA parties to those who employ professional lobbyists will ask candidates to take a position on issues of importance to them.

The political consulting class and many party leaders are more and more advising if not requiring their candidates to not sign pledges or to fill out questionnaires.  They don’t want their clients taking stands on tough issues and likely will use the Langerholc kerfuffle as a prime example of what happens when you do.

But when it comes to pledges and questionnaires the solution is not for candidates to refuse to answer.  The solution is actually very simple: tell us where you stand, tell us what you will do, and then keep your word.

(Lowman S. Henry is Chairman & CEO of the Lincoln Institute and host of the weekly Lincoln Radio Journal.  His e-mail address is lhenry@lincolninstitute.org.)

Wayne Langerholc Temptation Test

Burying Bill Adolph, Not Praising Him

Burying Bill Adolph, Not Praising Him

By Rocco Polidoro
The political career of retiring State Representative William F. Adolph,165th District is a clear case of why Pennsylvania needs a State Constitutional amendment to install term limits and to lower the number of legislators.

Burying Bill Adolph, Not Praising Him
Rep. Bill Adolph

The 165th state house district covers parts of Morton, Springfield, Marple and Radnor. I hear Bill Adolph is a good guy in Delaware County but many people don’t know about the Bill Adolph in Harrisburg.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly has 203 members and the PA Senate has 50 members. Government watchdog groups have labeled PA as the fifth most corrupt state in the Country.

House members start off making $85,339 a year with excellent benefits. When Adolph started in 1989, he was earning about $35,000. Employee benefit specialists estimate that a great benefit package, like what state legislators make, is equal to about an extra 35 percent of their salary. Bill Adolph ended his 28 years with a salary of $120,000.

Employee benefit specialist would also say that the schedule of a state legislator is considered part time. The average full time worker works about 250 days a year whereas state lawmakers work about 125 days a year. In addition many lawmakers have other jobs or businesses which confirms the fact that their state jobs are part time. Plus they get over $600 a month car allowance, $159 a day for expenses and a full medical package which includes Nursing Home protection. So when one adds up Bill Adolph’s salary, his benefits, car allowance, per diem expenses, office rent, staff salaries and their benefits, the State of Pennsylvania has spent over $4 million in the last 28 years.

And there is no way to add up all of the gifts, conference trips and sporting events that had come his way in those 28 years.

Now that Adolph retires in January, he will earn about $120,000 a year in a pension with full medical insurance. The complete retirement package alone can total another $3 million over the next 20 years. So the grand total for Bill Adolph could top around $7 million.

Why do we tax-payers allow all this for career politicians ? There wouldn’t be any pensions with full medical benefits if there were term limits in place. Wouldn’t a 10-year limit be enough?

Our Founding Fathers never planned for us to have public servants spend a life time as a legislator and pay them a pension and medical care for life.To make matters worse, there are 252 other state law-makers that have the potential to draw millions. Now what did we get for the $7 million that we will eventually spend for Bill Adolph?

If you were waiting for property tax relief, Adolph never brought that to PA. If you support public education, Adolph voted many times to cut funding to our public schools but did vote to give millions to Charter Schools. If you supported cutting waste in government, Adolph was a major distributor of WAM (Walking Around Money) money for years. WAM money was unappropriated and unaccounted state money for special projects in the districts of the powerful lawmakers.

Adolph has had a history of not being a good steward of our tax money. While he was on the Board of Directors and then the chairman of PHEAA, the State Auditor General did a report in 2007 which showed that PHEAA wasted $25 million over a 5 year period. PHEAA is the state agency that awards college grants and school loans to college students.

Another example of Adolph’s poor stewardship of our taxes was when he voted in 2001 to increase the pension formula of state lawmakers, judges and teachers by 50 percent. As a result the 501 school districts in PA owe over a billion dollars to the state pension system. And because of this pension-funding crisis, many school districts will be forced to eventually raise property taxes even more.

In 2005, Adolph voted to raise his salary by 34 percent on July 7th at 2 a.m. with no input from the press or the public. Adolph took the first month increase but when the word got out and the pressure mounted on all of the Legislators, Adolph returned the increase in the second month. To prevent another fiasco like the 2 a.m. vote, Adolph and the rest of his friends, voted to permanently build in a cost of living increase so their salaries can go up a little every year. This way most of the public won’t know of their annual increases.

