Category: Pennsylvania Senate

Wolf Unglued By Scott Wagner

Wolf Unglued By Scott Wagner — Ed. note: We find any accusation of racism that Gov. Wolf makes to be disgustingly ironic.

Wolf Unglued By Scott WagnerBy Scott Wagner

Last Sunday I attended an event in St. Louis, and I had the opportunity to meet and spend time with Steve Bannon. And oh boy, the liberals have come completely unglued, especially Tom Wolf.

The Governor was so unnerved, that he scampered right over to his computer and “cried racist” — again. This time in an email to supporters.

Let’s call this exactly what it is: a classic liberal distraction. He wants to change the focus — and who can blame him?

If I was Governor Wolf, I’d want to change the focus, too.

If I was Tom Wolf, I’d want to talk about anything other than his inability to balance a budget — which has earned him his second credit downgrade since he took office, and left local governments scrambling for the funds they need to operate.

There are many things Governor Wolf would rather not discuss.

Where does a broke, big-spending governor, with bad credit and no conscience look for more money? If you guessed your wallet, you guessed right.

Tom Wolf would prefer not to get into those details.

I’m on a mission to get rid of career politicians that attach themselves to government and drain the wallets of hard working Pennsylvanians. I see a new day for the citizens of this commonwealth and an end to epic mismanagement, waste, fraud and abuse.

My mission makes Tom Wolf extremely uncomfortable.

He sees the freight train coming. Of course he’s alarmed. Of course he cries “racist.”

Tom Wolf can call me whatever he wants — until we defeat him in November of 2018.

Sen. Wagner represents the 28th District in the Pennsylvania Senate.

 

Wolf Unglued By Scott Wagner

Pennsylvania Budget Logic Baffling

Pennsylvania Budget Logic Baffling

By Scott Wagner

Coming from the private sector where we actually get things done every day, I continue to be baffled as I watch Harrisburg chase its tail over how to pay for the 2017-2018 budget.

Last week the Treasurer told us the state is going to have to borrow more money or Harrisburg will shut down. But is that necessary?

I sat down and did the math, and here is how we should be looking to solve our budget problems:

You would have to be living under a rock to not know that we have a pension crisis in Pennsylvania. On May 25th, the Auditor General completed an audit of the Public School Employees Retirement System (PSERS) pension fund for the 2016 year, and it isn’t pretty. It isn’t pretty at all.

In 2016 the PSERS pension fund saw an astonishingly low return of 1.29% on $49.2 billion in assets. In dollars, the return was $634.6 million — which may look like a lot on paper, until you factor in that PSERS paid $416 million to money managers. It looks like a lot of money until you recognize that in 2016 most 401k retirement programs saw more than an 8% return. It was an exceptional year for everyone except Pennsylvania taxpayers

An 8% return would have yielded an additional $3.3 billion — which is more than enough to solve our budget problems.

PSERS could have put their money in a bank CD and received a better return (1.45%) — but who in the world would do that — and who would pay $416 million to money managers who would yield such a shameful return on investment?

I’ll tell you who would do that. A governor who’s asleep at the wheel, inept, or just doesn’t care.

Tom Wolf’s mismanagement is the biggest sham against honest, hardworking people that there ever was.

Why is Pennsylvania state government so bad at managing its employees’ money? If I were the Governor of Pennsylvania I would demand the answer to that question – but only after I fired the money managers at PSERS.

Where is our Governor? When he was running for election back in 2014, Tom Wolf presented himself as a “brilliant businessman,” and yet here we are paying $416 million for a return that we could have walked into a local bank and gotten ourselves.

PS: It is no secret that the PSEA (Pennsylvania State Education Association) fiercely hates me and has instructed their teacher members to hate me also. Isn’t it ironic that I am criticizing the PSERS pension fund performance demanding better returns so that all of the Pennsylvania teachers get their pensions paid?

Sen. Wagner represents the 28th District in the Pennsylvania Senate and is seeking the Republican nomination for governor in 2018.

