Sunday, May 31, 2015

Gov. Wolf: Some Pa. residents may lose homes to pay for higher taxes

If this report in The Pocono Record is accurate, Gov. Tom Wolf said he doesn't care if some Pennsylvania residents lose their homes because they have to pay higher school property taxes to support his big government, pro-union agenda.

Gov. Wolf talks funding, education with school, local officials at Pocono Mtn. West Jr. High

Another George Clooney movie sinks at the box-office

Another George Clooney movie bombs at the box-office, but Hollywood loves George's left-wing politics so it will continue to bankroll is awful films.

MOVIE: Audiences Lukewarm About Tomorrowland's 'Global Warming Shaming' | Truth Revolt

Poll: Obama Job Approval Rating Hits Record Low in PA

Just 38 percent of Pennsylvania residents believe Barack Obama is doing a good job, according to a new poll.

PPP Poll: Pres. Obama's Approval Rating Hits Record Low

Poll: PA Gov. Wolf’s Approval Rating Stands at 40%

Liberal Democrat Tom Wolf has been in office for about five months but many Pennsylvanians are already experiencing voter remorse.

PA-Gov: PPP Poll: Wolf’s Approval Rating Stands at 40%

Report: Welfare Spending Out of Control in Pennsylvania

After four years of fiscal responsibility under Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania's new governor, liberal Democrat Tom Wolf, wants to take the state back to the Ed Rendell era of big government, budget deficits and higher taxes.

From The Commonwealth Foundation, Pennsylvania's Free Market Think Tank:

Gov. Tom Wolf's plans to raise taxes to boost education spending are well known, but his increases in welfare spending are less apparent and even more burdensome for taxpayers. The Department of Human Services already spends twice as much as the Department of Education and accounts for a stunning 39 percent of General Fund spending. Wolf plans to send DHS an additional $691 million next year, putting further strain on an already bursting state budget.

But there is an alternative: According to a study released today by the Commonwealth Foundation, responsible steps can be taken to slow the dramatic growth of welfare spending and avoid annual budget crises.

"Paying for Gov. Wolf’s new welfare spending plans, which follow years of increases, will force lawmakers to make the hard choice between diverting resources from other programs or raising taxes even higher," commented Elizabeth Stelle, director of policy analysis for the Commonwealth Foundation. "The DHS budget has grown nearly twice as fast as state GDP and state personal income since fiscal year 2000-01. This trend has held true regardless of the party in power."

Read more at the link below:


Out of Control

PBS's Woodruff Defends Her Clinton Donation

I'd like to see a list of Clinton Foundation donors and compare it to the people who will be covering the 2016 presidential race.

PBS's Woodruff Defends Her Clinton Donation | Truth Revolt

Pew: Hillary's 'favorability' plummets 17 points, lowest in 7 years

Despite the complicit state-run media's lack of coverage of the various Hillary Clinton scandals, the America people are figuring this crook out.
Pew: Hillary's 'favorability' plummets 17 points, lowest in 7 years | WashingtonExaminer.com

Guest Column: Pa. business leaders reject Gov. Wolf's tax plans

By Lowman S. Henry

The governor of Pennsylvania decided to use his perceived electoral mandate to take on one of the biggest issues that has confronted and confounded the commonwealth for decades: property tax reform. So he advanced a plan that would raise sales and personal income taxes in exchange for a cut in property taxes.

Sound familiar? The year was 1989 and the governor was Robert P. Casey whose tax reform plan was put on a statewide ballot referendum and was soundly defeated by voters. Fast forward to 2015 and Gov. Tom Wolf has placed on the table a property tax reform plan that strongly resembles the doomed Casey proposal. Except the Wolf plan doesn’t even include the dollar for dollar reductions required of the Casey effort.

As despised as property taxes are, and polling consistently finds the levy to be the most disliked, finding an acceptable alternative remains elusive. The Wolf plan appears to have little support in the General Assembly; in fact House Republicans have passed their own proposal.  But it too fails to totally eliminate school property taxes leaving the door open for millage rates to simply increase again over time.

An indication of how unpopular the Wolf tax reform plan is can be found in the recent Keystone Business Climate Survey of business owners and chief executive officers conducted by the Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research. Nearly 70 percent of the business leaders said the Wolf property tax shift would result in only a temporary drop in property taxes which would then go back up.

