The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has an excellent editorial calling for the elimination of those "free" calendars that Pennsylvania lawmakers mail out to constituents.
The calendars are a daily reminder of how Harrisburg politicians waste our tax dollars. The newspaper estimates lawmakers spent more than $131,000 to print and mail the calendars to consitutents.
We don't need calendars printed at taxpayer expense. We don't need glossy newsletters telling us what a wonderful job lawmakers are doing. We don't need state maps.
What Pennsylvania taxpayers need is for the most expensive state Legislature in the country to stop wasting so much of our money and start accomplishing something. We need a Legislature that eliminates property taxes, enact an open records law, find a solution to the state's transportation, environmental and health care woes.
Citing statistics compiled by the nonpartisan Commonwealth Foundation, the Tribune-Review states that 240,000 calendars were printed for House members at a cost of $90,000. For the Senate, there were 56,500 calendars costing $41,500.
The editorial notes that each senator was allotted 1,000 calendars except Sen. John Eichelberger, R-Blair, who received none. Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, received 500.
Read the full editorial at the Tribune-Review Web site.
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