Pennsylvania Budget Logic Baffling

 

Wolf Failed As Governor

Wolf Failed As Governor

By Sen. Scott Wagner

Pennsylvania is among the worst places in the nation to start a business, according to a study released by Fox Business. Back in the summer of 2014 Tom Wolf touted that he would be good for Pennsylvania because he was a private sector business owner, but under his leadership state agencies are outright hostile to small businesses.

Tom Wolf will go down in history as a one of the most ineffective and failed Governors our state has ever seen.

And it’s no wonder. Tom Wolf knows nothing about what it takes to start a business from scratch, make it healthy and keep it thriving. I’ve been doing it for 40 years.

If there is one thing I learned from building successful businesses from the ground up, it’s that you must take care of your current customers. Tom Wolf has failed to take care of existing Pennsylvania business owners.

When I become Governor of Pennsylvania, I will work closely with the House and Senate to enact many of the reforms needed — and I will not hesitate to exercise executive order powers.

It has become crystal clear that Tom Wolf did not, and does not possess the leadership skills to be the Governor of Pennsylvania. He and his policies are the enemy of employers, job seekers and the economy. My administration will empower entrepreneurs to invest, create jobs and provide better incomes for our families.

Learn more about me at www.wagnerforgov.com. Go to the menu bar and click on “take a tour.”

I’m a proven job creator and a leader with vision. I am determined to be the next Governor of Pennsylvania.

Wolf Failed As Governor

 

Wagner Says He Will Bring Back Death Penalty

Wagner Death Penalty
Wagner Death PenaltyBy Scott Wagner
It has been a blur of time since I announced my candidacy back on Jan. 11.

I have been extremely busy traveling around the Commonwealth meeting people, and learning issues that are important to them.

People keep asking me what my campaign is about and what is my plan to beat Governor Wolf.

If you are interested in learning more about my plan and activities as I travel around our great Commonwealth, please visit my website by clicking here: www.wagnerforgov.com.

My calendar is packed with events, meetings, and fundraising events until the end of the year and we continue to add more each week.

I am not running to be the next Governor of Pennsylvania because I think the job is fun or I need something to do – I am on a mission to make Pennsylvania greater than it is today.

Each and every day as I meet people and business owners across Pennsylvania I become more energized to clean up Harrisburg and solve problems and seize opportunities.

One question which a few people have asked is: “What has Scott done since he arrived in Harrisburg, he doesn’t to seem to have accomplished much?”

To answer that question I would ask that you click here to view my SCORECARD of activities and accomplishments: http://wagnerforgov.com/gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/WagnerforGov_Scorecard.jpg
It might be important to some Pennsylvanians to have a legislator who introduces hundreds of pieces of legislation that just clog the system in Harrisburg.

I was not elected to introduce meaningless legislation every day so I feel good and it impresses my constituents.

I made a decision to run for Governor because I witnessed first-hand as soon as I arrived in Harrisburg in April of 2014 the dysfunction that is blocking Pennsylvania from moving forward.

Ask yourself this question – “Are you better off today since Governor Wolf has been in office”?

If you want school taxes eliminated, better high paying jobs, less regulations, better treatment of veterans and seniors, to name a few examples, then please consider supporting me.

Harrisburg is screaming for a Governor who understands the private sector business world and issues that affect jobs being eliminated, or issues that affect jobs from being created – I am a private sector business owner who started several businesses from scratch – I know the issues inside and out affecting businesses that employ Pennsylvanians.

Harrisburg is screaming for a Governor who is a proven leader and is a visionary.

Harrisburg is screaming for a Governor who understands the importance of people, promotes communication, building teams, setting goals, measuring success or failure – people want to know how well they are doing and to be a part of something great.

Harrisburg is screaming for a Governor who can and will solve the issues in Pennsylvania.

That leads me to the single largest issue in Pennsylvania, and that is the heroin and opioid crisis.

Shortly after I was sworn into the State Senate, I was supplied first-hand information on the heroin and opioid crisis in Pennsylvania.

In July of 2014, The York County Heroin Task Force was formed by David Sunday from the York County District Attorney’s office, York County Coroner Pam Gay, law enforcement officials, community leaders and victims relatives.

What I have learned since joining the Senate, and what I continue to learn each and every day about this crisis leads me to be willing to estimate the cost to Pennsylvania’s citizens and businesses – minimum $25 billion annually and rising.

