Can Pennsylvania Survive Another Year Under Corbett's Budget Ax? (Great Newspaper Column)

[JPZenger]

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/kelly-can-pennsylvanians-survive-under-another-year-of-corbett-s-ax-1.1270554#axzz1mCsWlVGN

By Scranton Times-Tribune Columnist Chris Kelly

"Gov. Tom Corbett, R-Drillers, opened his Tuesday budget address by thanking his adoring enablers in the Legislature and saying, "Pennsylvanians are people who embrace important qualities. We value service. We value bravery. We value compassion." He then surprised no one by proposing a budget that reflects none of these values.

...What Mr. Corbett didn't say as a candidate is far more revealing than anything he did say. For instance, he never said he was a heartless fundamentalist who would value ideology above reality. He never said he believed higher education should be reserved for the wealthy. ‚He never said he would declare war on hungry children, battered women, the disabled and the elderly. He never said he would place the state's tax burden squarely on the sore shoulders of wage-earners and property owners while giving giant out-of-state corporations a virtual free pass to plunder Pennsylvania's unique natural gas deposits.

How about Mr. Corbett's astoundingly hypocritical name-dropping of the late Joe Paterno? ... Just one person had absolute legal authority to shut down Jerry Sandusky the minute he was suspected of raping children. His name was Tom Corbett...As governor, Mr. Corbett is a member of the Penn State board of trustees and led the charge to fire Joe Paterno. If it turns out that a single child was abused after Attorney General Corbett knew about Mr. Sandusky's alleged appetites, will there be similar self-righteous hunger for Gov. Corbett's head? If there's a Greek Chorus rehearsing to hold him to the same standard he imposed on Mr. Paterno, count me in. I'm a baritone.

...which brings us to Mr. Corbett's favorite target - Pennsylvanians who can't fight back. It's darkly amusing to listen to Republicans whine about "class warfare" as they "fight" monumental deficits with revenue-erasing tax cuts for the rich while demonizing welfare recipients as shiftless parasites. These parasites, of course, are all blacks, Hispanics or illegal immigrants and they are the insatiable vampires bleeding the middle class dry....For every chronic loser who abuses public assistance, there are many more elderly widows who can't get by on Social Security, mentally and physically disabled people who can't work for a living, autistic and developmentally challenged children whose parents need help and mentally ill teens and adults who will end up on the streets or in institutions because Mr. Corbett would rather pay to shelve them than help them."

[blue neen]

1. Wow. Excellent article. Truer words were never spoken.

I recommend this article to be seen by all of DU and by all of Pennsylvania's citizens...it's too bad that all of the newspapers in western PA are owned by Richard Mellon Scaife. Scaife has very serious control over what "news" the people of western PA receive. It's no accident that this part of the state has turned red. We owe it all to Dickie.


The illustration at the link is perfect! What I would give to see an editorial of this caliber in a paper in Westmoreland County, Armstrong County, Butler County, Indiana County, Fayette County.

[blue neen]

2. Link to Flat Corbett:

http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/editorials-columns/christopher-j-kelly/flat-corbett#axzz1mDNs392i

Chris Kelly is the author of this fantastic editorial.

[JPZenger]

3. Harrisburg Newspaper Article

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/02/corbetts_budget_plan_would_giv.html

"The Harrisburg School District’s business manager, Jeff Bader, found the governor’s proposal for next year to be disappointing. The city schools cut spending by $23 million — nearly a quarter of their entire budget — over the last two years. He said there’s little left to cut.

“We need help,” Bader said. “We’ve done all the things other districts are just now starting to talk about. We cut athletic programs. We cut everything but mandated educational programs, and we have a student population that needs a lot of services if we are going to be able to turn the corner on student achievement.”

School districts would lose about $100 million from the disappearance of grant funding they had received to support programs aimed at raising student achievement, such as tutoring, full-day kindergarten and class-size reductions."

[JPZenger]

4. PA. Cuts to Environmental Protection and Conservation

http://www.paenvironmentdigest.com/newsletter/default.asp?NewsletterArticleID=21514

Link has lots of details about cuts to environmental and conservation programs in PA:

"-- $102.8 million cut from the DEP and DCNR General Fund budget in FY 2010-11 budget;
-- $180 million diverted from the DCNR Oil and Gas Fund to General Fund in proposed FY 2010-11 budget;
-- $5.5 million reduction in Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) farm conservation tax credits in FY 2010-11;
-- $5 million in additional cuts to the agencies to balance the FY 2010-11 budget;
-- $3.9 million in across-the-board cuts to help fill gaps caused by reduced federal Medicaid appropriations-- $2.4 million from DEP, $1.5 million from DCNR;
-- $102.8 million cut continued from the FY 2010-11 DEP and DCNR General Fund budget in FY 2011-12 budget;
-- $8.3 million Mid-year budget freeze cuts additional resources for environmental programs: Agriculture: $2.6 million; DCNR: $1.5 million; and DEP: $4.2 million.
-- Governor's proposed FY 2012-13 budget eliminates $36.1 million in funding for DCNR from the Keystone Recreation, Parks and Conservation Fund.
-- Governor's proposed FY 2012-13 budget eliminates $10.5 million in General Fund monies from DEP, and $2.5 million from DCNR.
-- Governor's proposed FY 2012-13 budget continues the $102.8 million cut made by Gov. Rendell beginning in FY 2010-11.
-- Governor's proposed FY 2012-13 budget takes $20.5 million in Cigarette Tax revenue previously earmarked for agricultural land preservation and puts it in the General Fund to balance the budget.
-- Governor's proposed FY 2012-13 budget takes $6.5 million in Utility Gross Receipts Tax revenue normally transfered to the Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant Fund and puts it in the General Fund."

DEP's authorized staff level is now 2,759, down from 3,211 in FY 2002-03.

General Fund Budgets:

-- Dept. of Environmental Protection:
General Fund FY 2002-03: $728 million
General Fund FY 2012-13: $125 million (Proposed)

-- Dept. of Conservation & Natural Resources:
General Fund FY 2002-03: $323million
General Fund FY 2012-13: $53 million (Proposed)"

the link lists several types of increased user fees that had already gone through the approval process to help fund DEP. The Corbett administration has killed or delayed many of them, costing several million a year in lost revenue.