Adolph’s salary has gone up from $35,000 to $120,000. Can you vote yourself a 350-percent increase in your pay over a 28 year period ? You see my friends, we don’t need to be spending hundreds of millions on these politicians. And that is why we need to get behind groups that want to create term limits and lower the number of law makers. I

n PA there are 50 state senate districts. We are paying salaries and benefits for those 50 senators and their staff. Then within each of those 50 senate districts, there are four state house members like Bill Adolph. Why do we need four State House members in an area where we already have a state senator? It’s excessive representation and we over-pay dearly for it. If you think Adolph’s $7 million package is mind-blowing, try to calculate what we are spending through out the State for the hundreds of retired and active law-makers and their staff.

We have to impose term limits and decrease the number of law makers. It’s no wonder our state is now $1.7 Billion in the red. If we don’t change the State Constitution, you won’t be able to afford living in PA. Bill Adolph may be a nice guy but no politician is worth $7 Million.The hard working people of Pennsylvania need to wake up.

Mr. Polidoro is an outspoken Democrat from Springfield and has been long represented by Rep. Adolph.

 

Burying Bill Adolph, Not Praising Him

Altoona Call Center Was Most Efficient And Is Now Closed

Altoona Call Center Was Most Efficient And Is Now Closed

By Leo Knepper

In November, the Wolf administration announced that they would be laying off 600 employees from unemployment call centers across the state. The official line is that the layoffs were due to the Senate’s failure to pass legislation funding the call centers. On the surface that explanation makes sense. However, it becomes less likely when you consider that the Governor had redirected billions of dollars in state funding during the extended budget process in 2015. It is also an odd “coincidence” that four of the seven call centers selected for closure were in Republican Senatorial Districts.

Altoona Call Center Was Most Efficient And Is Now Closed
He closed unemployment call center rated most efficient.

When that coincidence was pointed out to the Department of Labor and Industry, their spokeswoman flatly denied that politics played any role in the selection process. According to the Patriot-News, Governor Wolf stated that the closure decisions were “”based on a series of variables, including performance, capacity, efficiency, and ability of the centers to handle increased call volume.” Now information has come out refuting those claims as well.

Last Friday, Senator John Eichelberger and Senator Scott Wagner visited the Altoona Call Center. He had some interesting thoughts on the visit:

“The Altoona Center is rated as the most efficient center with the lowest cost per call, they are the only office trained to handle a federal displaced workers program, and their building is one of two owned by the Commonwealth; the remainder of the Call Center buildings are leased. Most businesses would not close their most productive office, nor would they shut down an operation in a building they’re stuck with instead of closing one where they can get out of a lease.  Some of the employees feel that after the layoff, claim filing will become severely backed up and take out their anger on state legislators.  The real question is whether or not that is the strategy of the Wolf administration.  If their plan is to inflict enough pain on people who just lost their jobs simply to leverage the House and Senate, that smacks of the “Bridgegate” charges in New Jersey.” (Emphasis added)

The New Jersey Bridgegate scandal involved Governor Christie’s staff closing lanes of a local bridge to punish his political opponents. Considering how much heartburn some Republicans in the General Assembly are causing Governor Wolf, there are certainly some interesting parallels to the closure of the call centers and the Bridgegate Scandal in New Jersey. Senator Wagner and the Senate have submitted right-to-know requests for communications related to the closures and we’ll be curious to see what they find.

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

Altoona Call Center Was Most Efficient And Is Now Closed

GOP Proclaim Budget Goals First Please

GOP Proclaim Budget Goals First Please

By Leo Knepper

In November, Pennsylvania voters handed Republicans in the General Assembly historic majorities. In the Senate, the Republicans have a veto-proof majority. Across the Capitol, the Republicans in the House have a 40-vote advantage. The coming New Year also portends an impending battle over the next budget. Governor Wolf has already demonstrated his willingness to use state employees as leverage in a public relations battle with the General Assembly; there is no indication that his approach will change. With a $1.7 billion revenue shortfall projected for next year, what should the General Assembly do? GOP Proclaim Budget Goals First Please

If Republicans in the General Assembly were smart, they would upend a long-standing budget tradition and go on offense. Typically, the budget season is kicked off by the Governor’s budget address to the General Assembly. In his first budget address, Governor Wolf laid out a laundry list of progressive/liberal policy goals he wanted in his first budget. In his second address, he scolded the General Assembly for not giving him any of what he asked for in his first budget. Keep in mind, the Governor’s policy priorities came with a hefty price tag and would have required a massive tax increase.

