Clueless Democrat taken to task by reader

I like this Letter to the Editor in The Mercury from a Chester County resident taking exception to comments by state Sen. Daylin Leach that Pennsylvania residents don't mind paying higher taxes.

Dems use scare tactics

Now really Sen. Daylin Leach (reference "Another View" Guest Column in The Mercury Aug. 2), can't you come up with anything better than the same old game? Using the media to threaten the programs that are the most emotional for people (education, health care, parks, etc.) as an excuse to raise taxes is a tactic that politicians have used for decades.

Why doesn't our esteemed state Legislature get a little creative and start looking at the ridiculous spending by the state? Perhaps your car allowance, year-round salary and some of the things that are near and dear to your heart should be the first place to cut spending.

We could start with the Walking Around Money (fondly called WAMs) that totaled $250M in the 2007-2008 budget.

Let's not forget the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA), which made headlines in recent years for very nice bonuses and various spa treatments for some board members.

Senator, there are some other insightful pieces of information and ideas from the Commonwealth Foundation in their "Government on a Diet — Spending Tips 2009" report. It's available online for you and all of us taxpayers to read: http://www.commonwealthfoundation.org/docs/SpendingTips2009.pdf

Lastly, if you are so confident of that fact that taxpayers in Pennsylvania "don't mind paying taxes" then enact legislation that requires any tax increase to be put to a vote in the state. I, for one, do not want to pay more taxes.

PAUL CAMERON
St. Peters