When I become Governor, I will have an emergency meeting with the district attorneys and law enforcement officials from across the state to determine what I can do as the governor of Pennsylvania to assist them to deal with this crisis.

The heroin crisis is getting worse by the day and it needs action immediately.

Click here for an article from June 8th in the Wall Street Journal:  http://wagnerforgov.com/gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/WSJ_DrugGangsOpen…6.8.17.pdf
There is another issue in Pennsylvania, and that is the issue of the death penalty – within weeks after Governor Wolf took office in 2015, he imposed a moratorium on the current death penalty in our state.

I pledge to the law enforcement community that within the first three days that I am sworn in as the next Governor of Pennsylvania, I will reverse by executive order, the moratorium on the death penalty imposed by Tom Wolf.

Click here for an article that was published on June 7 titled – “Effort Expands to Boost Punishment for Police Killers:” http://wagnerforgov.com/gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/WSJ_EffortExpandstoBoost…6.7.17.pdf
Click here for an article about a case from 1995 that claimed the lives of three women, one from York County – the killer who committed these murders has been sitting on death row for over twenty years: http://wagnerforgov.com/gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/ABC27_FormerDetectiveReflects…-2.4.15.pdf 
If we expect law enforcement folks to be on the front line battling violent drug dealers and other ruthless criminals and killers, I will be the first person to stand up and give them back the death penalty.

Bathroom Bill Back Or Scott Wagner How Could You?

Bathroom Bill Back Or Scott Wagner How Could You?
How could you, Scott Wagner?

Bathroom Bill Back Or Scott Wagner How Could You? — An attempt to make “gender identity” and “sexual expression”  civil rights is again being made by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, via SB 613.

The bill would allow men to use ladies rooms if they say they are feeling like a woman. It would allow boys to compete on high school girls sports teams and share their locker rooms. It would be one more obstacle for small business owners in dealing with disruptive or unsatisfactory employees.

It’s bad, pointless unnecessary legislation and very bad politics especially for those who want to be governor, Scott Wagner. Wagner, of the 28th Senatorial District, is one of the sponsors.

Target stock is tanking after it loudly instituted an “inclusive” restroom policy. It’s a rather under-reported story. The loss of shoppers is not due, or entirely due, to a boycott by religious people. It’s mostly because people — especially women — don’t want to frequent creepy places where they feel discomfort and tension. If that’s how the vote is being made with pocketbooks how does one expect votes to be made with votes?

The bill’s prime sponsor is Republican Patrick Brown of the 16th District.

Bathroom Bill Back Or Scott Wagner How Could You?

Regulations Crush Pennsylvania Employers

Regulations Crush Pennsylvania Employers

By Scott Wagner

Regulations Crush Pennsylvania EmployersBy every measure, Pennsylvania’s economy is lagging behind other states. People are struggling to find good-paying jobs, our young people are leaving for better opportunities, and industry is floundering.

Pennsylvania’s number one roadblock are the crushing government regulations and restrictions  on Pennsylvania’s job providers.

When I started my first waste company in 1985, there were five regulations we had to comply with. We kept them in a single manila folder.

Fast forward to 2017, there are almost 100 regulations that we have to comply with, and these are just transportation regulations. What I once kept in a flat manila folder, we now keep in a three and a half-inch thick binder.

There are several other binders of regulations that are in our human resources department that we must comply with just to employ people.

Government regulations are crushing businesses, jobs, and wage levels.

This past week I had an opportunity to meet three experts from the Mercatus Center, which is associated with George Mason University.

They gave me a policy brief, which was titled A Snapshot of Pennsylvania Regulation in 2017. 

To put in perspective the rules and restrictions Pennsylvania businesses are forced to navigate, consider the following statements contained in the brief:

It would take an ordinary person almost three years to read the entire code of the US Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) which contained over 103 million words in 2012.

The sheer size of the CFR poses a problem not just for the individuals and businesses that want to stay in compliance with the law, but also for anyone interested in understanding the consequences of this massive system of rules.

The Pennsylvania Code contains 153,661 restrictions, or roughly 12.8 million words. It would take an individual about 713 hours – or just under 18 weeks – to read the entire Pennsylvania  Code. That’s assuming the reader spends 40 hours per week reading and reads at a rate of 300 words per minute.