In the coming year, the General Assembly should ignore tradition and preempt the Governor’s budget address with a plan of their own. That isn’t to say they should release a statement with the usual platitudes about protecting taxpayers. Rather, the House and Senate Republicans should have an entire budget and revenue plan prepared and release it ahead of the Governor. A preemptive General Assembly budget would force the Governor to play defense rather than the usual offensive position granted to governors.

To be successful and fiscally responsible, the General Assembly must address the revenue side of the equation first. Although it sounds strange, and it does defy logic, the General Assembly typically decides how much they’re going to spend and then cobbles together a tax package to pay for it. By determining the revenue ceiling first, the General Assembly would force the Governor to give a detailed account of who he would tax to pay for his almost certainly higher number. Providing exact numbers for how the funds would be dispersed also forces Department Heads to justify any amount above the General Assemblies stated budget when hearings commence.

Republican leadership must also avoid the trap, which they frequently fall into, of crafting a package “that the Governor will sign.” No matter how generous the General Assembly is with tax dollars, the Governor will want more. Instead, leadership would do well to work with their caucus members and craft a plan that they are satisfied with otherwise, the entire effort will be for naught.

Voters gave Republicans historic majorities in the General Assembly in 2017. The question now is, what will Republicans do with it? Will they squander the opportunity, or will they make the hard choices that voters are trusting them to make?
Mr. Knepper is executive director of Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania.

GOP Proclaim Budget Goals First Please

Tom Wolf Shameless Politics

Tom Wolf Shameless Politics

By Leo Knepper

Tom Wolf Shameless Politics
Shameless and cruel

In mid-November, Governor Wolf announced that the Department of Labor and Industry would be laying off employees. According to the Governor, this was due to the intransigence of Senate Republicans in their refusal to pass legislation funding unemployment call centers. On the other hand, Senate Republicans argue that the problem was the Governor’s unwillingness to answer their questions about funding.

Who is in the wrong?

Senator Scott Wagner makes a convincing argument in a column published by the York Daily Record:

“This project [the call centers] was fed approximately $240 million over the last four years with zero accountability. Now the senate is being pressured into throwing another $57.5 million down a black hole without any questions being asked.

“In 2006, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania signed a $106.9 million contract with IBM to be completed in 2009.

“IBM’s contract was to give the state a new computer system to track employee wages, employer taxes, handle unemployment claims, appeals, and payments.

“In July of 2013, the state terminated the contract with IBM because it was $60 million over budget. The $60 million was in addition to the $106.9 million initial contract, and it was 42 months late. What happened with this contract? Who was held accountable for the cancelled IBM contract?

“Later in 2013, the Legislature voted to allocate $60 million per year for four years, and that ends at the end of this year. This was for the same project that was contracted with IBM and then cancelled.

“So let’s recap for taxpayers – $106 million plus another $60 million for IBM.  Add the last four years of $60 million per year for a total of $240 million – all for a grand total of more than $400 million in taxpayer money.”

Senator Wagner is right to question the lack of results from $400 million in taxpayer spending and this line of inquiry is long overdue. You can bet that there will be more confrontations between the Governor and the General Assembly in the coming year. According to the Independent Fiscal Office, there will be a $1.7 billion deficit in the 2017-2018 budget year. The General Assembly must take a close look at past spending in terms of amount and efficacy. If they don’t, Pennsylvanians will face higher tax bills in the future.
Mr. Knepper is executive director of Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania.

Tom Wolf Shameless Politics

Governor Wolf Hits Ill Winds

Governor Wolf Hits Ill Winds

Governor Wolf Hits Ill Winds
Facing ill winds

By Lowman S. Henry

One of the many quirks of our political system is that each year there are winners and losers among politicians whose names are not actually on the ballot. This year is no exception. Neither Governor Tom Wolf nor State Senator Scott Wagner was up for election this year, but results of the balloting sent their career paths in opposite directions.

Governor Wolf has had a tough first two years in office dealing with a Republican-controlled legislature. His efforts to dramatically expand government spending, and to implement the historic tax hikes needed to pay for that agenda resulted in the longest budget stalemate in state history. The Republicans won.

On Nov. 8, voters rewarded the GOP with even larger legislative majorities in the Pennsylvania legilsator. Democrats in the state senate are now on life support. Two Democratic incumbents were defeated by challengers; a third Democrat seat went Republican after the incumbent gave up several months ago and resigned from the ballot. Combined the three seats give Republicans a 34-16 edge and something rarely if ever seen in state government: a veto proof majority.

