The Two Pennsylvanias

I don't know about John Edward's "two Americas" scenario, but I do believe that there are "two Pennsylvanias."

One is for Ed Rendell's country club set, the well-heeled political aristocracy and corporate types who bankroll them. Then there's the rest of us. The ones struggling to pay the bills so Ed Rendell and his cronies can live the lifestyle of the rich and famous.

Why is everything so expensive in Pennsylvania?

I just got my school property tax bill. My taxes are going up 5.5 percent this year. They've gone up at least 5 percent every year Ed Rendell has been in office. I can't afford to pay my taxes any more. Where is the property tax relief Rendell promised?

Democrats took control of the county commissioners' board in Berks County and raised property taxes by 34 percent.

Now I have to pay more in tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike so Ed Rendell's rich suburban friends can commute to their well-paying jobs in Philly at a subsidized rate. Where is my subsidy, governor? When do I get a break?

Why has everything gotten so expensive since Rendell took office? I can't afford to live in Ed Rendell's Pennsylvania anymore. Here's another example from today's headlines about how expensive it is to live in Pennsylvania: Pa. ranks 5th in highest tuition for public colleges

There's also an interesting story at Stateline.org about the "brain drain" many states, including Pennsylvania, are experiencing. If a student is able to finance his or her education in Pennsylvania, that graduate will most likely leave the state for better opportunities elsewhere. That leaves less educated, less skilled and older people behind. Those are the ones who get stuck paying all the taxes that Ed Rendell and his Democratic Party doormats in the Legislature keep passing on to the rest of us.

States work to plug 'brain drain'
By Pauline Vu, Stateline.org Staff Writer
States struggling to stop “brain drain,” the flight of young, educated people from their workforce, aren’t sure yet whether the solution is to offer financial incentives so bright students will stay or create jobs so they will come. Read More

And if you really want to get mad at how indifferent Rendell and Pennsylvania lawmakers are toward the working stiffs in this state, check out http://www.DemocracyRisingPA.com, which offers the following analysis of budget shenanigans. Here's the highligts from a DemocracyRisingPA press release:

Budget Outrages & Opportunities
Outrages. 1. Our lawmakers and governor created a new health insurance program for retired senior judges. These are judges who are over the mandatory retirement age (70) and who get appointed to hear certain cases. To receive this benefit they must work 75 days a year.

Why are citizens who work full-time jobs and often don't have health insurance for themselves and their families buying health insurance for retired judges who work as little as 75 days a year? Why was there no public discussion of this? Whom is this intended to benefit? At what cost?

2. When lawmakers and the governor enacted the Gambling Fund Capital Budget, they didn't bother to put the total cost in the law. Go to House Bill 1631, Printer's Number 2345 . On page 38, line 15 there's a blank where the total amount should be. They literally enacted a blank check for withdrawals from the fund. Did your lawmakers know that?

The vote in the House was 102-100. If only one yes vote had been a "no" vote, it would not have passed. How did your Representative vote?

The vote in the Senate was 31-17. How did your Senator vote?

$360 million in Pork
Marc Levy of Associated Press's Harrisburg Bureau has encountered a stone wall from all four caucuses of the legislature. He's asking a simple question: What are you going to do with the money?

The money is $360 million earmarked for lawmakers to pass out to pet projects in their districts. Officially, the money is for "community revitalization." Popularly, the money is called WAMs, an acronym for "walking around money."

Last year, an election year, it was $500 million. Next year, who knows? But with that kind of taxpayer money being spent, it seems reasonable to ask what projects are being funded at a cost of $360 million. Surely there's a list of projects s omewhere that add up to $360 million.

Here's what our legislative leadership told Levy:

• "There's no list." Tom Andrews, spokesman for House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, D-Greene.
• "There isn't a specific list." Steve Miskin, spokesman for Minority Leader Sam Smith, R-Jefferson.
• "There's a lot of give and take, a lot of addition and subtraction in the budget. The line items are there for everyone to see and those reflect the group determination onwhat the priorities are." David Atkinson, spokesman for Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Gibson Armstrong, R-Lancaster.
• Sen. Gerald LaValle, D-Beaver, would not return Levy's calls. He is the Democrat chairman of the Appropriations Committee.