Columnist Brian O'Neill of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette attempts to explain why the Pennsylvania Legislature is the most expensive in the country.From his column:
How in the name of all that is holy can you spend $84.5 million in just 101 days?Read his full column, "Legislature works at its hardest when taking care of itself," at the newspaper's Web site.
"It's stunning, isn't it?" state Rep. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat from suburban Philadelphia, replied when I asked.
That's how much America's Largest Full-Time State Legislature spent this past summer and fall while dawdling over the only real job its 253 members have.
That would be passing a budget on time. It came in more than three months late.
The daily tab for tardiness came to almost $837,000. That covered all the costs -- salaries, perks, travel, utilities, printing, mail, phones -- for the House, the Senate, their office staff and the various agencies that support them: the Legislative Budget and Finance Commission, the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Department of Redundancy Department, etc.
And after you read it, you find your blood pressure reaching the boiling point, just remember that all 203 members of the House and 25 members of the Senate face re-election in 2010. You can do something about it ... but only if you're willing to change the cast of characters currently occupying Harrisburg.
2 comments:
Josh Shapiro is holding 12-14 million for an unneeded library in Roslyn Pa. Abington his hometown is eminent domaining an 80 year old widows property for this bogus project. Instead of Josh Shapiro standing up for the widow he is behind the theft of her property for a bundle from the state. How is there a public need for a library when the Abington Library is ONE MILE away and funded with OVER TWO MILLION in taxpayer money!!!! In addition, the claim that 20,000 "people" went thru the Roslyn branch turnstiles is a fraud, conspired by Abington!!! The 80 year old widow was willing to lease the property to Abington for the Roslyn Library, but no grant money to further Shapiros career that way! Kick Shapiro OUT, he is attempting to take a big chunk of money for nothing!!!
Its funny how this guy Shapiro can get away making a comment like "It's stunning, isn't it?" when asked about the spending. Kind of sounds like he opposes WAMs or spending, but rather he is a big big proponent of WAMs and spending and taxes . . .just look at his voting record over the last 6 yrs! What a fraud!
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