In 2016, there were over 1.08 million additional restrictions in the federal code.

This business-restrictive environment is putting Pennsylvania out of business and it’s time for Pennsylvanians to wake up and realize how these regulations and restrictions are affecting their daily lives, their families, and the companies they work for.

I joined the Pennsylvania State Senate for this very reason. I was fed up with the non-stop pile on of regulations and restrictions created mainly by state and federal lawyers working in various government agencies.

In Pennsylvania, the Department of Environmental Resources has approximately seventy-five, in house attorneys who write regulations each and every day that impact Pennsylvania businesses – and YOU.

Some regulations and restrictions are necessary, but Pennsylvania does not need 153,661 restrictions that contain 12.8 million words.

It’s madness and it has to stop.

That is why I’m running to be the next Governor of Pennsylvania. I am the only candidate who has real life experience dealing with all of the federal and state regulations.

The time is now for all of us to wake up to the fact that the Pennsylvania’s economy will not grow and good income producing jobs will not materialize.

Our hopes and dreams of prosperity will continue to die a slow, painful death unless we stop the regulation madness.

As the next Governor of Pennsylvania, my administration will immediately stop new regulations until we review each and every regulation currently on the books.

I can assure that Republican House and Senate members will act with a sense of urgency to roll back regulations, and if I have to, I will use executive orders to roll back regulations as Governor.
Sen. Wagner represents the 28th District in the Pennsylvania Senate.

Regulations Crush Pennsylvania Employers

American Bridge Trackers Following Scott Wagner

American Bridge Trackers Following Scott Wagner

American Bridge Trackers Following Scott WagnerBy Scott Wagner

When I announced that I was running for Governor of Pennsylvania, I knew Tom Wolf and the left would throw every dirty trick in the book at me.

If I’ve demonstrated anything during my write-in campaign and subsequent three years in the PA State Senate, it’s that I have zero tolerance for thugs who think they can harass, intimidate, and bully me into backing down.

Since announcing my candidacy, state and national Democrats have been sending one to two trackers to every event I attend. They know I am the biggest threat to their Kingdom.

For those who do not know what a “tracker” is, it is an individual who is hired by the opposition to video a candidate’s every move with the intent to get them on camera saying something that can be taken out of context and then later used in a negative attack ad.

O, May 2, I was scheduled to speak at a private event on private property.

A Democrat tracker gained entry to the event under false pretenses.

The tracker then recorded the conversations at this private meeting without the consent of those in attendance. Consent is required by Pennsylvania law before a conversation can be recorded.  As a public official I am used to being recorded, but no one else in that room had consented to having their discussions with me recorded by the tracker.  To the contrary, they thought they were attending a private event.

When it became clear that the tracker would not stop recording and leave the event, I took the initiative to remove the camera until the police could arrive. I requested that the Country Club of York call the police and escort the tracker from the premises.

The tracker’s employer, American Bridge, is a leftist political organization that is a tool of the Obama and Clinton machines.

American Bridge is financed by a who’s who of liberal donors, including the Democrat Party’s sugar daddy, billionaire George Soros, who contributed one million dollars in March of 2016.

Click on the following link to view a list of some of their donors:
 https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgave2.php?cycle=2016&cmte=C00492140

American Bridge’s mission is to disrupt conservative gatherings and intimidate Republicans – just like they attempted to do  this past Tuesday.  I’m not afraid of them, and I will not allow them to disrupt my events and intimidate my constituents and supporters.

American Bridge is welcome to send their trackers to my public events and record every word of my no-nonsense, conservative message.  I hope they distribute it far and wide because it’s a message that is going to win the Governor’s office back for the people of Pennsylvania.

What they are not welcome to do – and what I will not allow them to do – is trespass on private property, gain entry under false pretenses, intimidate my constituents and supporters and record them without their consent.

My candidacy makes Governor Wolf’s campaign, state and national Democrats very nervous, because they believe I pose a critical threat to the future of their regime. On that point, they are right.

For too many years liberal politicians have been cheating the people out of their hard earned money, while allowing special interests to control our government. One of the reasons I’m running for Governor is to end that culture, and trust me, I will not back down.