Another 14 percent predicted his plan would actually lead to property tax increases; only 15 percent expect to see property taxes decline under the Wolf proposal.

Not only does the poll demonstrate disapproval of the Wolf property tax plan, but the survey found the biggest six-month decline in business climate optimism since the onset of the Great Recession in 2008. In fact, in the 20 year history of the poll only during that recession and in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks has business climate optimism dropped so far so fast.

Last September, for the first time since George W. Bush was re-elected in 2004, more business leaders said the state’s economic climate had improved that felt it had gotten worse. The indicator rose into positive territory by just 1 percent, but it capped a steady move in a positive direction. All of that has changed. The number of owners/CEOs saying business conditions have improved over the past six months has fallen to just 13 percent, while the number saying business conditions have gotten worse has nearly doubled since last fall.

The only variable to change during that six month period was the election of Gov. Tom Wolf. Republican Gov. Tom Corbett left office with a 52 percent job approval rating. Gov. Tom Wolf’s first job approval test yielded just 15 percent approval with 69 percent of the state’s business leaders saying they disapprove of the job he is doing.

Driving the dour mood among the people who actually run businesses — big and small — is a general disapproval of Gov. Wolf’s budget proposals. A total of 78 percent disapprove of his proposed budget.

Overall 80 percent say the governor’s proposed state budget will harm the state’s business climate. As a side note, Pennsylvania’s high tax rates and stringent regulatory policies are viewed by the owners/CEOs as the biggest impediments to conducting business in the commonwealth.  They now fear that situation is about to get even worse so the state’s job creators are bracing themselves for higher taxes. 

Overall the survey results represent a sound and complete repudiation of Gov. Tom Wolf’s first proposed state budget along with the major revisions and tax hikes contained within the proposal.  Like Gov. Casey before him, his ambitious tax reform plans are deeply unpopular and may be destined for the same fate.

Lowman S. Henry is Chairman & CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research in Harrisburg and host of the weekly Lincoln Radio Journal.  His email address is lhenry@lincolnisntitute.org

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Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf wants state to impose lottery tax

It's bad enough that Pennsylvania, like so many other states, lure low-income people into buying lottery tickets with astronomical odds of winning, but should you strike it rich, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf wants to take a chunk of your winnings with a new tax.

Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf wants state to share in lottery luck

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Tuesday, May 05, 2015

Veterans Affairs Employee Stole $150,000, Spent it on Strippers and Prostitutes

The things that go on during Obama's watch. Judging from previous scandals, Obama will probably promote this guy ... and give him a raise.

Veterans Affairs Employee Stole $150,000, Spent it on Strippers and Prostitutes

Pa. AG Kane's chief of staff accused of sexual harassment


And the hits just keep on coming. It's bad enough Democrat Kathleen Kane is facing potential criminal charges for perjury after allegedly lying to an investigative grand jury, but the man she just promoted as her chief of staff is the subject of a sexual harassment lawsuit by a female attorney in the AG's office.The victim, 34-year-old Michele Kluk, claims in the lawsuit that she brought the sexual harassment allegations to Kane's attention a year ago but Kane failed to take any action ... other than promoting the plaintiff, 51-year-old Jonathan Duecker, to chief of staff. At the very least you have to wonder about Kane's judgment, or lack thereof in this case.

Kane's chief of staff accused of sexual harassment

Democrat-run Philadelphia School District compared to 'The Hunger Games'

Despite a $2.9 billion annual budget, the perpetually bankrupt Philadelphia School District is always looking for more taxpayer dollars. An interesting story in The Philadelphia Inquirer about the district's budget talks.

One speaker at hearing on optimistic school budget

Baltimore's community organizer mayor exposed

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is a graduate of the Barack Obama School of Liberal Government Incompetence.

"Let them loot. It's only property" are the words Rawlings-Black uttered, inviting the city's thugs to loot and pillage, bringing national shame to Baltimore.

Heckavu job, Steph. There's a future for you in the Obama Administration.

From columnist Katie Pavlich:
People have been demanding economic opportunity in these communities for decades and they still don't have it. They've demanded education choices, choices that have been repeatedly denied. Why? Look at who's been in charge and you'll find the answer.
Katie Pavlich: The true victims of Baltimore