Meanwhile, across the rotunda in the House of Representatives Republicans saw their already historically high majority expand by three seats as four incumbent Democrats and one incumbent Republican lost. The Republican pick-ups came in southwestern Pennsylvania which has been trending toward the GOP for several election cycles. In fact, the most endangered species in Penn’s Woods might well be the non-urban legislative Democrat, with only a handful of Democratic lawmakers representing districts outside of the state’s urban cores.

All of this matters because next year’s state budget battle is shaping up to be even tougher than the first. Republicans caved into Governor Wolf’s spending demands this year, but failed to fully fund the budget. That coupled with revenue sources that either never materialized or have failed to meet projections presages a major fiscal fight next year.

Not only have Republicans added to their numbers, but this year’s legislative elections moved both chambers further to the Right. Moderate state senators like Cumberland County’s Pat Vance and Lancaster’s Lloyd Smucker have been replaced by far more conservative legislators. The continued drift of the House GOP caucus from moderate southeastern dominance to conservative central and western Pennsylvania influence means tougher sailing for those wanting to raise either taxes or spending.

Governor Wolf also saw his agenda rejected in another race; that the battle for Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seat. The Democratic nominee, Katie McGinty, was Governor Wolf’s first chief of staff and architect of the tax and spend plan that triggered the epic budget battle. Incumbent U.S. Senator Pat Toomey made hay of that effectively painting McGinty as out of touch with the financial needs of average Pennsylvanians. He won, she lost.

How then do the fortunes of one state senator rise on all of this? Senator Scott Wagner was an establishment pariah when he ran for an open seat in York County in 2014. Shunned by his own party Wagner accomplished an historic first in Pennsylvania: He won a special election on a write-in defeating both party nominees.

The upstart senator has quickly gained clout and was tapped by his colleagues to lead the Senate Republican Campaign Committee. The SRCC as it is known is tasked with recruiting, funding and electing Republicans to the state senate. After playing a major role in helping to win several seats two years ago, Wagner effectively recruited candidates like Senator-elect John DiSanto of Dauphin County who upended Democratic incumbents last week. Much of the credit for the senate’s now veto-proof majority goes to Wagner.

This is important because Scott Wagner has made no secret of his desire to run for governor in 2018 and is widely expected to announce his candidacy within weeks. Having built a strong senate majority gives him a leg up both on the Republican nomination and on a grassroots organization for the battle against Tom Wolf who is expected to seek re-election.

Thus the 2016 election has set the stage for the beginning of the next big electoral battle in Pennsylvania. Political fortunes have risen and fallen. And the never ending cycle of campaigns has already begun anew offering no respite for weary voters.

Mr. Henry is Chairman and CEO of the Lincoln Institute and host of the weekly Lincoln Radio Journal

Governor Wolf Hits Ill Winds

Trump Voter Guided By Conscience

Trump Voter Guided By Conscience

By Joseph B. Dychala

There is only one God, Who gives and sustains my life. There is only one country that provides for my Liberty.

I am Blessed with family who love me unconditionally, friends who care for me, I am part of a community that affords me necessary labor as well as desired leisure.

I am the individual, a single yet significant member of the civil society, as such I take my responsibilities very seriously. I am an educated citizen, informed on the issues, knowledgeable of history and current events, I always vote my conscience. I believe in the virtue of the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box and the cartridge box.

I adhere to a Biblical worldview, embody a conservative lifestyle and subscribe to a capitalist philosophy. I make no apologies. I seek no recompense. I ask only for opportunity. I reject fully the perverse notion government can give to me that which I have not earned at the expense of taking away from someone else who has worked hard for it. I revere the Constitution and respect those who have established it. I obey laws that are just and practice civil disobedience when necessary.

I understand and sincerely appreciate the sacrifices that a relative few have made to allow so many to live in such a great, free and prosperous nation. I pray that whenever called upon I may be granted the wisdom to identify, the courage to face and the fortitude to challenge tyranny in any and all forms.

I desire, nay demand: a secured border, a universal language and a common culture.

Trump Voter Guided By ConscienceThere are tens of millions like me. We will not sit down, We will not shut up. We will not stand idle while the very roots and fabric of our culture and our heritage are being ripped up and torn apart. I am a patriot. I am an American.

I am supporting Trump/Pence on Nov. 8.

Mr. Dychala is a resident of Aston, Pa.

Trump Voter Guided By Conscience