It should be no secret to them that I am not going to be intimidated.

American Bridge Trackers Following Scott Wagner

Antique Tech Snarls Harrisburg

Antique Tech Snarls Harrisburg

Antique Tech Snarls HarrisburgBy Sen. Scott Wagner

Last Friday, the Central Penn Business Journal published an article titled: “Government contracting: Old tech dies hard.”

The first sentence describes how out-dated a computer system and process is in Harrisburg.

“The department that processes Pennsylvania’s unemployment claims relies on a computer system so old that, if it were a human being, it would qualify for membership in AARP.”

Over the last 10 years, over $400 million was spent on this computer system upgrade. The $400 million was wasted. We still have a 50-year-old computer system.

This is an absolute disgrace – $400 million of taxpayer money down the drain. Has anybody been held accountable?in the private sector world, anyone involved in the waste of this amount of money without absolutely zero results to show for the money spent would be fired.

I feel confident making the statement that over the last 10 years Harrisburg has wasted several billion dollars on similar projects.

This type of outdated technology is everywhere in state government.

A reasonable person would ask how Pennsylvania state government could be so outdated with it’s computer systems.

It is very simple – Governors come and go, agency secretaries come and go, and entrenched career bureaucrats stay below the radar screen and allow the status quo thinking to continue.

I have visited several state agencies over the last three years and have talked to the people doing the real work, and they have story after story of their frustration.

These people want to do the right thing and fully know that money is being wasted, or have ideas that could save money, but their ideas fall on deaf ears or are told to look the other way.

Legislators regularly pass bills that involve funding for various initiatives. After the voting is over, after the money moves to a specific department, there is no oversight and zero accountability.

This type of culture has to change in Harrisburg. Outright wasting of money has to stop. Changing the culture in Harrisburg will require a person with strong  leadership  skills  in the Governor’s office.

For over 35 years, I have started several private sector businesses from scratch and have worked with many resources and professionals along with the management teams at these companies to ensure that we have the latest tools and technology in place that allow these businesses to be able to stay in front of all the changes that we have faced over the years in order to survive in a highly competitive business environment.

I have repeatedly stated before, that many employees in state government in Harrisburg are starving for leadership and they want to be part of a culture change.

When I become the next Governor of Pennsylvania, I look forward to working with the people who want to be part of making Pennsylvania even greater!

Antique Tech Snarls Harrisburg

Wolf SEIU Deal Gives $5G Annual Raises

Wolf SEIU Deal Gives $5G Annual Raises

Wolf SEIU Deal Gives $5G Annual RaisesBy Sen. Scott Wagner

When I joined the PA State Senate in 2014, I went to Harrisburg with specific and focused goals.

Among them, to end the reckless spending and the culture of self-serving politicians in Harrisburg.

Last week, Governor Wolf provided a perfect demonstration of both.

This past Friday, Penn Live reported the details of a new three-year labor contract between the State of Pennsylvania and SEIU Local 668.

Under this contract, public sector workers who are currently making $40,502 per year, will enjoy an increase of $5,000 per year over the three-year term of the contract – for a total additional cost to the taxpayers of $45 million per year.

Maybe the increased wage levels are reasonable and maybe they are not, but what’s definitely not reasonable is that Governor Wolf negotiated this contract alone.

Governor Wolf excluded members of the House and Senate from those negotiations, and the reason could not be more obvious: Governor Wolf’s taxpayer-provided “gift” to public sector union workers will serve him well as he seeks reelection – whether the PA taxpayer can afford it or not.

But that’s not the worst part.

Based on my calculations, the contract negotiated results in approximately $1.8 billion of additional retirement pension pay outs over 20 years.

It’s a gigantic, extremely irresponsible promise for the Governor to make with your money.

It must have slipped his mind that Harrisburg has already promised more in the way of pension payouts than we can afford to make good on.

It’s called “the pension crisis” – and Governor Wolf is deliberately ignoring it.

When I was growing up, I often heard people say that money doesn’t grow on trees.

I have to wonder what kind of trees Governor Wolf thinks grow in the back yards of Pennsylvania taxpayers.

