Rendell 0-for-6 on state budgets

Gov. Ed Rendell and leaders of the Pennsylvania Legislature announced a tentative budget agreement Monday morning for the 2008-09 fiscal year, but the budget won't be signed until after the June 30 deadline passes.

So Rendell is now 0-for-6 in meeting the Constitutional deadline to have a signed budget before the fiscal year begins on July 1. For those keeping score, Rendell has presented six budgets to the Legislature and all six have missed the deadline.

If Rendell had not taken an "unofficial" six-week leave of absence from his duties as governor to campaign full time for Hillary Cinton in March and April, would the budget have passed on time?

The tentative spending plan, which will probably be voted on by July 3 because the Legislature wants to take its Fourth of July holiday, means Pennsylvania will spend $28.2 billion in its general fund budget for the coming fiscal year.

That's more than $1 billion more than it spent in the current fiscal year. State spending under Rendell has increased by nearly $8 billion.

The $28.2 billion budget is a 3.8 percent increase over the past year's spending plan, but ... and this is a big but ... it includes plans to borrow more than $2 billion to satisfy the voracious appetite for more government spending.

Borrowing money is a hidden tax because taxpayers will not only have to pay back the initial amount, but the interest will mean taxpayers will probably get stuck with a $4 billion bill ... long after Rendell leaves office.

Rendell deserves most of the blame for another late budget, but the other culprits are the voters of Pennsylvania. More than 100 incumbent state lawmakers had opposition in the April 22 primary election, but only one legislator(a Philadelphia Democrat) was ousted by the voters.

That sent a message to the career politicians who rule Harrisburg that it was business as usual and they could waste time without feeling any repercussions from the voters.

So blame yourself for not kicking out the established political class and get ready to pay more for state government.