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