I’ll keep saying it – Harrisburg does not have a revenue problem, Harrisburg has a spending problem.

Trust me when I tell you, when I’m Governor, we’ll end this recklessness, and replace it with justified, responsible management of tax money.

November of 2018 cannot come soon enough.

P.S.
You might be surprised to know that workers covered under this taxpayer-funded contract only work 37.5 hours per week, but are expected to receive an increase of $5,000 annually.

If you would like to read the full Penn Live article, please click here:
http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/04/seiu_local_668_finalizes_three.html 
Sen. Wagner represents the 28th District in the Pennsylvania Senate.

Wolf SEIU Deal Gives $5G Annual Raises

Clean Slate Legislation Explained

Clean Slate Legislation Explained

Clean Slate Legislation ExplainedBy Sen. Scott Wagner

I recently announced that I am the prime co-sponsor of “Clean Slate Legislation” with Senator Anthony Williams.

Some people have asked for an explanation of the legislation and why I am introducing it. 

First, it is important to point out that this legislation will affect non-violent criminal offenses only.

At my company, when an applicant is filling out our job application, we have a question on our application that asks if they have ever pled guilty, pled no contest, or been convicted of a crime.

We do not judge the person based on a yes response, and in many instances we may hire the person.

There are many companies that ask the same question on their job applications as we do, if the question is answered yes, the application is automatically not considered.

It is estimated that three million or more Pennsylvanians have non-violent crimes on their criminal records.

Here is an example of a non-violent crime which stays on a person’s record for their lifetime.

Today, there is a 40 year old man who lives in Pennsylvania, and at age 18 he was arrested for having a small quantity of marijuana in his possession, which resulted in a misdemeanor level criminal charge.

In this case, 22 years ago this person made a mistake and has carried this crime from 22 years ago with him to this day. 

Other misdemeanor examples would be a DUI charge (Driving Under the Influence) or a minor theft of something valued under a specific dollar amount. 

Now this person has the opportunity to attend a trade school to learn how to weld, and potentially increase his annual earnings by 40 percent. 

There is a company in the area that is hiring welders and the company will pay for the tuition at a trade school to allow this person to become a trained welder, but they do not hire people that have past criminal offenses.

It is critical for everyone to know that there will be a lot of debate about this legislation, and it may pass if members of the legislature become educated on the issue, or it may not receive enough support and fail.

There are a large number of people who are affected by this issue and I am sure there are many people who have a family member or a friend who has also been affected.

At our company, we do not want people to lie on our applications, but instead be able to be honest, so that they have fair consideration for employment.

We want to give the person applying for a job at our company the same opportunity as an applicant who does not have a criminal record.

The process today is for this person to hire an attorney to clear their record, which can be expensive with no guarantee that the offense will be removed.

The legislation I am introducing and co-sponsoring would be an automatic process where the person’s record is sealed, and no court petition would be required. 

The Clean State Legislation that we are introducing has the following provisions.  

This is a very important provision: for the process of sealing the persons record, they MUST have a period of 10 years that is crime free from the date of their offense that is to be sealed, and all court obligations must have been fulfilled – there are zero exceptions.

When the clean slate process is complete, criminal history will remain on record and can then only be accessed by law enforcement authorities and the record would be removed from public view.  

We are working with law enforcement agencies and District Attorneys to address any issues or concerns they may have. 

If the person’s record is cleared and they are charged with a crime in the future, their record is reversed and unsealed. 

There are many details to be finalized.

My job as a Senator, is to introduce responsible legislation which has the opportunity to improve the lives of hardworking Pennsylvanians.

While this piece of legislation may be perceived as risky by some people, I view it as an opportunity to address a very large issue in Pennsylvania.

If this legislation would become law, it has the potential to change the lives of hardworking people who are trying to provide for their families and create a better life for their children.

This is one of the reasons I have decided to run for Governor of Pennsylvania. 

I am ready to put party politics aside, provide leadership, and address real problems in order to improve the lives of Pennsylvanians. 

I felt that people having concerns regrading my intent with this legislation should hear my reasoning for being a part of this effort. 

Sen. Wagner represents the 28th District in the Pennsylvania Senate.

Clean Slate Legislation Explained